Complete release notes from the snipe-x64-base GitHub tags (with publish dates), plus Archive.org follow-ups and Chromium 140 web-platform features kept in Snipe. Newer entries first.
Same Chromium version string does not mean same ship date. Legacy platforms were cut later with their own compatibility layers. Vista 144, XP 144, and Android 147 are separate tracks from desktop 140.
v140xp — legacy One-Core-API build (superseded by 144 xp-mk2)
16 Jun 2026
140.0.7339.127
Windows 7 SP1
v140win7 — Win7 kernel compatibility patch set
14 Jun 2026
140.0.7339.127
Windows 9 TP
v140win9 — resource-constrained W9TP profile
14 Jun 2026
140.0.7339.127
Windows 8 / 8.1
v140win8+81 — legacy kernel wrapper / API shims
12 Jun 2026
140.0.7339.127
Windows 10/11 · 32-bit
v140-32bit — x86 / WOW64 modern desktop
9 Jun 2026
140.0.7339.127
Windows 10/11 · 64-bit
v140.0.7339.127 — first public desktop build
—
140.0.7339.127
Ubuntu / openSUSE
Same engine line on Archive.org (.deb / Flatpak / .rpm) — not a snipe-x64-base tag
—
147.0.7727.56
Android 10+ · arm64
Separate Chromium 147 track · Archive.org APK
New track · Windows Server 2003 · 2 August 2026
Snipe 144.0.7559.256 · Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 / R2 · 32-bit · Chromium 144.0.7559.256 · 2003-VC2 · Archive.org · UA Win2003/3790
Dedicated Server 2003 SKU, separate from the Windows XP xp-mk2 / VC10 package. Own update channel (win2003), own Archive.org artifacts, baked UA marker Win2003/3790.
Windows XP 32-bit & 64-bit · Chromium 144.0.7559.256 · xp-mk2 / VC10 · Archive.org · UA WinXP/2600
Updated Chromium 144 revision for NT 5.x that streamlines modern browser execution on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 class systems. Users no longer need complex scripting, custom launchers, or manual One-Core-API dependencies. Same Chromium 144 line as Vista, with XP-specific crash, font, and startup defaults.
Invisible web text: the renderer was still initializing the DirectWrite font proxy even with --disable-direct-write, so Skia used a broken DW font manager while Blink thought it was on GDI. Gated that init so GDI actually sticks.
Schrödinger crash: a code-cache CHECK_IS_TEST hitting in production builds due to field-trial testing config.
Paint slug deserialization crash.
Crashpad self-terminating child processes (Crashpad disabled in the baked XP flag set).
XP startup defaults (baked into the exe)
Vista bakes five flags (--disable-gpu, --disable-gpu-compositing, --disable-component-update, --ungoogled-supermium, --enable-low-end-device-mode). XP bakes a much longer list:
--no-sandbox — XP cannot run the Chromium sandbox at all (Vista can)
--disable-crashpad
Fully baked UA string with the WinXP/2600 marker (Vista uses WinVista/6002)
SwiftShader / ANGLE software GL
--disable-direct-write to force GDI fonts (with the font-proxy fix above so it is real)
--disable-direct-composition / --disable-vulkan
In-process network service
Memory-friendly process model: --process-per-site, renderer limit 2
Disk / media cache caps of 100 / 50 MB
Multi-core fixes so YouTube and web video play smoothly without pinning process affinity to a single CPU core
Packaging
Inno Setup 5.6.1 installer, MinVersion XP 5.1.2600, installs to {pf}\Snipe
Same AppId as the legacy XP installer so updates replace in place
Portable ZIP + installer on Archive.org (xp-mk2 / VC10 filenames)
Recommended: Windows XP 32-bit SP3, or Windows XP x64 Edition SP2. Earlier service packs may work but are not tested and not recommended.
Windows Vista SP1 · 32-bit · Chromium 144.0.7559.256 · Archive.org · UA WinVista/6002
At Snipe, we believe the only way to build a browser that truly works on vintage hardware is to test it on vintage hardware. While the heavy lifting of compiling millions of lines of modern Chromium code was offloaded to a 32-thread Xeon server—since compiling natively on a legacy single-core CPU would take days—the actual direction of the build was entirely dictated by an authentic 2006 Intel Celeron M system running Windows Vista. Instead of relying on guesswork or modern emulators, we ran the test builds directly on bare metal using a custom command-line script. This setup launched each iteration with different experimental switches, systematically logging performance metrics, crash dumps, and resource usage directly into detailed breadcrumb logs.
That real-time telemetry from the Celeron formed the blueprint for every optimization in the browser. We took those breadcrumb logs and configuration tweaks back to the Xeon workstation to compile targeted updates, transferred the new builds back to the Celeron, and ran the test suite again. We repeated this feedback loop until the browser achieved complete stability, minimal memory consumption, and smooth performance on actual 20-year-old hardware. By engineering Snipe on the exact machine it was built to save—rather than relying on high-end desktop theory—we delivered a browser fine-tuned for the real-world constraints of legacy Vista systems.
First public Vista release — a separate Chromium 144 line from desktop 140. Screenshots from the test machine: Vista product gallery. Setup help: Vista help guide.
