Zen Browser: a New Firefox-based Alternative to Chromium Browsers

First released on July 11th, the Firefox-based Zen browser is "taking a different approach to the user interface," according to the blog It's FOSS.

The Register says the project "reminds us strongly of Arc, a radical Chromium-based web browser... to modernize the standard web browser UI by revising some fundamental assumptions." [Arc] removes the URL bar from front and center, gets rid of the simple flat list of tabs, and so on. Zen is trying to do some similar things, but in a slightly more moderate way — and it's doing it on the basis of Mozilla's Firefox codebase... Instead of the tired old horizontal tab bar you'll see in both Firefox and Chrome, Zen implements its own tab bar... By default, this tab bar is narrow and just shows page icons — but there are some extra controls at the bottom of the sidebar, one of which expands the sidebar to show page titles too. For us, it worked better than Vivaldi's fancier sidebar.
The article concludes it's "a new effort to modernize web browsing by bringing tiling, workspaces, and so on — and it's blissfully free of Google code." One Reddit comment swooned over Zen's "extraordinary" implementation of a distraction-free "Compact Mode" (hiding things like the sidebar and top bar). And It's Foss described it as a "tranquil," browser, "written using CSS, C++, JavaScript, and a few other programming languages, with a community of over 30 people contributing to it." The layout of the interface felt quite clean to me; there were handy buttons on the top to control the webpage, manage extensions, and a menu with additional options... The split-view functionality allows you to open up two different tabs on the same screen, allowing for easy multitasking when working across different webpages... I split two tabs, but in my testing, I could split over 10+ tabs... If you have a larger monitor, then you are in for a treat...

The Zen Sidebar feature... can run web apps alongside any open tabs. This can be helpful in situations where you need to quickly access a service like a note-taking app, Wikipedia, Telegram, and others.

On the customization side of things, you will find that Zen Browser supports everything that Firefox does, be it the settings, adding new extensions/themes/plugins, etc.
The Register points out it's easy to give it a try. "Being based on Firefox means that as well as running existing extensions, it can connect to Mozilla's Sync service and pick up not just your bookmarks, but also your tabs from other instances."

And beyond all that, "There's just something satisfying about switching browsers every now and again..." argues the tech site Pocket-Lint: Zen Browser's vertical tabs layout is superb and feels much better than anything available in standard Firefox. [Firefox recently offered vertical tabs and a new sidebar experience in Nightly/Firefox Labs 131.] The tab bar can be set to automatically hide and show up whenever you hover near it, and it also contains quick access buttons to bookmarks, settings, and browsing history. The tab bar also contains a profile switcher...

One of the greatest parts of the Zen Browser is the community that has popped up around it. At its heart, Zen Browser is a community-driven project... Zen Browser themes are aesthetic and functional tweaks to the UI. While there aren't a ton available right now, the ones that are show a lot of promise for the browser's future... I've personally gotten great use out of the Super URL Bar theme, which makes your URL bar expand and become the focus of your screen while typing in it... There's a lot you can do to make Zen Browser feel nearly exactly like what you want it to feel like.
The "Business Standard calls it "an open-source alternative to Chromium-based browsers," adding "Where Zen truly shines is it offers a range of customisation, tab management, and workspace management..." Their theme store offers a range of options, including modifications to the bookmark toolbar, a floating URL bar, private mode theming, and removal of browser padding. In addition to these, users can also choose from custom colour schemes and built-in theming options... The Sidebar is another neat feature which allows you to open tabs in a smaller, smartphone-sized window. You can view websites in mobile layout by using this panel.
It's "focused on being always at the latest version of Firefox," according to its official site, noting that Firefox is known for its security features. But then, "We also have additional security features like https only built into Zen Browser to help keep you safe online." And it also promises automated Releases "to ensure security."

It's FOSS adds that you can get Zen Browser for Linux, Windows, and macOS from its official website (adding "They also offer it on the Flathub store for further accessibility on Linux.")

And its source code is available on GitHub.

