Zen Browser
zen-browser.app
Download now and experience the Zen Browser

This has gotten some attention, especially about a week ago, but I really hope more people will continue to try it and, if interested, support it. It is Firefox, but heavily modified to please a different audience that prefers a slightly different UI than Firefox. It has some of the appeal of Arc, Vivaldi, and the Sidebery extension.

In my view, it is very promising, and all competition in this space is good. Here it is on Github, also.

  • baduhai@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    471·
    2 months ago

    I’ve used it for a bit, and it’s really really nice. I just don’t know if I trust it to keep up with security updates, especially something so sensitive as a web browser.

      • baduhai@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        493·
        2 months ago

        I know, but that means it needs to keep its firefox source version up to date to keep up with security, and as its source diverges more and more from vanilla firefox, it’ll get harder to do that.

        Plus they’ve already proved to be amateurs by enabling some things that really shouldn’t have been enabled: https://github.com/zen-browser/desktop/pull/927.

        • xan1242@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          24·
          2 months ago

          Yeah enabling remote debugging because the dev thought it made it easier is a pretty big oof.

          But this is just strike one. It’s a one man show, after all, so cutting them some slack is warranted when it comes to this specific topic.

          Nevertheless, your concerns aren’t unfounded. This project needs more contributors to be able to keep up. (Thorium is basically in the same boat)

          • baduhai@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            11·
            2 months ago

            I’ll wait and see before I actually make a decision for real. But so far, not looking great.

      • priapus@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        122·
        2 months ago

        A great custom skin, and far better defaults for both privacy and speed, based on Betterfox.

        The fact that a fork that simply has a better UI and default settings is gaining so much popularity shows how bad Mozilla is fumbling their product.

        • baduhai@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          I do hope this puts mozilla in a position where they have to improve firefox.

      • zxand@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        Zen browser has some Vivaldi and ARC browser customization features. That could be an interesting difference.

      • baduhai@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        12·
        2 months ago

        So far, yes, but it’s early days for it, and I suspect it will get harder and harder to keep up.

  • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
    373·
    2 months ago

    The UI/UX is so good for a one-person team that I hope it embarrasses Mozilla into actually making serious improvements to their browser for the first time in a decade.

  • LucidNightmare@lemm.eeEnglish
    24·
    2 months ago

    I was such a HUGE fan of Floorp until I saw the main dev behind it talk about how they wanted to start looking into ways to “monetize” the browser. Just really turned me off and I went back to Firefox.

    Needless to say, this looks AWESOME, and I hope that more people find it and try it out. (After the early bugs are ironed out, of course).

    Good job devs!

    • noodlejetski@lemm.eeEnglish
      27·
      2 months ago

      yes. it’s Firefox with some extra UI modifications, but it’s the same thing under the hood.

    • theherk@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      4·
      2 months ago

      Definitely as already answered, but I’ll also add they have a “theme store” which is kind of a bespoke userChrome.css tool. It isn’t just themes, but it is in addition to, not in lieu of Firefox extensions.

  • land@lemmy.mlEnglish
    15·
    2 months ago

    Finally, I can replace Arc browser! Floorp was terrible.

    • Noxious@fedia.io
      10·
      2 months ago

      I tried Floorp and didn’t like it either, I’m glad there’s a more promising looking project out there now. Still great to see more development in the Firefox/Gecko ecosystem. We don’t need more Chromium garbage.

    • theherk@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      42·
      2 months ago

      Floorp didn’t impress me either, but I’m not sure yet that I can 100% replace my awesome Arc workflow. The “Air Traffic Control” with profile / space combinations is spectacular. But I’ll find a way to make it work, because I really prefer FOSS when possible.

      • land@lemmy.mlEnglish
        31·
        2 months ago

        Just wish Zen adds small details/features like Arc team does. Small details/features are crucial in the early stages of the project.

        • theherk@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          5·
          2 months ago

          My hopes are high but I’m trying to keep my expectations low. Just one guy and some contributors is a much different context than a bunch of venture capital. But I agree.

  • Hal-5700X@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    121·
    2 months ago

    So Firefox with a user.js and a CSS theme. I’m not saying Zen Browser is bad. But it’s nothing new.

  • mintiefresh@lemmy.caEnglish
    81·
    2 months ago

    I’ve been using it everyday for the past 2 weeks and have enjoyed my time with it. Looks like a very promising browser.

    The more Firefox the better.

  • Sunny' 🌻@slrpnk.netEnglish
    6·
    2 months ago

    Been using it as my only browser since launch, super pleased with the experience so far. Really hope this sticks around for a long time.

    • pop@lemmy.mlEnglish
      54·
      2 months ago

      You really shouldn’t be using software that is in alpha stage of development, as the only browser.

      There may be bugs and vulnerabilities no one has run into yet and bork your browser data.

    • Fluba@lemdro.idEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      Maybe it’s the portable version I’m using, but I can’t figure out how to click and drag the window. There’s nowhere up top to grab and move to another monitor/shift around on the screen. Am I going crazy or is there a different way to move it around?

      • noodlejetski@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        right click on the space around the URL bar, choose “Customize toolbar…”, and then check “Title Bar” in the bottom left corner.

      • Sunny' 🌻@slrpnk.netEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        hmm maybe its the portable version then…I can click and drag just fine. I can also adjust it with superkey+arrow keys or with kwin.

        • Fluba@lemdro.idEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          I added a “Flexible Space” portion to the top and that allowed me to click and drag. Otherwise I had to use Alt+Space+M to make it moveable.

  • shrugs@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    2 months ago

    Tried it for a few days. It works just like firefox minus one embedded video that crashed after 5 secs but worked in ordinary firefox.

    What really surprised me was the speed. Loading youtube on firefox ~0.6 on zen ~0.1 which felt rather nice. I’m still not sure if its worth the hassel to switch.

    • theherk@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      The profile switching is just that of Firefox, but with a button that makes it a bit more accessible. And there is the concept of workspaces within a given profile, but I haven’t quite figured out how to set it up best for my workflow yet.

      • prince of space@lemm.eeEnglish
        4·
        2 months ago

        I jump between a lot of profiles for work and chrome makes that too easy. It’s the only thing holding me back from switching to Firefox.

        • theherk@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          3·
          2 months ago

          I find that multi account containers suits most of my needs for this. I have a container locked to work sites that has a separate credential chain.

  • sodalite@slrpnk.netEnglish
    62·
    2 months ago

    now that I have been spoiled by floorp with workspaces, I have to ask… does it do workspaces? I can’t find it on the site if it does