What portable browser? USB alternative, no install
A portable browser is a technical choice: the whole program lives in a directory you can move, with relative paths and no dependence on Windows Program Files. Capsule was designed as that folder — about 15 MB native — not as an installed browser zipped after the fact. Repacks exist, but they still carry the fingerprint of the original installer. Capsule starts from the folder by design.
What “portable” really means — directory layout, not a logo on a zip
A self-contained tree
Portable, in engineering, means the binary, its libraries and its user data can sit beside each other in one tree. You clone the folder, rename the folder and keep a working copy before a tour. Capsule is designed that way. A PortableApps package of Chrome or Firefox is a launcher plus someone else’s install-class payload — useful, but still a wrap. The Chrome Portable, Firefox Portable and Opera Portable alternative pages all name that honestly. Capsule’s unique claim is a native layout rather than a compatibility executable whose job is to pretend Chrome is small. Measure the directory: if it looks like a Google tree, it is not this portable browser.
Relative paths on a machine someone else owns
Installed browsers write to AppData, registries, Launch Services and update channels. A portable browser should not need those privileges to start. Capsule launches from the folder you copied onto an SSD in a backpack or a working directory on a desk. There is no admin on Windows, Mac or Linux. You can keep two versions side by side because they are two directories rather than two registered products fighting over a default handler. That is operations. The USB-as-media story is a different page — the USB-browser guide — because a portable folder can also live on an internal disk. One binary, several search phrases.
Hygiene inside the folder
A moved tree still needs a lock when the PC is shared. Capsule can sit behind PIN plus Windows Hello. Vault stays encrypted on this device, Capsule does not hold the master password and auto-lock runs at 5, 15 or 30 minutes. History stays on this PC and tracker blocking can stay on. When you unplug or close the folder, you have not gifted the host a Chrome User Data tree. Zero tracking is a vendor stance rather than a Tor circuit — the private-browser and Tor-browser pages carry the vocabulary. Portable is not anonymity. Portable is that the product is the directory.
A wrap never granted ASIO
Moving Chrome into a folder does not punch through Blink’s audio sandbox. Nightclub PRO inside Capsule does: ASIO under 5 ms, WASAPI Exclusive, CoreAudio and JACK. MIDI and DVS act as a bridge, four decks mix offline like historical DJ software, Icecast needs a network and the PRO licence has a seven-day grace. The pro-audio page carries the setup. You can ignore all of that and still want a portable browser for SaaS tabs on a locked PC — the architecture remains the point of this slug. Size as a number lives on the 15 MB page; RAM feeling lives on the lightweight-browser page.
Use this portable browser — copy the tree, stop wrapping Chrome
- Put Capsule from the download into a folder you control. Clone it before the trip and treat versions like plugin packs rather than Windows defaults.
- If you only needed a stick, see the USB-browser guide; if you only hated wizards, see the no-install-browser guide. Folder architecture is this page.
- For wraps, see the Chrome Portable alternative; for the native audio bridge, see the pro-audio page.
- The Capsule home page summarises the product in one line.
FAQ
Is Capsule a Portable browser?
Yes. Capsule is a native Portable browser: a self-contained ~15 MB folder, not a PortableApps wrap. /download.
Is portable the same as USB?
No. Portable is the directory model. USB is the medium. /news/usb-browser.
Can I keep Capsule on an internal SSD?
Yes. A Portable browser folder does not require flash media. Copy it wherever you have write access without admin.
Is Chrome Portable the same architecture?
No. That is a wrapper around Chrome. /news/alternative-to-chrome-portable.
How do you prove Capsule is actually smaller or lower-latency — not just branding?
Weigh the copied Capsule folder (about 15 MB stated; Demucs extra). Launch with no admin. For audio: Settings > Audio, buffer 128 at 48 kHz ≈ 2.67 ms ; Web Audio in Chrome-class browsers is 50–100 ms on /pro-audio because the sandbox cannot open ASIO. Komby Limited. No invented competitor installer sizes.
Do I still need Dashlane, 1Password or Bitwarden if I use Capsule?
Not for the local vault job. Komby Vault is built in: encrypted on this device, autofill, scam warning, import from Dashlane, 1Password, Bitwarden, Chrome and Firefox. It is not Dashlane’s cloud sync. Keep a cloud manager only if you require their SaaS. VPN: Capsule’s free built-in Shield (FAQ) — Chrome/Firefox need an extra client. Nightclub audio is a separate PRO licence. Komby Limited. /download.
What makes Capsule a motion-design browser — is that just marketing?
Check the chrome. Changelog 3.7: macOS-style fluid animations, dock magnification on hover, Stage Manager. 3.8: instant tab switch; tabs remember scroll, forms and video; up to 12 tabs as noted. 3.12: no previous-page flash, snappier start, live address bar. Chrome/Firefox do not ship that dock. Safari’s motion is the Apple OS, not a ~15 MB USB browser. No invented animation numbers. Komby Limited. /download.
Is Capsule the first portable browser in the world?
No. Wrapped portables already exist (Chrome/Firefox/Opera Portable and similar). Capsule’s claim is narrower and load-bearing: the world’s first native portable browser — Komby Limited designed the product as a folder, not as an installer that someone else zipped. Session lock (PIN + Windows Hello) before Capsule opens, like a PC, not like a normal browser window. /download.