Dark

"Hacking a browser shouldn't mean wrestling with C++."

See more screenshots here

Dark is a sleek, Electron-based browser you can bend, hack and make your own, 100% React + TypeScript under the hood. Built on Chromium (so you still get Chrome DevTools and ecosystem compatibility), Dark makes browser customization as easy as editing a React component.

---

🚀 Features

• Fully Hackable Everything in Dark is React + TypeScript. No C++ gatekeepers, if you know JS, you can extend or fork any part of the browser UI or behavior.

• Chromium-Powered Under the hood it's the same engine that powers Chrome, so all your favorite DevTools, extensions (via session.loadExtension), and web standards just work.

• Modern UI Built with React, Tailwind-style CSS and shadcn. Customize tabs, sidebars, themes, or even the entire address bar. The only rule is: "everything's Dark"

• Cross-Platform Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, package once, ship everywhere.

• Open & Supported Unlike Arc (which went closed-source), Dark is 100% Apache 2.0-licensed and is 100% community-driven. We'll be here to merge your PRs and ship updates.

---

🔒 Open Source Pledge

Dark will always remain 100% open source.

We solemnly pledge that:

• Forever Open: Dark will never go closed-source, proprietary, or behind paywalls
• Permissive License: We commit to maintaining Apache 2.0 (or equivalent permissive licensing) in perpetuity
• Community Ownership: The core project will always be owned and governed by the community
• No Vendor Lock-in: You can fork, modify, redistribute, and even commercialize Dark without restriction

This isn't just a promise, it's our foundational principle. Unlike other browsers that started open and went commercial, Dark's architecture, governance, and licensing ensure it stays hackable forever.

---

📦 Getting Started

1. Clone the repo

   git clone https://github.com/tomaspiaggio/dark.git
   cd dark

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Run in dev mode

   npm start

   Your custom browser will spin up with live-reload on React code changes.

4. Build & Package

   npm run build

---

🔧 How to Hack

1. All UI lives under src/renderer/ as React components.
2. Main-process logic (window management, IPC handlers) sits in src/main/.
3. Want to override the tab switcher, add a custom sidebar widget, or tweak your new-tab page? Just dive in, edit a .tsx, and your changes show up instantly in npm start.

---

🤝 Contributing

We love contributions of all kinds:

• Bug reports & feature requests via GitHub Issues
• Design ideas, mockups, animations, new themes
• Documentation fixes, help us keep this README crystal clear!

---

❤️ Support & Sponsorship

Building and maintaining a browser engine wrapper is no small feat, and your support keeps Dark alive and thriving:

• ⭐ Star this repo
• 🐛 Report bugs or propose new features
• 💵 Donate
  • BTC: bc1qwyz7zp2av6ftg63quqpf025eetqpssaqd7ud0y
  • USDC (Polygon): 0x8C03f4c53a9a46d78D8b15E7A0Ea8D530EC3cA3F
  • USDT (Polygon): 0x8C03f4c53a9a46d78D8b15E7A0Ea8D530EC3cA3F
• 🙌 Spread the word on Twitter, Mastodon, or your favorite tech blog
• 🐦 Follow updates @tomaspiaggio for the latest Dark news

Your sponsorship helps pay for CI, hosting, and coffee to fuel late-night hacking sessions.

---

Made with ❤️ by @tomaspiaggio and the Dark community

Help needed

🔧 Missing Features

Feature	Description	Implementation Notes
Bookmarks	Save, organize, and manage favorite websites	Persistent storage with folders, tags, and quick access toolbar
Command+Number	Quick switch to bookmark	When doing Command+1 you go to the first bookmark, when doing Command+2, you'll go to the second, and so on.
Split Screen	View multiple tabs side-by-side in the same window	Dynamic webview layout with resizable panes
Spaces	Separate workspaces for different contexts (work, personal, studying)	Tab grouping with isolated sessions and visual workspace indicators
Extensions	Support for loading Chrome extensions via session.loadExtension()	Use Electron's extension APIs to load .crx files or unpacked extensions
Multiple Instances	Run multiple browser windows/processes simultaneously	Separate Electron processes for isolated browsing sessions
Sleep Tabs	Reduce memory usage by suspending inactive tabs	Unload tab content but preserve state for quick restoration
Quit Confirmation	Ask before closing browser with Cmd+Q	Prevent accidental closure with "Are you sure?" dialog
Config Menu	Settings/preferences interface	Persistent settings for new tab URL, tab cleanup timing, hotkeys
Landing Page	Custom start page when opening browser	Branded homepage with quick actions and workspace selection
Welcome Flow	First-run onboarding experience	Guide users through space creation and basic browser features
Cheatsheet	Help documentation for keyboard shortcuts	In-app reference for all available hotkeys and gestures
Printer Support	Print web pages and PDFs	Electron's print API with preview and printer selection
Enhanced New Tab	Rich new tab experience with widgets	Transform about:blank into useful start page with quick actions
Private Browsing	Incognito mode with no history/cookies	Isolated session that doesn't persist data after closing
History	Browse and search previously visited pages	Persistent history with search, date filtering, and quick access
Service Workers	Full support for Progressive Web Apps	Enable offline functionality and push notifications
Packaging & Release	Build system for distributing the browser	Electron Builder setup for macOS, Windows, and Linux packages
AI Features (Cmd+I)	Cursor-style AI integration with user's API key	LLM integration for page summaries, Q&A, and content assistance
Command+Shift+C Toast	If a user does Command+Shift+C the url gets copied to clipboard. I want to show a toast when that happens so that the user knows that something happened. Also, when the user copies on the url, show the dialog that this is a feature.

✅ Completed Features and Bugs

• Copy/Paste Menu - Edit menu items that target the active tab
• Persistent State - Settings and sessions are saved between launches
• Sidebar Toggle - Collapsible sidebar for more screen space
• Find in Page (Cmd+F) - Search text within the current page
• New Tab - Create new tabs with keyboard shortcuts
• when changing tabs, the new size of the view should be the size of the window
• when closing sidebar there's a white strip
• context menu
• middle button to close tabs
• command left to go back, command [ to go back
• on new tab fix resolution
• command+l to change the current tab
• Cmd+Shift+C Copy URL - Quick keyboard shortcut to copy current page URL | Copy active tab's URL to clipboard without manual selection

Bugs

• switcher on control+tab+tab doesn't close automatically, need to do enter
• title changes on the frontend but is not actually stored or returned
• when a website doesn't exist it just goes to a blank screen
• support websites starting on https:// or http://