USB applications
This is a selection of freeware and open-source Windows programs that run from USB keydrives with full functionality.
See Questions and answers for questions and answers.
The programs listed all work fine for us from USB keydrive, but some things may depend on particular configurations, while some information may not be accurate. Your feedback is appreciated.
Please note that some programs are free only for home/personal/non-commercial use. For details, see licences. Programs that are open-source usually come with no such restrictions.
Legend
- (A)
- The link goes to a version archived by the Wayback Machine (for sites that don’t exist anymore)
- Size
- The size the program takes on the USB stick (for the version and time it was added to the list)
- Added
- Year-Month when the program was added to the list
- L
- Whether the program comes in multiple languages, or with help/instructions in multiple languages
- U
- Whether the program supports Unicode
- O
- Whether the program is open-source software
- I
- Whether the program only comes with an installer
- R
- Whether the program writes keys to the Windows registry (while not depending on them)
Launchers
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AutoHotkey | Launch apps, carry your abbreviations with you, and more | 0.2MB | 2005-08 | y | n* | y | y | |
| PStart | Very convenient! And lots of features! | 0.6MB | 2005-05 |
File utilities
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7za | CLI version of 7-Zip – for ZIP and RAR archives you can also use A43 or freeCommander | 0.6MB | 2004-12 | y | y | |||
| A43 (A) | File manager with text editor, hex viewer, zip/unzip, unrar, dual-pane mode | 0.7MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| Copy Handler | Handles file transfers; several L10ns, en/pl/zh help | 0.6MB | 2005-10 | y | n* | y | ||
| Flexible Renamer (A) | File and folder renamer; help in en/jp, many l10ns | 1.4MB | 2005-11 | y | y | |||
| FreeCommander | Dual-pane file manager with lots of functionality | 1.2MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| PC Inspector File Recovery (A) | Wider functionality than Restoration, restores partitions also – Do not run from the partition of the deleted data! | 5.9MB | 2005-07 | y | ||||
| Restoration (A) | Restore deleted files | 0.4MB | 2004-12 | |||||
| Splitter Light | Friendly splitter/rejoiner of files and directories | 0.1MB | 2004-12 | |||||
| Unstoppable Copier | Copy files from damaged media (NOT damaged files from healthy media!) | 0.1MB | 2004-12 | |||||
| UPX | CLI tool to compress executables. You can save space and make programs load faster. | 0.2MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| XYplorer* | File manager w/ tabs, search, preview, directory/file info export, more | 0.2MB | 2004-12 | y |
Security and privacy
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| avast! vCleaner* | Removes specific, distinguished worms and viruses | 0.4MB | 2004-12 | |||||
| AVERT Stinger | Same as above | 0.9MB | 2004-12 | |||||
| ClamWin Portable | On-demand antivirus scanner | 14.6MB | 2007-02 | y | ||||
| KeePass | Store/manage usernames and passwords | 0.4MB | 2004-12 | y | y | |||
| LockNote | Notepad that protects your notes with encryption | 0.3MB | 2006-01 | y | ||||
| TrueCrypt* | On-the-fly encryption of partitions and virtual disks | 0.1MB | 2005-07 | y |
Internet and networks
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| μTorrent* | Tiny BitTorrent client with amazing set of features | 0.1MB | 2005-09 | |||||
| Abyss Web Server X1 | Easy to set up, many L10ns | 0.6MB | 2005-09 | y | y | |||
| d3 Traceroute (A) | Tracerouter, whois, port scanner (en, de) | 1.6MB | 2005-11 | y | n | |||
| FileZilla | (S)FTP client | 3.5MB | 2004-12 | y | y | |||
| Firefox Portable | The best web browser | 16.2MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| HFS HTTP File Server | HTTP server to transfer files | 16.2MB | 2005-11 | y | ||||
| Lynx | The text browser. Help included. About Lynx | 3.2MB | 2005-10 | y | y | |||
| Miranda NG | Instant messenger for all major protocols | 1.7MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| NetMeter | Network bandwidth monitor | 0.3MB | 2006-03 | y | y | |||
