Google doesn't make it easy for users to download a stable build of Chromium. If you just download the latest version, fine, but you might be getting an unstable version in between releases. I want a stable Chromium!
After years of trying, this is the process I've settled on - on macOS ARM:
- Find the build number you want to get. For me, that was 1056772. I found it by browsing Puppetteer. Yes you read that right. I found it in the release notes
- Go to https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/chromium-browser-snapshots/index.html?prefix=Mac_Arm/1056772/ - but set the last segment of the path to the build number you picked.
- Download the app and put it in /Applications/Chromium.app
- If you get an error saying that the file is damaged, run
xattr -cr /Applications/Chromium.appto remove the quarantaine attribute - open /Applications/Chromium.app
Yeah that's harder than it should be
I want Chromium in addition to Chrome, which is my main driver. Honestly the reason is to have a secondary browser that's only used for development and testing my web app. It basically only ever opens localhost:8080 or whatever. No Gmail, no Slack.
The big advantage is that my Chromium is pristine. It doesn't have any plugins that could interfere. Plus, I have it bound to open or focus when I press Cmd-7 so I can jump there quickly without having to dig through a dozen of tabs.
Also, so long as I don't update, the version I pick just stays put, which for development is a plus.
One alternative I haven't tried is to use the homebrew cask