Ugh

[RitchCraft]

"Instead of the tired old horizontal tab bar you'll see in both Firefox and Chrome, Zen implements its own tab bar." - you know, mucking around with the UI is one of the main reasons I don't switch too often. I get so tired of getting familiar with a particular software's UI only to have it mucked up because it's "hip" to do so after running out of actual good ideas to implement (looking at you every version of Windows after 7).

Re:Ugh can't figure way closing individual tabs

[stulew]

each icon must open 'close functions? closing window just kills app.

Re:Ugh

[Anonymous Coward]

Firefox worsend the UI several times as well and there is no easy going back, neither for Mozilla nor for forks. Did you notice how Firefox stopped following the Gtk theme? And how you can't configure the ugly MS Paint scrollbars away anymore? They just stopped using native UI reinventing the wheel for all of their UI, making the mistakes that proven toolkits had and fixed 20 years ago. There is a reason why one should use UI libraries instead of drawing the UI oneself ... people put a lot of thought into UI patterns, accessibility, usability with keyboard only and similar things, that you give up on if you implement things yourself ... or need to painfully reimplement instead of having time to build a browser.

Re:

[serafean]

Um, have you seen any other software? Almost proprietary all roll their own UI drawing.

Jetbrains, adobe, anything in a webview...
Myself at work I'm guilty too. accessibility indeed was a major PITA.

> people put a lot of thought into UI patterns, accessibility, usability with keyboard only and similar things, that you give up on if you implement things yourself ... or need to painfully reimplement instead of having time to build a browser.

Yeah, but UX designers want it shiny and different, who cares about

Re:

[bjwest]

Yeah, but UX designers want it shiny and different, who cares about researched UI design patterns. /s

You '/s' that, but this is the main problem. Without change, UX designers have no job, so they pretty much have to muck with shit just to keep a paycheck.

Re:

[serafean]

I don't think so, hear me out:

different kind of software requires different UI patterns for users to be efficient, and for discoverability.
Just take Blender. On first open, that's a giant WTF. After 2 days, the new paradigm sets in, and off we go.
I believe there is a lot of domain specific software that would benefit from a slightly different UI paradigm.

All those people could do real UI research, and that would give them something to do. But that also requires way more knowledge than "this color looks pret

Re:Ugh

[bradley13]

This. Why do I want a new UI concept? Don't mess with what works. I also don't want to steer my car with a game controller, or rudder pedals, or whatever wild hair some UI designer thinks would be cool.

Re:Ugh

[Luckyo]

Honestly, I can see myself grabbing the designer by the wild hair and dragging it sideways to steer. Screams of pain from these assholes in reaction to every turn would make the problems worth it, because you'd just remember last time these chucklefucks changed UI in your favorite software.

And make another U turn just to make a point.

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

Honestly, I can see myself grabbing the designer by the wild hair and dragging it sideways to steer. Screams of pain from these assholes in reaction to every turn would make the problems worth it, because you'd just remember last time these chucklefucks changed UI in your favorite software.

And make another U turn just to make a point.

Thanks for making me chuckle, and "amen to that brother"! I keep two versions of Firefox running. 85 because although it sucks, it sucks less than later versions. And 107, because my bank doesn't like older versions.

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

It's like you've got a favourite burger from your favourite burger place where you live, and getting worked up that someone in a different country is selling that same burger with a different relish.

I think he has a legitimate complaint anyway, since this kind of UI fuckery establishes a culture which encourages and breeds still more UI fuckery. Anybody who violates the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" dictum is in for criticism when they make things worse. Doesn't matter if its a UI, a computer, or a house.

And yes, I'm aware that fixing that which isn't broken is the foundation of progress. So it's a paradox - deal with it.

Re:

[mobby_6kl]

This. Why do I want a new UI concept? Don't mess with what works.

If you don't, just use Firefox then? Which still exists?

Hardly anyone uses Firefox though, so it might be worth experimenting a bit rather than continuing to do what doesn't work.

Re:

[bill_mcgonigle]

> you know, mucking around with the UI is one of the main reasons I don't switch too often

I've been using Firefox extensions for vertical tabs since it ran on MacOS 9. Since then all browsers but Google Chrome have added it natively.