Operating system & compatibility
Runs on Windows Vista (32-bit). MinVersion: Vista SP1 (6.0.6001).
PE subsystem linked as 5.00 (NT 5.0 / XP-era). ISA: SSE2 (not SSE3).
PE imports on the main exe / chrome.dll / related binaries rewritten to those wrapper names. 29 wrapper/CRT DLLs ship beside the exe.
Google / network phone-home controls
Runtime kill-switch forced on at startup — early-outs for GCM/FCM/MCS checkin, Safe Browsing service creation / ping manager, component / update client checks, sync (when gated), variations headers / loader, Chrome Web Store info service, domain reliability, NTP Google promo / One Google bar / NTP Google fetch, translate URL fetcher, spellcheck dictionary download, autofill crowdsourcing / Assist Ranker, WebRTC remote log upload, and related Google URL helpers / URLLoader throttle paths.
GCMClientImpl::Start() emptied (no checkin/register spam).
Windows 10/11 64-bit and 32-bit · Chromium 140.0.7339.129 · V8 14.0.365.4 · Archive.org
A Win 10/11-only follow-up to the first public desktop release. This rollup exists because specific GUI bugs showed up only on Windows 10 and 11; other OS channels did not need the same fixes and stay on .127. No GitHub release tag — installer and portable are on Archive.org.
What changed
GUI fixes for Windows 10 & 11 only: Addresses UI bugs that reproduced on Win 10/11 and not on the legacy Windows or Linux channels, which is why those platforms did not receive this rollup.
Windows 10/11 64-bit and 32-bit move to Chromium 140.0.7339.129 (installer + portable on Archive.org).
Unchanged product surface: core adblocker, Ruffle, SnipeSearch default, local passwords/dictionaries, no telemetry, no AI, no forced background processes.
Still on 140.0.7339.127: Windows 7, 8/8.1, 9, Ubuntu, openSUSE. Windows Vista and Windows XP are on the separate 144.0.7559.256 track. Android remains on 147.0.7727.56.
First public desktop line · June 2026
Snipe 140.0.7339.127
Chromium 140.0.7339.127 · V8 14.0.365.4 · based on ungoogled-chromium · platform builds shipped over 9–17 June 2026
Every build is a de-Googled Chromium: Google telemetry, sync, crash-report uploads, and cloud-connected extras removed or replaced. Self-contained install; no account required. Shared product surface below; each GitHub tag then adds platform-specific compatibility work.
Shared across all desktop .127 builds
What’s included in this release
Core Adblocker: Native, compiled-in privacy protection (uBlock Origin on desktop) designed to minimize script overhead, including on legacy CPUs. Curated allowlist of non-intrusive, privacy-respecting networks; fully user-editable.
Ruffle Integration: Built-in Flash emulation compiled into the core. No separate plugins. Desktop x86/x64 targets include audio.
SnipeSearch Default: Out-of-the-box private search routing without heavy background telemetry scripts. Address-bar searches go to SnipeSearch, not Google.
Local Identity Storage: Offline password management and spell-check dictionaries. No forced account syncs or AI components.
Server-respecting HTTP/HTTPS: Uses the protocol you type and follows the server’s own redirects. No forced HTTPS upgrades that break HTTP-only hosts.
Background processes off by default: Closing the window stops Snipe processes cleanly and returns RAM to the OS.
No AI features of any kind.
Extensions: Chrome Web Store does not recognise Snipe; install via SnipeSearch Ark (Snipe platform filter) or side-load CRX in Developer mode.
Widevine: Not bundled. Optional manual copy of a matching Chromium 140 WidevineCdm folder for DRM sites.
9 June 2026 · GitHub v140.0.7339.127
Windows 10 / 11 · 64-bit
First public Snipe desktop release — establishes the shared core above for all later .127 ports.
Official installer + portable for Windows 10/11 x64 (Version 1903+).
Shipped last among the Windows .127 GitHub tags — deep NT 5.1 backport engine with ultra-low memory V8 profile.
XP compatibility layers: kernel compatibility work aimed at NT 5.1; One-Core-API (OneCoreAPI) strongly recommended for modern system calls; majority of heavy translation paths rewritten or replaced in-core rather than pure shims.
Optimized for XP SP3 only (not unofficial SP4). GPU acceleration off by default for legacy drivers; can be enabled in settings if your stack supports it.
First-run “unsupported command-line switch” warning on some hardware is harmless and does not return after dismiss.
Stable Chromium 140 · September 2025 · available in Snipe desktop 140.x builds
Snipe removes Google services and telemetry, but keeps normal Chromium web-platform work that is not Google-account or Google-cloud dependent. Notable Chromium 140 items that remain available to sites (see Chrome 140 release notes):
Not carried as Google product features: Chrome-only cloud sync, Google Safe Browsing cloud lookups, Google account / Gemini / AI surfaces, field trials, and other services stripped in the de-Googling process. Origin-trial-only Chrome experiments may be absent unless enabled in our build configuration.
Android is not on the desktop 140 channel. Current public APK is 147.0.7727.56 for Android 10 and up (Archive.org sideload, arm64). Same privacy posture: no developer telemetry collection, local data, Adblock Plus with updatable lists, shared trusted-sites allowlist, SnipeSearch default, no automatic APK updates (manual check only).