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To open one website in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox without changing your Windows default, launch that browser with the website address as an argument—or make a shortcut that does it for you. Change the default browser only if you want most ordinary web links to use it. The steps below apply to Windows 10 and Windows 11; Settings labels and browser installation paths can vary by version and setup.
Quick answer: launch the browser with the URL
Press Win+R, enter a browser command followed by the URL, and press Enter. For example:
"C:Program FilesGoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe" "https://example.com"
"C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe" "https://example.com"
"%ProgramFiles(x86)%MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe" "https://example.com"These are common paths, not guaranteed locations. If Windows cannot find the browser, use the steps below to locate its actual executable. Quote both the path and URL; this is especially important when the path contains spaces.
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start "" chrome "https://example.com"
start "" msedge "https://example.com"
start "" firefox "https://example.com"The short names depend on the installation and whether the executable is available through PATH or an app alias. For reliability, use the full executable path. In each start command, the empty quoted string ("") reserves the window-title argument; without it, a quoted executable path may be interpreted as the title.
Choose the right method
| Your goal | Use this |
|---|---|
| Open most web links in one browser | Set the Windows default browser |
| Open one site in a particular browser | Launch its executable with the URL, or create a shortcut |
| Always open a shortcut in Edge | Use the microsoft-edge: URI scheme |
| Keep accounts, cookies, or extensions separate | Use a separate browser profile or user-data directory |
| Open a site without retaining the normal session history | Use the browser’s private-window option |
Set the default browser in Windows
Windows normally sends ordinary http: and https: links to the browser assigned to those protocols. Default app assignments can be made by application, protocol, or file type. Microsoft’s instructions for changing default apps cover the Windows association system.
Windows 11
- Open Start > Settings.
- Go to Apps > Default apps.
- Search for and select the browser you want.
- Select Set default if that button is available. If not, review the listed associations and assign the browser to
HTTPandHTTPS; assign.htmand.htmltoo if you want those file types opened there.
For Chrome, Google documents the path Settings > Apps > Default apps > Chrome > Set default on supported Windows versions. See Google’s Chrome default-browser instructions.
Windows 10
- Open Start > Settings.
- Select Apps > Default apps.
- Under Web browser, select the current browser and choose the one you want.
Windows releases and browser versions may present these controls differently. Changing the default is not the same as forcing every app to use that browser: an app may use its own link preference, an embedded web view, or a browser-specific link scheme. Microsoft documents http: and https: as default-browser schemes, while microsoft-edge: specifically targets Edge. See Microsoft’s URI-scheme documentation.
Create a desktop shortcut for a specific browser
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop and select New > Shortcut.
- In Type the location of the item, enter the browser executable, a space, and the URL. For example:
"C:Program FilesGoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe" "https://example.com" - Select Next, give the shortcut a clear name such as
Example site – Chrome, then select Finish.
For Firefox or Edge, replace the executable path as appropriate:
"C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe" "https://example.com"
"%ProgramFiles(x86)%MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe" "https://example.com"If you do not know the path, search for the browser in Start, right-click it, and select Open file location. In the folder that opens, right-click the browser shortcut and choose Properties; copy its Target path, then append the URL after it. Installations may be per-user, 32-bit or 64-bit, managed by an organization, or in a custom location. Edge’s stable executable is commonly under %ProgramFiles(x86)%MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe, but do not assume that path is universal. Microsoft’s Edge developer documentation also describes common Edge installation locations.
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Use a distinct shortcut name—and, if useful, a distinct icon—for each browser, such as Work portal – Edge and Testing – Firefox.
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Windows supports the Edge-specific URI scheme:
microsoft-edge:https://example.com/Use it as the location in a shortcut, or run it with start in Command Prompt:
start "" "microsoft-edge:https://example.com/"This targets Edge even when another browser is the Windows default. It is not a general way to choose Chrome, Firefox, or another browser; use that browser’s executable instead. Microsoft documents the microsoft-edge: scheme.
Run a browser command from Command Prompt or a batch file
Use start "" followed by the executable and URL. With an explicit path:
start "" "C:Program FilesGoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe" "https://example.com"
start "" "C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe" "https://example.com"
start "" "%ProgramFiles(x86)%MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe" "https://example.com"Firefox also documents options such as -url, --new-window, --new-tab, and --private-window. For example:
start "" "C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe" --new-window "https://example.com"For a reusable batch file, define the URL once and keep the executable and URL quoted:
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@echo off
set "URL=https://example.com"
start "" "%ProgramFiles(x86)%MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe" "%URL%"Check that the executable exists if the script needs to work across computers. Avoid passing untrusted, unvalidated text into a script as a URL. Mozilla’s command-line documentation lists Firefox’s launch options.
