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Make a Windows app from a website

Build an app · October 17, 2026 · 6 min read

In Edge, choose Settings and more … › More tools › Apps › Install this site as an app and the site gets its own window. Choose Pake instead when you want to set the window size and icon, decide what closing the window does, or keep several web apps in one editable list.

Install a site through Edge

Open the site in Microsoft Edge, then choose Settings and more …, More tools, Apps and Install this site as an app. If the site is a progressive web app, Edge may offer to install it directly. Installed apps are listed at edge://apps; select Open on a card to launch it in its own window, or Details for Pin to taskbar, Pin to Start, Create Desktop shortcut and an Auto-start on device login toggle. Uninstall is there too, with a choice to delete the app's history and data (Microsoft's guide).

Chrome has a similar route under More › Cast, save, and share › Install page as app..., and removes the app from the same More menu (Google's guide). To keep the app on the taskbar, the taskbar guide shows how to pin it from Edge, Chrome or Pake.

An app installed this way is still part of the browser. Microsoft says it uses Edge's web engine, settings and extensions, syncs across devices when you are signed in to Edge with a Microsoft account, and stops working if Edge is uninstalled (Microsoft). If that is acceptable, you are finished and do not need another tool.

How a Pake app differs underneath

A Pake app on Windows is a separate small program in its own folder, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Pake Apps\<name>, with a Start menu shortcut (install page). It draws the site with the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, a Chromium-based engine, rather than with the Edge browser itself. Microsoft does not let a production WebView2 app depend on the browser, because Edge is not guaranteed to be on every device, and the runtime updates itself (WebView2 distribution notes). That is why a Pake app does not need the Edge browser, and why it does not share Edge's settings or extensions.

Windows 11 includes the runtime. Microsoft says the vast majority of Windows 10 devices already have it and a small number do not. When it is missing, Pake shows Apps made with Pake need the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime with a Get WebView2 link to Microsoft's download page.

Microsoft notes that a new runtime version is used the next time an app starts, so an app you leave running all week keeps the old version until you restart it.

Install Pake and create the app

Pake for Windows needs Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or later on x64 or ARM64, and no Node.js, Rust or Visual Studio. Its Setup.exe installs for your user account without administrator rights. After that:

1. Open Create, click Search apps or paste a web address and enter the website address, then press Enter. The page opens with the name and icon filled in from the site.
2. Check Name, URL and Icon. Name is what the Start menu shows; click Choose... or drop an image on the Icon row to replace the icon.
3. Set Window size to something that shows the site's navigation and content together. The default is 1200 by 780. Leave the options under Advanced alone on the first build.
4. Click Create App. When App Created appears, click Open, or Show in Explorer to see the files.
5. Find the app in the Start menu and test a normal task, including sign-in and any download you rely on.

If the site is in the gallery, Pake opens its tuned page with your address filled in. If the tile is missing, paste the address.

Decide what closing the window does

Hide on close is off by default on Windows. With it on, closing the window leaves the app running in the tray, and Pake turns the tray icon on for you. With it off, closing the window ends that app. The difference matters most for a dashboard you open once a day, which you probably want to close fully, versus a chat or music site that should keep running.

The same switch explains one message you may see. If you remove an app that did not close when asked, Pake offers End App, which ends it and loses anything unsaved in it (Manage your apps).

Dark window darkens only the title bar and frame. The page keeps the colors the site chooses, so turn on a dark theme inside the website if it has one. Incognito starts each session clean and keeps no sign-ins, so leave it off for a site you want to stay signed in to. All options are described in Create an app.

Change or remove the app later

Open My Apps, click Edit, change what you need and click Save Changes. Editing reinstalls the same app in place and keeps its sign-ins. For a second login to the same site, use Add Another Account from the app's ⋯ menu (multiple accounts).

Removal has two paths with different results. ⋯ › Remove in Pake keeps the app's sign-ins and other data unless you tick Also remove its sign-ins and other data. Removing it from Settings › Apps keeps them.

When it does not work

• Sign-in fails inside the app. Google and some other providers block sign-in in embedded web views. Turning on Open new windows in the app helps with pop-up sign-in pages, and if the provider still refuses, use that site in a browser (sign-in guide).
• The site says "unsupported browser". Try the User agent field under Advanced; the user agent guide explains when it helps.
• Pake reports a missing runtime. Use Get WebView2, install the Evergreen runtime and try again.
• The app is stuck in the tray. Check Hide on close, or use End App when removing it.

Edge or Pake

FAQ

Does a Pake app need Edge installed?

No. It needs the WebView2 Runtime, which Windows 11 includes and which is separate from the Edge browser.

Can I run it without signing in to a Microsoft account?

Yes. You sign in to each website inside the app. Edge syncs its installed apps through a Microsoft account; Pake apps move between computers as exported settings files instead (moving your apps).

Where do I uninstall it?

From My Apps in Pake, or from Windows Settings › Apps.