| nPOP | Tiny emailer, supports multiple accounts | 0.2MB | 2005-06 | y | ||||
| Ping Plotter | Tracerouter | 0.3MB | 2005-12 | y | ||||
| PuTTy | Telnet/SSH Client, with xterm terminal emulator | 0.4MB | 2004-12 | y | y | 2 | ||
| Skype* | Portable since version 1.4* | 14.1MB | 2005-11 | y | y | |||
| Sylpheed | Email client; lighter than Thunderbird, no Bayesian filter yet | 22.0MB | 2005-12 | y | y | |||
| Thunderbird Portable | Email client | 8.9MB | 2004-12 | y | y | y | ||
| TYPSoft FTP Server (A) | Friendly FTP server; docs in en/fr, several L10ns | 1.0MB | 2005-11 | y | y | |||
| Uniform Server | WAMP package | 17.3MB | 2005-11 | y |
Usage for Skype
- Make a directory in the keydrive, say Skype, and copy Skype.exe there
- Make a directory in the Skype directory, say SkypeData
- Start Skype with
/datapath:SkypeData /removable
Text and productivity
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abiword Portable | Word processor (does not like large Word documents) | 13.7MB | 2005-10 | y | ||||
| BDV Notepad | Enhanced notepad, multiple languages | 0.4MB | 2005-12 | y | ||||
| ClipX | Tiny clipboard history manager, Unicode support, portable since v1.0.3.8 | 0.1MB | 2005-12 | y | y | |||
| EssentialPIM | Portable PIM – Exports in various formats, has a notes organizer w/ RTF (for formatting, bulleted lists, etc.), several L10ns, and Help file | 1.0MB | 2005-06 | |||||
| Foxit Reader | Fast unintrusive PDF reader. Has 15% of Adobe Reader’s functionality, which is what 95% of people need. Text not rendered as clearly. Stores settings in registry. | |||||||
| KeyNote | Powerful notes organizer; uses tree form and tabs | 2.2MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| MemPad | Notes organizer, tree form, encryption, de/en help | 0.1MB | 2005-10 | L | * | |||
| MoinMoin Desktop Edition | Wiki software, can be used as a PIM; unpack and run | 7.1MB | 2005-12 | y | ||||
| Notepad++ | Portable since v3.3. Scintilla-based editor, features include custom hotkeys, folding, macros, regex, split view, tabs. Many L10ns, Help file. Install with portable settings, or use the ZIP file. | 1.5MB | 2005-11 | y | ||||
| NoteTab Light | Text editor full of tools and utilities | 2.8MB | 2005-06 | |||||
| OpenOffice Portable | Full office suite – Read the Known Issues. | 0.1GB | 2004-12 | y | y | y | ||
| PDFTK Builder | Cut/merge PDF files, add passwords, more | 2.1MB | 2005-12 | y | ||||
| Replace in Files (A) | Does recursive scan, can keep backups. No regex, or replacement over multiple lines (we know of no portable GUI tool that does that). | 0.1MB | 2005-11 | y | ||||
| SciTE | Advanced text/source editor | 1.0MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| ShirusuPad (A) | Innovative notekeeper – extract to any directory | 0.5MB | 2005-09 | |||||
| Stickies | Make a file “stickies.ini” in its directory, or copy it from the user profile; see Help, Directory Usage | 0.6MB | 2005-11 | y | ||||
| TextDiff | Drag & drop, in-place editing, merging, search & replace | 0.7MB | 2005-11 | y | ||||
| TextHarvest (A) | “Reads files and copies the information you want, based on a list of text strings you specify. You can keep certain lines of data while skipping others”. Includes Help with examples. | 3.1MB | 2005-08 | y | ||||
| TreePad Lite | Notes organizer – uses tree form, stores settings in registry* | 0.4MB | 2004-12 | 1 | ||||
| UK’s Kalender | Nice calendar and task scheduler – site/help in de/en – suggested by Roman | 1.0MB | 2006-02 | |||||
| Win32Pad | Fast, advanced notepad; help included, Settings kept in user profile, unless win32pad.ini is found in the program’s directory | 0.1MB | 2004-12 | n | ||||
| Wisterer HX (A) | Reminders, calendar, address and phone book – Exports in various formats, imports from OE and Palms – Data saved in XML format – USB version available – German only | 7.0MB | 2005-11 | n |
Usage for SciTE
SciTE reads user-specific configuration files and abbreviations (abbrev.properties) from the user profiles directory.
You can change this by changing the variable SciTE_HOME by means of a batch file (thanks to Neil Hodgson for the tip).
In the first example below the batch file is in the directory of SciTE.exe; in the second it is in the root directory, and the path to SciTE.exe is X:\Apps\SciTE\SciTE.exe
set SciTE_HOME=.
