Auto-Updates

Configure automatic updates for Android, Windows, and Linux

Cromite supports automatic updates across Android, Windows, and Linux platforms. Stay up-to-date with the latest security patches and features.

Android Auto-Updates

Built-in Update Notifications

Cromite includes a built-in auto-updater that checks for new releases automatically.

Auto-update notifications are enabled by default since version 94.0.4606.109.

1. First Launch

   During the first startup, you’ll be prompted to activate the auto-updater functionality. Choose whether to enable automatic update notifications.

2. Automatic Checks

   When enabled, Cromite checks the GitHub releases every 3 days for new updates.

3. Update Notifications

   You’ll receive notifications when a new version is available and can install updates directly through the notification.

Managing Update Settings

You can enable or disable update notifications at any time:

1. Open Settings

   Navigate to Settings in Cromite.

2. About Cromite

   Go to About Cromite section.

3. Toggle Updates

   Enable or disable the update notification setting.

No cookies are used when checking for updates. Cromite only interacts with the GitHub releases page. See the GitHub Privacy Statement for details.

F-Droid Repository

Alternatively, install Cromite via F-Droid for automatic updates through the F-Droid app.

Add Repository

Add the official Cromite F-Droid repository to your F-Droid client:

https://www.cromite.org/fdroid/repo/

Fingerprint:

49F37E74DEE483DCA2B991334FB5A0200787430D0B5F9A783DD5F13695E9517B

Install

1. Open F-Droid app
2. Go to Settings → Repositories
3. Add the Cromite repository URL
4. Update repository list
5. Search for “Cromite” and install

Cromite is not available on the official F-Droid repository, only through the custom Cromite repository.

Windows Auto-Updates

Cromite for Windows uses chrlauncher to manage automatic updates.

Prerequisites

1. Download chrlauncher

   Download chrlauncher from the official releases page.

2. Extract Files

   Extract chrlauncher to your desired installation directory.

Configuration

Create a chrlauncher.ini file in the same directory as chrlauncher:

chrlauncher.ini (Basic)

[chrlauncher]

# Custom Chromium update URL (string):
ChromiumUpdateUrl=https://github.com/uazo/cromite/releases/latest/download/updateurl.txt

# Command line for Chromium (string):
# note --user-data-dir= works better if path is absolute
# See here: http://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-command-line-switches/
ChromiumCommandLine=--user-data-dir="%LOCALAPPDATA%\Cromite\User Data" --no-default-browser-check

# Chromium executable file name (string):
ChromiumBinary=chrome.exe

# Chromium binaries directory (string):
# Relative (to chrlauncher directory) or full path (env. variables supported).
ChromiumDirectory=.\bin

To prevent Microsoft Defender from deleting files each time the browser updates, add the user-data-dir folder to your exclusions list.

Enable Network Process Sandbox

For enhanced security, enable the network process sandbox manually:

1. Open Command Prompt

   Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

2. Navigate to Directory

   Change to the directory where chrome.exe is located:

   cd C:\path\to\cromite\bin
   
3. Run icacls Command

   Execute the following command:

   icacls . /grant "*S-1-15-2-2:(OI)(CI)(RX)"
   

This command grants the necessary permissions for the network sandbox. See issue #51 for details.

Enable Renderer AppContainer

Highly recommended for additional security.

Activate the RendererAppContainer flag by adding it to your command line:

ChromiumCommandLine=--enable-features=RendererAppContainer --user-data-dir="%LOCALAPPDATA%\Cromite\User Data" --no-default-browser-check

The icacls command must also be executed when using RendererAppContainer.

Linux Auto-Updates

Linux auto-update functionality is currently under development.

Track progress in issue #771.

Manual Updates

Until auto-update support is available, manually update Cromite on Linux:

1. Download Latest Release

   Download chrome-lin64.tar.gz from the latest release.

2. Extract Archive

   tar -xzf chrome-lin64.tar.gz
   
3. Replace Existing Files

   Copy the extracted files to your Cromite installation directory, replacing existing files.

Ubuntu 24.04 Compatibility

Ubuntu 24.04 and derivatives (Kubuntu, etc.) use AppArmor restrictions that may prevent Cromite from running.

AppArmor Profile (Recommended)

Create an AppArmor profile for Cromite:

1. Create Profile

   Create /etc/apparmor.d/cromite with the following content:

   abi <abi/4.0>,
   include <tunables/global>
   
   profile cromite /home/user/cromite/chrome-lin/chrome flags=(unconfined) {
     userns,
   
     include if exists <local/chrome>
   }
   

   Replace /home/user/cromite/chrome-lin/chrome with your actual Cromite binary path.

2. Apply Profile

   Run:

   sudo apparmor_parser -r /etc/apparmor.d/cromite
   

Temporary Disable

Disable the restriction until next reboot:

sudo sysctl -w kernel.apparmor_restrict_unprivileged_userns=0

This change is lost on reboot.

Permanent Disable

Permanently disable the restriction:

1. Edit Configuration

   Add the following line to /etc/sysctl.d/60-apparmor-namespace.conf (create if it doesn’t exist):

   kernel.apparmor_restrict_unprivileged_userns=0
   
2. Reboot

   Reboot your system for the change to take effect.

Available Releases

All Cromite releases are available on GitHub:

Android Packages

• ARM64: arm64_ChromePublic.apk
• ARM32: arm_ChromePublic.apk
• x86_64: x64_ChromePublic.apk

Desktop Packages

• Linux: chrome-lin64.tar.gz
• Windows: chrome-win.zip

Additional Files

• chrlauncher config: updateurl.txt
• System WebView: arm64_SystemWebView.apk, x64_SystemWebView.apk
• Debug symbols: *_symbols.zip

Additional files may not be immediately available as they’re built separately from the main release process.