@hammercfulton4
Brave Browser installation location on Windows OS
Application “brave.exe”
64 architecture
C:\Program Files\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe
The initial Brave Browser Profile is, by default, named “Profile 1” (unless you change that name → brave://settings/getStarted
).
The folder that contains the initial Brave Browser Profile, is the Default folder (a name that you must not change):
C:\Users[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\
That path may also be written:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\
If you create 1 additional Profile (aka “Profile 2”), it will be stored in folder Profile 1:
C:\Users[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Profile 1\
If you create a 2nd additional Profile (aka “Profile 3”), it will be stored in folder Profile 2:
C:\Users[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Profile 2\
IMPORTANT - Replacing Profile folders
When replacing Brave Browser Profile folders:
Folder named Default (including its contents) can only replace its likeness: the folder named Default.
Folder named Profile 1 (including its contents) can only replace its likeness: the folder named Profile 1.
Folder named Profile 2 (including its contents) can only replace its likeness: the folder named Profile 2.
IMPORTANT - Brave Browser Preferences
Some Brave Browser Preferences are stored in the Preferences file:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Preferences
The contents of that Preferences file, are not exactly the contents of, brave://prefs-internals/
.
Some Brave Browser Preferences are stored in the Local State file:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Local State
Bookmarks and Bookmarks.bak files:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Bookmarks
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Bookmarks.bak
Cache (folder):
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Cache\
Cookies (file):
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Cookies
History (file - usually lots of data):
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\History
Crash Reports:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\CrashReports\
I would experiment, with hard and soft Windows OS symlinks:
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/131182-create-soft-hard-symbolic-links-windows.html
in addition to using the --user-data-dir=“D:\Brave\user data”
command.
BTW, a hard link will not work across the (C: to D:) boundary.
Also, when you first used the command:
“C:\Program Files\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe” --user-data-dir=“D:\Brave\user data”
Brave Browser would create a new Brave Browser Profile, here:
D:\Brave\user data\[new BB Profile folder]