Solved Does Webview2 requires Microsoft Edge installed on Windows11?

Hello,

I uninstalled Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Edge WebView2 on a Windows 11 machine (Build 26100.4946). After that, I installed Visual Studio 2022 Enterprise, which reported a webview-related requirement.

My questions:
1. Is the full Microsoft Edge browser required on the client for WebView2 to work?
2. If I install the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, will it also install the Microsoft Edge browser?
3. Are there different WebView2 distribution options (Evergreen vs Fixed) that affect whether the Edge browser is needed? If so, which option should I use if I want WebView2 functionality without installing the full Edge browser?

Steps already taken:
- Uninstalled Edge and WebView2
- Installed VS2022 Enterprise (saw a webview/site requirement)

Windows version: 26100.4946

Thanks for any clarification.

Edge will run and work without EdgeWebView2 but EdgeWebView2 will reinstall itself when Edge or Windows updates.
uninstalling Edge may very well cause problems as Microsoft has integrated Edge very deeply within Windows
it can be removed but again Edge will reinstall itself when Windows updates. its a never ending circle.

so it would be best to have both installed even if you only wish to use the one Edge and/or EdgeWebView2
another browser can be installed and used as default but you will have to change some of the defaults manually.

best of luck, Steve ..