Have you decided which WebView2 distribution fits your next Windows app?
A Fixed Version runtime adds roughly 150MB to 200MB to your application’s download size. If a user runs five different hybrid apps built this way, they waste nearly a gigabyte of storage on redundant Chromium binaries. Evergreen shares a single installation across the operating system, keeping your application installers lightweight and fast to download. Continuous Performance and Feature Evolution
: Perform regular testing using Edge preview channels (Beta, Dev, or Canary) to ensure your app remains compatible with upcoming runtime updates. Common Distribution Scenarios Online Clients : Distribute a small 2MB Bootstrapper evergreen webview2
await webView.EnsureCoreWebView2Async();
Because the underlying browser engine updates independently of your application, defensive programming is essential to ensure long-term stability. 1. Handle Initialization Gracefully Have you decided which WebView2 distribution fits your
By choosing the Evergreen model, developers offload the burden of browser maintenance to Microsoft, shifting their focus entirely to building rich, hybrid application experiences.
"Evergreen" refers to the runtime's ability to to the latest, most secure version, without requiring the developer to push new versions of their application. Think of it as a shared browser engine—similar to how .NET Runtime works for .NET apps—that sits on the user's machine and serves all WebView2-based applications. Key Characteristics of Evergreen Evergreen shares a single installation across the operating
Imagine ten applications on a single machine, all using WebView2. With Evergreen, the runtime is installed once. With Fixed Version, you’re wasting nearly 2 GB of disk space. For enterprise IT, this is non-negotiable.