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

Question

This fabulous answer suggests there’s no way to run multiple versions of Google Chrome on one machine.

Every now and then you’ll get a website user stuck on an old version of Chrome (no idea how, but it happens — maybe they installed the standalone version?) with an issue, and you need to be able to verify it. Bit difficult to do that without their browser version around.

Does anyone know if there’s actually a way to do this? I.e.

1. Obtain an installer for an older version of Google Chrome (Google seems to keep very quiet about versions, which is great for users, less great for developers trying to support old versions)
2. Run two versions of Google Chrome on one machine

Answer 1

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:Chrome18.0.1024.45chrome.exe" --user-data-dir="..User Data18" --chrome-version=18.0.1025.45
   

   Explanation of this shortcut:

   • "C:Chrome18.0.1024.45chrome.exe" • This is the launcher
   • --user-data-dir="..User Data18" • User profile, relative to the location of chrome.exe. You could also have used --user-data-dir="C:ChromeUser Data18" 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.

• Disable auto-updates: http://dev.chromium.org/administrators/turning-off-auto-updates

(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)

VB Script which automates install, config & launch

I've created a VB script which installs and configures Chrome (tested in XP and Win 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:ChromeUser Data.
3. The user profiles will be duplicated from the directory as specified in the sFolderChromeUserDataDefault variable, which is C:ChromeUser Data2 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 Files7-zip7z.exe.