Amazing that any nerds use horizontal tsbs in 2024 - really, it pains me to only see titles of 3-4 tabs and not have hierarchical management.

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

Amazing that any nerds use horizontal tsbs in 2024 - really, it pains me to only see titles of 3-4 tabs and not have hierarchical management.

Even with today's wider aspect ratios, some of us have more use for horizontal rather than vertical real estate when we're browsing. Especially so when we're using lower resolutions to help with ageing eyesight.

That said, your comment has prompted me to try vertical tabs again, so thanks for the impetus. Now I'm off to edit UserChrome to get rid of the top tab bar. But I'm already liking that there's a clear delineation between tabs - later versions of FF turn them into an undifferentiated blur. It will be

Re:

[nmb3000]

I resisted horizontal tabs for a long time, because I correlated them too strongly with tree-style tabs, which I have never liked (too much noise, too little value). Before the death of XUL I used Tab Mix Plus to allow the default tab list to span multiple lines to avoid tab scrolling.

Today I use Tab Center Redux/Reborn [mozilla.org] to get a simple horizontal list of tabs in the sidebar. It has the few features I want, including pinned tab support, search, and visual distinction for unloaded tabs. The easy custom CSS

Re:

[argStyopa]

It feels like some people want change for change's sake.

Certainly, there are things in Firefox that could be better, so I might give it a try, but it's DESPITE UI changes, not seeking them.

Re:

[gweihir]

Same here. A good GUI is boring, dependable, works as expected, does not stand in your way and does not detract from what you actually want to do. Anybody that makes an "exciting" GUI is (outside of an art project) simply incompetent.

Re:

[NotEmmanuelGoldstein]

... I don't switch too often.

Yes and no: Text doesn't need wide-screen, in fact, it's really bad when focused on a few words. That means a lot of real-estate that could be re-purposed for the UI, leaving more vertical room for the text. The traditional answer of panels, is visually distracting, time-consuming, and a bad fit for printed words. Zen can shrink the tabs to a toolbar with tool-tips: It works very well. For a lot of tabs, there will be a lot of mouse-hover to find the correct tab. One can use a toolbar button to switch

Clarification

[NotEmmanuelGoldstein]

... 'delete on exit', Zen doesn't.

Just confirmed: When enabled, Zen does not automatically delete browsing history, as privacy-centered browsers do.

Re:

[Dixie_Flatline]

On the one hand: fair enough.
On the other: I hear all the time about the stagnation of tech, how nobody innovates or tries things anymore, etc.

The ORIGINAL Opera was, in retrospect, crazy bananas. Tabs! Filters! Fully customizable key bindings and GESTURES. (I used to have a rocker gesture that let me go back and forth in my history that it took me years to get over not having anymore.)

I 100% want people to mess around and make terrible interfaces, because that's how we also figure out what the interesting

Re:

[RitchCraft]

Fair enough, this is a new project related to Firefox in code alone. I suppose my beef is with established software creators that flip the script with the UI nonsense for no other reason than "oooh, shiny". I still find ribbon bars to be the absolute dumbest thing ever pushed on mankind. Windows 8 and 11 are absolute shit. Windows 10 is an eye sore as well but I would have used it if it hadn't been a spyware orgy fest.

Split view is a good feature

[JamesTRexx]

Most web pages limit the width of text anyway because it's easier to read, so splitting the full screen in two or three is helpful, especially when referencing multiple pages for something.
I use multiple Pale Moon windows at half screen width sizes for those reasons.

Not a fan of sidebars or auto-hiding though. I prefer tabs on top with the url bar below (and most used extension icons next to it) as my minimal interface.

Re: Split view is a good feature

[madbrain]

They limit width because of mobile devices running in portrait mode. It's infuriating on a large wide monitor. So much wasted space.

Re: Split view is a good feature

[JamesTRexx]

They already did that before the mobile phone.
There's a reason why newspapers don't write out their articles at the full width of the pages.
Sure, it wastes space, but at least one can keep track of which line one is currently reading.