Use PowerShell
Start-Process launches the selected executable and passes the URL as an argument:
Start-Process "C:Program FilesGoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe" `
-ArgumentList "https://example.com"Start-Process "C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe" `
-ArgumentList "https://example.com"Start-Process "$env:ProgramFiles(x86)MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe" `
-ArgumentList "https://example.com"For Edge’s URI scheme, you can also run:
Start-Process "microsoft-edge:https://example.com/"When building a script that accepts a URL as input, pass it as one argument and validate untrusted input rather than assembling a command line from arbitrary text. Shell and argument parsing can be sensitive to quoting, particularly with special characters.
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If the real goal is to keep work and personal accounts, cookies, history, or extensions apart, opening a different browser is not the only option. Chromium browsers support a separate user-data directory. For example:
start "" msedge --user-data-dir="%TEMP%Edge-Test-Profile" "https://example.com"
start "" chrome --user-data-dir="%TEMP%Chrome-Test-Profile" "https://example.com"A new directory starts a separate browser data environment, which can be useful for testing. Chrome documents --user-data-dir in its command-line flags documentation. Edge’s current profile path can be viewed at edge://version/; Microsoft also documents its user-data directory behavior and policy.
- Do not use the same custom directory simultaneously for separate browser processes unless the browser supports that arrangement.
- Do not casually repurpose your normal profile directory as a test profile.
- A separate profile is not private or anonymous by itself; it has its own data and may have different extensions, saved credentials, and policies.
- A directory under
%TEMP%may be removed, so do not store data there that you need to keep. - An organization policy can override a command-line profile setting. If the profile fails to start, check whether the directory is writable and whether policy or another process is controlling it.
Open a site in a private window
Private-window switches are browser-specific. Examples include:
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start "" chrome --incognito "https://example.com"
start "" msedge --inprivate "https://example.com"
start "" firefox --private-window "https://example.com"Confirm the switch works with your installed browser version and executable. Firefox documents --private-window in its command-line parameters.
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Can you right-click a link and choose a browser?
Windows does not provide a universal built-in Open with Chrome/Firefox/Edge command for arbitrary web links. Normal http: and https: links use their assigned Windows handlers. To choose a different browser for an individual link, copy the URL and paste it into that browser, or use a browser-specific shortcut or command. A context-menu option generally requires a separate utility, extension plus helper, or custom configuration; check its compatibility and privacy implications before installing one.
Troubleshooting
Windows says it cannot find the browser
The executable path is wrong or the browser is installed somewhere else. Find the browser’s Start-menu shortcut, open its file location, and copy the executable path from Properties > Target. Paths under Program Files are common, but a per-user installation may be under your user folder’s AppData. Do not treat example paths as guaranteed.
The shortcut opens my default browser instead
If the shortcut contains only https://example.com, Windows uses the assigned URL handler. Edit the shortcut so its target begins with the chosen browser executable and then the URL, such as:
"C:Program FilesGoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe" "https://example.com"Edge opens even though another browser is the default
Check whether the link begins with microsoft-edge:, originates in an app with its own link-handling preference, or opens in an embedded web view. A managed-device policy may also affect behavior. The Windows default applies to the relevant protocol associations; it does not guarantee that every application will honor it for every kind of link.
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A command with a quoted path behaves strangely
In Command Prompt, use the empty title argument after start:
start "" "C:Path Tobrowser.exe" "https://example.com"The first empty string keeps start from treating the quoted executable path as the window title.
The wrong profile opens, or a custom profile will not start
Confirm the user-data directory is spelled and quoted correctly, writable, and not already in use by another process. Policies may override a profile-directory argument; removable, network, or encrypted storage may also be unavailable. On Edge, inspect the active profile location at edge://version/.
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Changing the default did not affect a particular link
In Settings > Apps > Default apps, review the browser’s HTTP and HTTPS associations and, if relevant, .htm and .html. Then check the originating app’s link preference, whether the link uses microsoft-edge:, and whether the device is managed. Some apps display pages in an embedded web view rather than launching a browser.
Safety note
A browser shortcut does not make a website trustworthy or bypass browser, website, or workplace security controls. Avoid putting passwords, API keys, or confidential tokens in shortcut URLs, where they may be exposed in shortcut properties, command history, or logs.
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