Can I run multiple versions of Google Chrome on the same machine? (Mac or Windows)

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In the comments, I mentioned a step-by-step method to easily install multiple Chrome versions, side-by-side. This answer quotes my original answer, and includes a script which does the job for you.

Quoted from: section 7 of Cross-browser testing: All major browsers on ONE machine:

Chrome: Stand-alone installers can be downloaded from File Hippo. It is also possible to run multiple Chrome versions
side-by-side.

Although Sandboxie can be used, it’s
recommended to use the next native method in order to run multiple
versions side-by-side.

  1. Download the desired version(s) from File Hippo.

  2. Create a main directory, e.g. C:\Chrome\.

  3. Extract the installer (=without installing), using 7-Zip for example. After extracting, a chrome.7z archive is
    created. Also extract this file, and descend the created Chrome-bin
    directory. Now, you see chrome.exe and a dir like 18.0.1025.45.
    Move chrome.exe to 18.0.1025.45, then move this directory to
    C:\Chrome. The remaining files in Chrome-bin can safely be
    deleted.

  4. Create a shortcut for each version:

     "C:\Chrome\18.0.1024.45\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir="..\User Data\18" --chrome-version=18.0.1025.45

Explanation of this shortcut:

  • "C:\Chrome\18.0.1024.45\chrome.exe" • This is the
    launcher
  • --user-data-dir="..\User Data\18" • User profile, relative to the location of chrome.exe. You could also have

used --user-data-dir="C:\Chrome\User Data\18" for the same effect.
Set your preferences for the lowest Chrome version, and duplicate the User profile for each Chrome version. Older Chrome versions
refuse to use User profiles from new versions.

  • --chrome-version=18.0.1025.45 • Location of binaries:
 * The location (eg `18.0.1025.45`) must be the name of the directory:
 * Must start and end with a number. A dot may appear in between.
 * The numbers do not necessarily have to match the real version number (though it's convenient to use real version numbers...).

Regarding configuration: All preferences can be set at
chrome://settings/. I usually change the home page and “Under the
hood” settings.

(the old version of this answer referred to Old Apps for old Chrome versions, but they do not offer direct download links any more through the UI. The files do still exist, I’ve created a shell script (bash) to ease the creation of a local repository of Chrome versions – see https://gist.github.com/Rob–W/8577499)

##VBScript which automates install, config & launch
I’ve created a VBScript which installs and configures Chrome (tested in XP and Windows 7). Launch the script, and a file dialog appears (or: Drag & drop the chrome installer on the VBS). Select the destination of the Chrome installer, and the script automatically unpacks the files and duplicates the profile from a pre-configured base directory.

By default:

  1. The Chrome binaries are placed in subfolders of C:\Chrome\.
  2. The User profiles are created in C:\Chrome\User Data\.
  3. The user profiles will be duplicated from the directory as specified in the sFolderChromeUserDataDefault variable, which is C:\Chrome\User Data\2\ by default.
    After the first Chrome installation, set your preferences (Home page, bookmarks, ..). Then modify the variable (see 3.) in the source code. After that, installing and configuring Chrome is as easy as pie.

The only dependency is 7-zip, expected to be located at C:\Program Files\7-zip\7z.exe.

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