(And isn't it great that they can now fill all that empty space with an index column and lots of inane advertising thanks to the wider screen formats replacing the 4:3 ones?)

Re:

[madbrain]

Newspapers have different constraints, they need to select one width to print. Websites don't need to. At least on a computer, I can resize the window and decide how wide I want it to be. And what distance I want to read from.

Unfortunately, so many web sites nowadays just have white margins on the left or right if you widen the window. If you have multiple windows open at the same time side by side, perhaps that's OK. But if you are trying to focus on just one, it's a very poor use of screen real estate.

Re: Split view is a good feature

[allo]

The problem is not the width of modern monitors that is too wide for the reasons you named, but that people always maximize windows. The split view is nice, but a good WM would allow easy handling of multiple windows without the need to for the programs to provide split views themselves.
With the vertical tabs, on the other hand, this would also waste space for two times the navigation.

Re:

[nicubunu]

I hope you don't keep your browser window maximized to full screen when working on a wide monitor

Re:

[markdavis]

^THIS

It drives me crazy that so many users just maximize everything. They seem to not understand that they can have multiple windows open and visible at once and potentially greatly increase their productivity that way.

I am especially annoyed by web sites that try to force the user to keep the window wide (like min 1280 wide with no scroll bars) by not allowing smaller views. Violates most everything inherent about proper web site design.

Re:

[MeNeXT]

I'm on a 55 inch 8K as a monitor. The window doesn't take on the entire screen.

The reason I like large monitors is that I can work with multiple documents at the same time and not have to compromise on space. I never understood the full screen app approach.

Re:

[Robert Goatse]

Wow, 55" at 8K? How close do you sit and at 8K aren't the icons the size of an ants eye? I got rid of a 4K monitor because I ended up scaling everything up because everything was so tiny.

Re:

[bill_mcgonigle]

> They limit width because of mobile devices running in portrait mode

Not really - it's the same reason newspapers have always used columns.

*Except* very few sites implement @ css rules to make *multiple* columns on desktop.

Yanno, like newspapers always have.

Tablets get the worst of both worlds.

Some day!

Re:

[nmb3000]

As others point out, limited horizontal space improves readability. I was pleased to see Wikipedia add support for fixed-width pages in a recent (rare) style update.

Heck, in my userstyle for Slashdot I have

html {
max-width: 1200px !important;
}

Because even without a maximized browser window I got tired of trying to read comments with lines several hundred characters wide.

And there are some commenters here who seem to use line breaks as spaces.

So they usually have one sentence per paragraph.

And

Gnome gTile for all apps

[echo123]

For efficient, calming use of desk space I am a huge fan of gTile [gnome.org] and I recommend it to all my friends.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Disagree. I have a window manager already. I can split any app that allows multiple UI instances to run in parallel. This split view is a complete non-feature outside of say a phone / tablet. As you said yourself you already have this solution in place for you with Pale Moon windows. What deficiency do you still have that would be addressed by this feature locking the window arrangement within the program itself?

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

It's interesting, but is it really better than just having two side-by-side windows on screen?

Looking at their website it just seems like there isn't enough there to make it worth looking at. No Android version, which is where UI improvements would really help, and otherwise it's just Firefox from what I can tell.

There is already LibreWolf which is privacy focused and based on Firefox.

Brave

[chuckugly]

Brave Browser (and I assume its daddy Chrome as well) already supports most of this plus tab groups are not "coming soon", they've been here a long while. Good luck w/ your new stuff kids but I don't see anything compelling.

The only things "missing" AFAICT are the annoying options to completely hide the tabs and URL input bar. Do. Not. Want.

Re:

[Can'tNot]

but I don't see anything compelling.

From the summary: "Firefox-based." The summary does also point out another browser with a similar UX right there in the second sentence, just like you're doing, and it is also Chrome-based. Just like yours.

Re:

[chuckugly]

Yeah FF based doesn't blow my skirt up. Brave is also FOSS.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Then why are you here?

