Why is it, that if i open external links, like from an email, another instance of Brave is opened, with all my installed extensions missing? That’s very bad. Is there any way to avoid Brave to open other windows than the main one? I don’t need several instances, especially with my extensions missing. How can i configure Brave, that only one single instance is used?
Please repost or edit this post reflect the template and guidelines and we’d be more than happy to assist you.
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FWIW, the browser is not supposed to be opening “new instances” or even new windows. Please provide the relevant information and we can help troubleshoot this issue.
Obviously i have searched the whole internet already, and it doesn’t seem to be a fix here. Also, how can “browser support / Windows” be the wrong category? How am i supposed to know, what would be a better category? And yes, i have skipped that template, because i had a very simple issue here and do not want to perform any chores before i even can ask about that simple thing.
I am using a link in my file browser, that opens a portable version of Brave. This version has some mouse gestures installed, a “read this later” extension, a tab suspender and a few other things.
However, if i open a link from my mail client, another instance of Brave is opening, having none of the above extensions. I have Windows set to use Brave as the standard browser.
So, to refer to your template, i expect to open a new tab in my already open Brave instance, which has the extensions i want to use, instead of opening another Brave window, that has not those extensions, nor the browsing history or the internal settings, i have set in Brave.
I am using a portable version of Brave in order to avoid any data leakage inside Windows, where potentially critical stuff would end up in some “temp” folders, whithout me knowing it.
Thanks!
OS is Windows 11 Pro, 24H2
@an100h the template and its questions exist for a reason. What you’re describing isn’t simple, because it’s not how the browser behaves by default. That’s why details like your exact Brave version, operating system, and setup are essential.
I am using a link in my file browser, that opens a portable version of Brave
Where did you get this “portable version”? Brave doesn’t officially provide one, and that could very well be the root of your issue.
do not want to perform any chores
That’s not realistic. It’s like asking a mechanic to diagnose a car issue without saying what kind it is or any basic things you have already tried to do to fix it. Or a doctor to treat you without knowing your symptoms or anything about you. The details matter if you want useful help.
Skipping the basic info only drags things out and forces people to keep asking for clarification, which wastes time.
This version
You didn’t say which version.
Windows
Which one? Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11? (You later mentioned 11 Pro, but didn’t say it initially.)
i expect to open a new tab in my already open Brave instance, which has the extensions i want to use
That depends on your configuration, which brings us back to:
I am using a portable version
Please explain exactly how you set it up. Did you download it from Brave’s GitHub, or from a third-party source?
From your description, it sounds like Brave may be launching in a new profile or private window each time, but without more detail, it’s impossible to be certain.
You using from portapps?
That happens because your portable Brave isn’t registered as the system’s default browser. When you click a link from an email, Windows launches the regular brave.exe without the portable launcher’s settings. That opens a new, clean profile with no extensions.
To fix it, set your default browser to the portable launcher executable (the one that includes --user-data-dir= in its command line), not the internal brave.exe. That way, all links open in the same profile with your extensions and data intact.
If your portable package allows it, you can also add this switch manually to the shortcut used as default:
--user-data-dir="path\to\your\portable\data"
This ensures external links use the same session instead of starting a fresh one.
That looks promising, but i don’t have a command line here. If i try to append that bit in the properties menu, Windows complains about illegal characters.
But the real issue seems to be, that Windows 11 is too stupid to accept to open brave-portable-user.exe, instead of brave.exe, even though i’m explicitely tell it to open the first one.
But having said that, i’,m basically tired of waiting for Portapps to update their apps in a decent manner (instead of months going by without updates).
Therefore i consider to give up the portable version, to have it replaced with a regular install.
The only issue here is, as stated, to avoid browsing fragments being scattered somewhere in C:, inside some temp folders, which would work against the privacy idea of the Brave Browser.
So, if i could
a) transfer my settings, passwords, extensions to the installed version, and
b) prevent Brave from writing any kind of data outside my encrypted container, which is not on C:
it would be the better solution. Please let me know, if i’d have to open a new post for this to achieve.
Thanks to all you guys, Mattches, Saoiray and Hikane!
So to clarify, you’ve now downloaded the browser via the installer from our website and you’ve installed it in your container already?
No, i downloaded the portable Version from the Portapps website. It’s version 1.80.115, no newer version available yet. And yes, i installed that version directly in my container and run it from there.