start SciTE.exeset SciTE_HOME=.\Apps\SciTE
start .\Apps\SciTE\SciTE.exeMusic and multimedia
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1by1 | The directory player | 0.1MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| Burrrn (A) | “[F]or burrrning audio CDs with CD-Text from various audio files.” Many L10ns | 0.1MB | 2004-12 | y | y | |||
| CDex 1.60++* | Rip and encode CDs | 3.1MB | 2004-12 | y | y | |||
| GiveMeTac | Métronome virtuel – adjustable volume, beat, beat sound, en/fr | 0.1MB | 2005-10 | y | y | |||
| IrfanView | Image viewer/editor; the extra plugins take 6.33MB (v3.95) | 1.3MB | 2004-12 | y | y | |||
| mp3DirectCut | Cut/copy/paste MP3 files,* tweak the volume; easy, reliable, quick | 0.2MB | 2005-08 | y | y | |||
| oggdropXPd | “A drag-and-drop Ogg Vorbis encoder/decoder/player for the eXPerienced user” | 0.6MB | 2005-06 | n | y | |||
| PhotoFiltre | Friendly, efficient image retoucher | 3.2MB | 2004-12 | n* | y | |||
| VLC media player | By default stores personal settings and the plugins cache in the user profile* | 16.3MB | 2004-12 | y | y | |||
| XnView | Image viewer/editor. In Options › Install there is an option to store settings portably. This setting is stored in the registry. | 3.1MB | 2004-12 | y | y |
Usage for VLC media player
Use parameters --no-plugins-cache and --config="vlcrc". Command Line Documentation
System tools and utilities
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BurnCDCC | Burn an ISO file to a CD or DVD | 0.2MB | 2005-07 | |||||
| CPU-Z | Shows info about the CPU, motherboard, and memory | 0.7MB | 2005-08 | |||||
| Directory Lister | Powerful, friendly, exports to HTML, TXT and CSV | 0.2MB | 2005-06 | y | n | y | ||
| DirMS (A) | CLI defragmenter for NT/2000/XP – Get v1.2.20, not the “Service and GUI”* | 0.2MB | 2005-07 | |||||
| Easy Cleaner (A) | For registry cleaning use Regseeker. For everything else, Easy Cleaner. Many L10ns. | 2.6MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| Faber Toys | “A system utility, mainly developed for power users who want to know what’s going on in their computers. It may also be used by programmers as a tool for tracking their applications.” For languages other than English, adjust Config.cfg. E.g.: LanguagePath=.\Language\Italian.dat | 1.1MB | 2005-09 | y | y | |||
| i.Disk | “Ever wanted to know where all the used space on your hard disk was hiding?” | 0.3MB | 2005-06 | |||||
| ISOBurn (A) | Burns CD images; also erases CD-RWs | 0.2MB | 2005-06 | y | y | |||
| LC ISO Creator (A) | “Creates ISO files from CD/DVD-ROM”. Efficient, friendly | 0.1MB | 2005-07 | |||||
| NiftyWindows (A) | Advanced handling of windows, and more – Try it! | 0.4MB | 2005-08 | y | ||||
| RawWrite for Windows | “The essential utility for creating boot and root disks for installing Linux”: Make images from floppies and floppies from images, back up floppies as images, send floppies as attachments.* | 0.2MB | 2005-05 | y | ||||
| RegSeeker | Good registry cleaner | 0.3MB | 2004-12 | |||||
| SIW | System Information for Windows: Detailed info on installed hardware and software | 1.2MB | 2005-09 | |||||
| TinyResMeter | Real-time info about several resources | 0.1MB | 2005-08 | |||||
| Unknown Devices | What those unknown devices in Device Manager are? | 0.9MB | 2004-12 | y | ||||
| WinAudit | Detailed system report exportable in several formats – For non-default settings a file is made in TEMP: winaudit.ini | 0.2MB | 2004-12 | |||||
| WinSnap Portable | “[M]akes screenshots better” | 0.2MB | 2007-02 | |||||
| XVI32 | Simple hex editor with detailed help | 1.0MB | 2006-03 |
Usage for DirMS
To defragment the C: drive, do X:\Apps\Tools\dirms c -q – Omitting -q makes the process “glacially slow”.
Miscellaneous
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AddUp 1 | Flexible tape calculator, supports complex expressions | 0.1MB | 2005-11 | y | ||||
| ColorCop | “Color picker for web designers and programmers” | 0.2MB | 2005-09 | * | ||||
| Converber | Converter with tons of units; accepts custom conversions | 0.2MB | 2005-06 | y | ||||
| ConvertAll | Supports arbitrary compound units! (e.g., inches/day to kilometres/year) | 7.1MB | 2005-11 | y | y | |||
| QuickDic | English-German, German-English dictionary | 18.7MB | 2005-08 | y | ||||
| Simon Tatham’s Portable Puzzle Collection | One-player puzzle games; unpack to any directory* | 1.5MB | 2005-10 | y | ||||
| TheSage | English dictionary/thesaurus with tabs and advanced search* | 21.2MB | 2005-08 | y |
Usage for TheSage
Clipboard monitoring, security and privacy. TheSage monitors the clipboard and stores in its history everything that is copied. If you do not want that history preserved across sessions, go to Options / History and select Delete History and Session info on exit.
Better alternatives for 2025
| Name | Description | Size | Added | L | U | O | I | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LibreOffice Portable | Office suite, fork of OpenOffice | 0.6GB | 2025-08 | y | y | y | ||
| qBittorrent Portable | BitTorrent client | 46.0MB | 2025-08 | y | y | y | ||
| SumatraPDF | PDF reader | 22.3MB | 2025-08 | y | y |