Chromium is shit.

Re: Brave

[iHateAppleAndGoogle]

Chromium is so much better than Firefoxâ(TM)s engine that the guy who invented JavaScript who worked for Mozilla on Firefox for 20 years didnâ(TM)t choose the Firefox open source engine when he moved to a new company to create a brand new browser LMAO

Re:

[markdavis]

>"Brave Browser" "Good luck w/ your new stuff kids but I don't see anything compelling."

Which is Chrom* and the engine is completely under Google's control and amplifies Google's control. The whole point of the article is an alternative that is *NOT* based on chromium.

A Quick Glance

[darkain]

At a quick glance, it just sorta looks like Safari.

Yeah, I said it.

Re:A Quick Glance

[Can'tNot]

Stands to reason. Calling yourself "Zen" almost always means "minimalist," and hiding functionality is Apple's thing.

Re:

[gtall]

That's not a point in its favor for me. I cannot stand Safari's interface.

Uh-huh...

[ewhac]

Okay, cool, I suppose...

Let us know when there's a .deb package....

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

Okay, cool, I suppose...

Let us know when there's a .deb package....

Or a FlatPak, or an AppImage, or a (shudder) Snap.

Did I just balspheme? My apologies.

Re:

[ewhac]

Did I just balspheme? [sic] My apologies.

Yeah, ya kinda did.

Zen offers a downloadable AppImage and a Flatpak from their site, bundled complete with support libraries that went stale the instant it was released. And Ubuntu would like you to think that Firefox is only available as a Snap, but in fact Firefox has been available as a .deb for decades. Assuming the build process is nearly identical, Zen could have easily swiped the rules/metadata out of the official Debian package and used it to build their

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

And Ubuntu would like you to think that Firefox is only available as a Snap, but in fact Firefox has been available as a .deb for decades.

That's one of the reasons I switched to Mint. That said, I'm currently running an old package of Firefox because the UI sucks less than newer versions. I can no longer do banking in it, so I'm also running a newer version. It's an AppImage, because I've found Snaps to be temperamental. Also, Ubuntu is arm-twisting its users, so fuck Ubuntu.

Assuming the build process is nearly identical, Zen could have easily swiped the rules/metadata out of the official Debian package and used it to build their own. Buuuuut, no...

I get your point that perhaps Debian is already doing most of that work. But maybe Zen anticipates future changes that wouldn't make it workable.

I understand the objectio

OMG, WTF. now I see all ads, Safari blocked

[bsdetector101]

Safari blocked all kind of ads, now there are every where. Need to find an as blocker for Zen before I use it again !!!

Re: OMG, WTF. now I see all ads, Safari blocked

[guruevi]

It is Firefox with a few UI tweaks, get one of the many AdBlock plugins.

Re:

[caseih]

uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger are what I recommend for all browsers that support add-ons. Should work with Zen.

Pass

[quonset]

It's "focused on being always at the latest version of Firefox,"

" And it also promises automated Releases "to ensure security."

The last thing I want is for someone to decide when or if I'm going to upgrade my browser. If I'm doing that I might as well go with Microsoft.

It's bad enough we can't turn off update notifications in Firefox, to have someone force an upgrade down your throat is the complete opposite of what open source is about.

Re:

[test321]

They build on the Firefox code, which features auto-update if you use the official Mozilla binary.

Introduced sometime between version 26 in 2013 https://website-archive.mozill... [mozilla.org] "Updates can now be performed by Windows users without write permissions" and version 42 in 2015 (someone asking a question about auto-update in his version 42 https://support.mozilla.org/en... [mozilla.org] ) It is fully automated in the background (without the user even running Firefox) every 7 hours since version 90 in 2022 https://support.mo [mozilla.org]

Re:

[markdavis]

>"It's bad enough we can't turn off update notifications in Firefox"

This is not correct. They made it more difficult (which I also disagree with but understand why) but you can set a policy which disables those notifications. I do that at work and home.

