What is Chromium used for?

Chromium is the open-source browser project that provides the code base behind Google Chrome and many other browsers. It is a good fit for studying a major browser engine codebase and basis for building a customized browser.

Is Chromium open source?

Yes. Chromium is open source under the BSD-3-Clause licence. Its source code is on GitHub at chromium/chromium.

Yes. Chromium is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Chromium?

Yes. Chromium can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is Chromium an alternative to?

Chromium is an open-source alternative to Google Chrome. Other open-source alternatives to Google Chrome include Ungoogled Chromium, Ladybird and Brave Browser.

Is Chromium actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Chromium was on 2 October 2026. The project has 25k stars on GitHub.

Chromium: open-source alternative to Google Chrome

About Chromium

Chromium is an open-source browser project whose stated aim is a safer, faster and more stable web experience for all users. This GitHub repository is the official mirror of the Chromium source code, published under the BSD-3-Clause license. The project's main site is chromium.org, and the code is primarily C++ along with other languages.

The README warns that you should not use git clone to fetch the source; instead, follow the project's instructions on how to get the code. Documentation inside the source tree is rooted in docs/README.md, and a guide explains the directory structure. New top-level directories are meant for products such as Chrome, Android WebView and Ash, with their code in subdirectories. Bugs are filed on the Chromium issue tracker at crbug.com rather than on GitHub.

Key features

Open-source browser project source code
Official mirror of the Chromium repository
Product directories for Chrome and Android WebView
Documentation rooted in docs/README.md
Issues tracked at crbug.com
BSD-3-Clause licensed code

Good fit for

→Studying a major browser engine codebase
→Basis for building a customized browser

Tags: browser; chromium; web-browser; open-source; blink; chrome; source-code; web-platform

Chromium: questions and answers

What is Chromium used for?: Chromium is the open-source browser project that provides the code base behind Google Chrome and many other browsers. It is a good fit for studying a major browser engine codebase and basis for building a customized browser.
Is Chromium open source?: Yes. Chromium is open source under the BSD-3-Clause licence. Its source code is on GitHub at chromium/chromium.
Is Chromium free?: Yes. Chromium is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Chromium?: Yes. Chromium can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is Chromium an alternative to?: Chromium is an open-source alternative to Google Chrome. Other open-source alternatives to Google Chrome include Ungoogled Chromium, Ladybird and Brave Browser.
Is Chromium actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Chromium was on 2 October 2026. The project has 25k stars on GitHub.