PortableApps.com is a website that distributes free applications for Windows that have been packaged for portability.[3] These portable applications are intended to be used from removable storage devices such as USB flash drives.[4]
The site was founded by John T. Haller and includes contributions from over 100 people, including developers, designers, and translators.[1]
History
PortableApps.com started out as a Haller's personal website hosting a portable version of Mozilla Firefox in March 2004.[5][6] He then expanded the project to include Mozilla Thunderbird and OpenOffice.org. The open-source group of portable programs outgrew his personal website and he moved it to a community site, PortableApps.com.[7] The site currently hosts various projects created by forum members, and is also used for bug reporting and suggestions.[8] Some PortableApps distributions are hosted on SourceForge.[9]
Format
Application installers designed for use with the PortableApps.com menu follow the convention of using filenames ending in a
PortableApps.com Launcher
The PortableApps.com Launcher (also known as PAL) is used to make applications portable by handling path redirection, environment variable changes, file and directory movement, configuration file path updates. and similar changes, as configured.[12] The PortableApps.com Launcher allows software to be made portable without any modification. All modern apps use PAL and the installers are made using the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System. In 2024, the ability to target apps by license type was added to the PortableApps.com Launcher.[13]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Our Team". PortableApps.com. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
- ↑ "PortableApps.com Release News". Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ↑ "USB-Stick-Helfer: Die 10 besten Boot-Sticks und Toolkits". connect-living (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-12.
- ↑ Hamilton, Ginny. "When people freely share, it makes things better for everyone | Opensource.com". opensource.com. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
- ↑ "About PortableApps.com". Retrieved 2013-02-11.
- ↑ Peers, Nick (2013-05-30). "Browse the web more safely in Firefox Portable Edition with Private Browsing add-on". PC & Tech Authority. Archived from the original on 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
- ↑ "PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB, portable, and cloud drives". PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB, portable, and cloud drives. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ↑ Haller, John T. (February 22, 2008). "PortableApps.com Update (Week of Feb 18, 2007)". PortableApps.com - General Forums » General Discussion. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- ↑ Haller, John T.; Morgan, Chris; MarkoMLM. "PortableApps.com: Portable Software/USB". portableapps project on SourceForge. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ↑ "Application Compatibility". PortableApps.com. 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
- ↑ Haller, John T. (2010-04-27). "Ending Windows 95/98/Me Support". PortableApps.com. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
- ↑ "PortableApps.com Launcher". PortableApps.com. 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
- ↑ Peers, Nick (2024-01-19). "PortableApps Platform 29.0 adds new license filter for app store". betanews.com. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