{
"policies":
      {
          "DisableAppUpdate": true
        }
}

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

You want the LTS versions of Firefox. Then you only get security patches, which are typically invisible as far as the user experience goes.

But you do want security patches as soon as they are released, because you can be sure that security exploits are not far behind, if not already in the wild.

Unpopular Opinion, but...

[Zaraday]

I first tried Zen about a month ago and actually like it. I had been using Vivaldi, but was looking for something that used the Firefox engine. I dislike the stock Firefox UI, and the other alternatives weren't up my alley either (ok, I'll admit I didn't try Pale Moon). However, once I got used to Zen's interface, I find it to be a bit refreshing.

That said, it's definitely not for everyone, but there are other options out there if you don't like this one.

Zen and NoScript?

[gtall]

Does anyone know if NoScript will work with Zen? I cannot find any mention of the combination. I do not quite know how to think about Zen being based on Firefox.

Re: Zen and NoScript?

[guruevi]

Any Firefox plugin works, there is another browser being worked on in Rust, the problem is the engine needs to be built, which includes HTML, JavaScript parser, media playback, WebAssembly etc, so it is estimated to take another 5 years to alpha, like most Rust projects (Redox, Rust in Linux etc) it will probably be well over 10 to get something that approaches an alpha as they will be fighting the language more as the quirks of HTML, WebAssembly and JavaScript pop up.

Break it up, nothing to see here, move along?

[TheWho79]

What's new here? Anything anything? Bueller? Seriously, there is zero new here we have not seen in the infinity of chromium rethinks. This is simply and reskin of Firefox? If the only thing you can say about a product is that "hey we aren't Google" - well there's your problem. But is is so pretty ;-)

OH yea

[gary s]

Oh yea, another browser that offer no new options and doesnt support any of the add blockers so now I have piles of ads.

No titlebar to grab

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately, like Microsoft Office this browser does not have a title bar to grab, so that means you have to try to find some negative space that hopefully isn't some type of invisible handle for dragging UI elements for customization. It's frustrating when you are used to grabbing the top of any window, but with apps like this you end up clicking on a UI element and triggering a function instead of what you wanted to do.

Re:

[groobly]

But the artists love this! That's all that counts.

Re:

[klui]

Firefox also does this by default. Right click on the empty space and select Customize Toolbar, you can check Title Bar on the bottom left. Their developers just kept all the infrastructure intact, allowing one to choose Compact mode. HTTPS is enabled by default as well as do not track. But the options could be overridden by the user.

Zen - Multiple tabs not Sidebar

[NotEmmanuelGoldstein]

The browser has a sidebar displaying a second web-page, that doesn't offer the complete window UI. It also has a display-multiple-tabs feature designed for wide-screen that works well.

"So old"

[whitroth]

What, is the person writing this "review" in the Register 18, and any browser is soooo old that his parents use it?

Maybe people DON'T WANT IT CHANGED, because they're trying to work or do things online, rather that appreciate the coolness of the new interface? DID ANYONE DO A SURVEY OF USERS, and most of those surveyed are over 23?

it's a loser

[groobly]

Why is it a loser? The home page in the link is an artist's dream, and totally useless. Try to find out what OS's it runs on or any installation requirements? Good luck. But the home page is so nice and clever.

So .. Firefox then ....

[JasterBobaMereel]

It;'s just a reskin of Firefox ... Use Firefox

Renewed Love

[Timoteous]

I'm just glad the Firefox engine is getting some renewed love from a new project. Google is a messed up company (like too many greedy companies, but has gone unchecked for way too long). Why would you want to let them track you by using their browser?

Ads

[gavron]

Downloaded. Ran. First page I went to there was an ad.

Deleted.

Bye now.

A sign?

[Techmaniac]

Malwarebytes blocked the download... so there's that.

It won't import from Firefox?

[tommasz]

You can import bookmarks and passwords (if you use that feature) from everything but Firefox. So you have to export from Firefox and then import to Zen. You'll have to also install all the extensions you have in Firefox. It just seems like they totally overlooked the possibility of someone coming from Firefox and instead focused on other browsers.