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pythonpython-3.xpython-webbrowser

Is there a way to get the default browser in Python?

I want a way to find the default browser in Python. I've seen https://docs.python.org/3.8/library/webbrowser.html and there might be a way of converting a webbrowser instance which I do not know.

Does anybody know how I could go about doing that?

Also, I'm using Windows - it doesn't need to work for Mac or Ubuntu.

Edit:

I've already tried this website and it gives me an error saying that 'the file path does not exist'.

Additionally, I don't want to open a tab in the default browser, I just want the name.

Edit #2:

The following code works but returns Internet Explorer instead of my actual default which is Chrome.

from winreg import*
with OpenKey(HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT,r"http\\shell\\open\\command") as key:
    cmd = QueryValue(key, None)
Solution

  • I have figured it out. I'm pretty sure this only works on Windows, but here's the code:

    from winreg import *
with OpenKey(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, r"Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Shell\\Associations\\UrlAssociations\\http\\UserChoice") as key:
    browser = QueryValueEx(key, 'Progid')[0]

    It will return ChromeHTML for Chrome, FirefoxURL for Firefox, and IE.HTTP for Internet Explorer.