Orion for Linux

pixl_xip

Hi, the work being done looks amazing. Gnome Web, another Linux browser made with Libadwaita, switches to a more mobile-friendly view on smaller screen sizes. The mobile Linux space is still very young, so it is understandable if a mobile view is out of the scope for Orion on Linux, especially at this early stage, but will a more dynamic UI with support for smaller screens be considered?

shilohfen

Vlad Congrats on 3 years! I recently discovered Kagi, and I'll never be able to go back to any other search engine.

I've been looking for exactly what this browser is for the last few years. The work done so far looks absolutely amazing, I'm looking forward to using it. I'll definitely be getting Orion+ as soon as this browser launches!

Vlad

Surfacing link to sign up for newsletter for Orion for Linux updates which will be more detailed than what I share here

https://forms.kagi.com/?q=orion_linux_news

dan-berg-pub

Vlad Will buying Orion+ increase the likelyhood of getting an early Linux build?

Vlad

dan-berg-pub Yes, this is the only way the project is funded.

Stardread1997

dan-berg-pub It might look a bit pricey at first glance. $5 a month adds up fast. It's a worthwhile investment IMO if it means speeding up the process. I can't even imagine how complicated a browser like this will be to make. Just having a nice UI is difficult and that's just appearance. Hah, imagine trying to clean build this thing in the future with something like yay. Would you like to place bets now the required RAM to be somewhere in the 60GiB's? All support that can be offered is most welcome.

Felensis

Vlad I've purchased Orion+ a few weeks ago and I'm also a Kagi subscriber. Just recently I've upgraded to the Family plan and convinced my wife to jump ship from Google plus my daughter discovers the internet right now with Kagi Kids (she is 9yrs old). Just for the record to tell you that I love what you guys do.

I use Orion only on my work phone since I don't have a Mac. Recently I made the switch on my Desktop PC from Win11 to Linux (I use Arch btw 😃). I'm in love so far and while Firefox ever since is my favorite browser since it was released over 20+ years ago I really would love to try and test Orion especially on Linux.

While I'm still fairly new to Linux as my main OS even though I've collected some experience with Unix/Linux over the years (I'm 40 and work as a IT sysadmin) I would love to chime in and if possible request that you evaluate a possibility to make Orion look more consistent not only for GNOME users, but also for KDE users like me :-)

Thanks!

Have a nice day you all! ☀️

TheLastEnvoy

Stardread1997

I have 0 apple devices, but I've been contributing for something like 3 months to support the develop 🙂. I think that's all we can do for now to help the development

GammaRay

Great to see a full-featured WebKit browser outside of the MacOS ecosystem! Going to keep an eye on this, it'll be interesting to see where it goes - more browser engine competition is always good. I hope this project succeeds and eventually gets enough funding to develop Windows and Android versions, so we can have a truly cross-platform WebKit browser.

Given that Firefox is slowly getting worse, and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon as long as the current management at Mozilla is in charge, I may end up switching to Orion when there's a stable version on Linux. Thanks to LibAdapta, it probably won't look too out of place on Linux Mint - and if there's any theming issues, I'll let you know.

GammaRay

Speaking of LibAdapta. The way I understand it, distributions (like Mint) can choose to implement it so that it automatically themes any app, regardless of if the app developers choose to support LibAdapta or not. But app developers can also choose to support LibAdapta so that their apps look native on any distribution that supports theming, and it can be done simply by adding a compatability header to LibAdwaita, with no other code changes required.

LibAdapta is definitely something you could consider supporting in the future, but getting the browser out in the first place is most important. And it's a good idea to wait a bit for LibAdapta to mature as well, since it's a pretty new project.

stalkerg

I am paying for a search (family plan), but I can't pay for a browser if it is not integrated with my KDE Plasma. I have KDE on 2 my machines, with Gentoo and Arch-based distros.
If you are a home user who also plays games, KDE is a much better option because of VRR, HDR, and better Wayland specs support.

stalkerg

In your demonstration of progress, I found:

Defined and implemented a GTK-based design language and guidelines, staying true to GNOME best practices for a polished, unified aesthetic.

And it's surprised me, because GNOME is more for corporate distros (even ubuntu use it with a different design language), if you are a home user and play games often, you will choose KDE.
Anyway, KDE is one of the most popular DEs for Linux (it's even the default for Steam Deck).
Also, what I want to say - GNOME project is most toxic in the community, and they constantly sabotage Wayland and freedesktop initiatives, their "best practices" are not really the best.
I just want to say that if you focus on GNOME, you will create problems not only for KDE users but also for other DE users.

I want to see KDE/Plasma support in your roadmap as well.

Thank you.

dan-berg-pub

stalkerg
Even if they stick to the chosen path, you'd still be able to run it. It just won't look as "native" as other default KDE applications. Just like running Gnome Web (Epiphany) on KDE. It works, just looks very different.

I do get where they're coming from with their decision, in terms of desing philosophy. Visually, this is much closer to what they're doing on MacOS today.

LinuxGuy-cyber

stalkerg Couldn't agree more. I personally use Cinnamon, but:

KDE > Cinnamon >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GNOME

GammaRay

dan-berg-pub
They also mentioned that LibAdwaita is more similar to what they've been using for their Mac app, so it will be easier for them to learn. And it's possible to port LibAdwaita apps to Windows (even if it isn't as easy as Qt apps), so if they consider a Windows version down the line they'll at least have a head start on the frontend. Which is good, because the backend WebKit stuff will be a LOT of work to port to Windows

dominichayesferen

GammaRay

And it's possible to port LibAdwaita apps to Windows (even if it isn't as easy as Qt apps), so if they consider a Windows version down the line they'll at least have a head start on the frontend.

Not gonna lie there is something very unfortunate yet ironic about that - technically the GTK frontend could also be ported to macOS. Ah well, basing mac on Aqua was a better call ultimately for first impressions.

shilohfen

I personally couldn't agree more with their decision to use Libadwaita.

I've been using Linux for most of my life, and have tried every major desktop environment, window manager, and Wayland compositor out there. Libadwaita is consistent, stable, and feels great on everything in my personal opinion. I can't say the same about Qt. As a developer, I also like the GTK toolkit and ecosystem significantly more than Qt, I understand the reasoning behind using it.

LinuxGuy-cyber

shilohfen A short correction: GTK is consistent, stable, and feels great on everything.

LibAdwaita is a lock on GTK's capabilities.

RaulKong898

Hello, can you please tell me where I can download Orion Browser for Linux?

laiz

RaulKong898
Hey. There are no builds available just yet. Sign up for the newsletter via https://forms.kagi.com/?q=orion_linux_news and be among the first to know!

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