Microsoft strongly recommends the Evergreen model for the vast majority of scenarios. It’s the tested, well-documented, and future-proof path.
Because the Evergreen runtime is system-wide, Windows can share binary pages across multiple processes. If the user runs your WPF app, a WinUI 3 app, and a PowerShell WebView2 script simultaneously, they all share the same Chromium binaries in RAM, reducing overhead dramatically. evergreen webview2
Microsoft offers two distribution modes for the WebView2 Runtime: Fixed Version and Evergreen. Microsoft strongly recommends the Evergreen model for the
The Evergreen mode is the default and most recommended approach. In this model: Because the Evergreen runtime is system-wide, Windows can
| Feature | Evergreen | Fixed Version | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Automatic security updates | Yes (Microsoft) | No (You handle) | | App installer size | Small | Large | | Disk usage (per app) | Shared (~1 copy) | Duplicated (N copies) | | Control over version | Low (Microsoft decides) | Total (You decide) | | Works offline (air-gapped) | Requires pre-install | Yes (bundled) | | No admin rights required | No (system-wide) | Yes (app-local) |
Recommendation: Start with Evergreen. Switch to Fixed Version only if you have a concrete requirement (air-gap, version lock, or no admin rights).
Chromium is a massive attack surface. Vulnerabilities are discovered frequently. In an Evergreen model, Microsoft patches the runtime in the background. Your app automatically inherits these security fixes without you needing to recompile or redistribute a new installer.
