Branding Chromium Binaries

Use the DotNetBrowser.Branding NuGet package in .NET applications that use DotNetBrowser.

If you only need unpacked Chromium binaries for build or publish output, see Pre-extracting Chromium binaries.

DotNetBrowser deploys Chromium binaries together with the library. In most applications, DotNetBrowser extracts and uses these binaries automatically. The package described here is useful when you need more control over branding, deployment, and white-label output:

• DotNetBrowser.Branding applies custom branding to DotNetBrowser Chromium binaries during dotnet publish. It also includes the extraction tasks, so it can extract Chromium binaries before applying branding.

This package is configured through MSBuild properties in the application project file.

Prerequisites 

Before you start, make sure that your application project references the DotNetBrowser API package and a platform-specific Chromium package that matches the target runtime. The API package provides the .NET APIs used by the application, while the Chromium package provides the corresponding Chromium binaries that the branding tool processes.

For the complete list of supported packages and platform-specific installation options, see Installing from NuGet.

DotNetBrowser.Branding 

DotNetBrowser.Branding is an MSBuild task package that applies custom branding to DotNetBrowser Chromium binaries during dotnet publish.

Use this package when you need white-label Chromium binaries for your application, for example, to change the executable name, product metadata, process display name, icons, or macOS bundle information.

The package includes the Chromium extraction tasks internally. If the branding source is a DotNetBrowser.Chromium.*.dll assembly or a publish directory that contains one, extraction runs before branding.

Internally, DotNetBrowser.Branding uses the chromium_branding command-line tool. It customizes DotNetBrowser Chromium binaries by changing platform-specific branding details, such as executable names, process display names, icons, version information, copyright and product metadata, and macOS bundle information. It supports Windows, macOS, and Linux Chromium binaries.

The NuGet package invokes the tool from MSBuild, so you do not need to run chromium_branding manually.

Install DotNetBrowser.Branding 

Add the package to your application project:

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="DotNetBrowser.Branding"
                    Version="..."
                    PrivateAssets="all" />
</ItemGroup>

PrivateAssets="all" is recommended for application projects because this package provides build and publish tasks.

Minimal branding configuration 

Create a branding parameters file, for example branding.params.json, and enable branding in the project file:

<PropertyGroup>
  <DotNetBrowserBrandingEnabled>true</DotNetBrowserBrandingEnabled>
  <DotNetBrowserBrandingParamsFile>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)/branding.params.json</DotNetBrowserBrandingParamsFile>
</PropertyGroup>

Then publish the application:

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64

Branding runs after Publish. By default, the package:

• uses $(PublishDir) as the branding source;
• extracts Chromium binaries automatically if the source contains a Chromium assembly;
• writes branded binaries to $(PublishDir)branded/;
• appends a platform-specific subdirectory such as WindowsX64, LinuxX64, MacX64, or MacArm64.

The final output path is logged as DotNetBrowserBrandedOutputPath.

Branding parameters file 

The branding parameters file is a JSON file consumed by the bundled chromium_branding tool.

Example:

{
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "win": {
    "executableName": "myapp",
    "processDisplayName": "My App",
    "legalCopyright": "© 2026 MyCompany",
    "author": "MyCompany",
    "productName": "MyApp",
    "icoPath": "assets/app.ico",
    "signCommand": "echo @@BINARY_PATH@@"
  },
  "mac": {
    "bundle": {
      "name": "MyApp",
      "id": "com.mycompany.myapp"
    },
    "icnsPath": "assets/app.icns",
    "codesignIdentity": "${CODESIGN_IDENTITY}",
    "codesignEntitlements": "assets/entitlements.plist",
    "provisioningProfile": "assets/app.provisionprofile",
    "teamID": "${TEAM_ID}",
    "appleID": "${APPLE_ID}",
    "password": "${PASSWORD}"
  },
  "linux": {
    "executableName": "myapp"
  }
}

Relative asset paths, such as icoPath, icnsPath, and codesignEntitlements, are resolved against the directory that contains branding.params.json by default. You can override the base directory with the DotNetBrowserBrandingAssetsBasePath MSBuild property.

Supported branding options 

The following options are commonly used in branding.params.json.

Windows 

macOS 

Linux 

Branding properties 

Use branded binaries at application startup 

Configure DotNetBrowser to use the branded output directory via EngineOptions.ChromiumDirectory.

The value should point to the base branded directory. DotNetBrowser appends the current platform subdirectory automatically.

string chromiumDirectory = Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, "branded");

IEngine engine = EngineFactory.Create(new EngineOptions.Builder
{
    ChromiumDirectory = chromiumDirectory
}.Build());

Dim chromiumDirectory As String =
    Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, "branded")

Dim engine As IEngine = EngineFactory.Create(
    New EngineOptions.Builder() With {
        .ChromiumDirectory = chromiumDirectory
    }.Build()
)

For a publish output where branding writes to publish/branded/WindowsX64, set ChromiumDirectory to publish/branded.

Build and publish workflow 

A typical branding workflow looks like this:

1. Add DotNetBrowser and the platform-specific Chromium package to the application project.
2. Add DotNetBrowser.Branding.
3. Create branding.params.json.
4. Configure DotNetBrowserBrandingEnabled and DotNetBrowserBrandingParamsFile in the project file.
5. Publish for the target runtime identifier.
6. Deploy the branded output directory together with the application.

Example Windows x64 publish command:

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64

Example Linux x64 publish command:

dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64

Example macOS ARM64 publish command:

dotnet publish -c Release -r osx-arm64

Run each command on the same OS family as the target runtime.