dumber

Dumber, fully unfeatured unbloated browser for tiling WMs

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/394f5f7e-a475-42da-b483-5a58b2ea2f51

A dumb browser that works like your favorite terminal multiplexer.

Features

• Wayland native: No X11/XWayland dependency, works with Sway, Hyprland, River, Niri, etc.
• Tabs and workspaces: Each tab holds a workspace with split or stacked panes.
• Keyboard-driven: Keyboard workflow inspired by Zellij.
• Smart popup handling: OAuth flows, window.open(), and popup deduplication for tiling WMs.
• GPU rendering: Hardware video acceleration with automatic VA-API/VDPAU detection.
• Built-in ad blocking: UBlock-based network + cosmetic filtering.
• Launcher integration: dmenu-style with rofi/fuzzel support, shows favicons and history.
• Search shortcuts: Quick search via bangs (e.g., !g golang for Google, !gi cats for Google Images).
• Customizable themes: Light and dark palettes with semantic color tokens.
• Persistent storage: SQLite for history, zoom levels, and settings.
• Live configuration: Single config file with hot reload when possible.
• Session management: Zellij-style session save/restore with automatic snapshots and resurrection.

Status

Dumber recently completed a full rewrite in pure Go using the puregotk and puregotk-webkit libraries.

The project is now structured around clean architecture, which makes it much easier to iterate on features and improve testability.

Early development with regular releases. Core features work well for daily use but expect some rough edges.

Some features are very alpha/experimental (notably consume-or-expel panes) and may change behavior between releases.

Controls & Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts

Browser Controls

Shortcut	Action	Notes
F12	Open Developer Tools	WebKit inspector
Ctrl+L	Open Omnibox	URL/search input with history
Ctrl+F	Find in Page	Search text within current page
Ctrl+=	Zoom In	Firefox-compatible zoom levels
Ctrl++	Zoom In	Alternative plus key
Ctrl+-	Zoom Out	Works across keyboard layouts
Ctrl+0	Reset Zoom	Return to 100% zoom
Ctrl+Shift+C	Copy URL	Copy current URL to clipboard with toast
Ctrl+Shift+P	Print Page	Open native print dialog
Ctrl+R / F5	Reload Page	Refresh current page
Ctrl+Shift+R	Hard Reload	Refresh ignoring cache
Ctrl+← / Ctrl+→	Navigate Back/Forward	Browser history navigation

Tab Management

Shortcut	Action	Notes
Ctrl+T	Enter Tab Mode	Modal mode for tab operations
Ctrl+Tab	Next Tab	Quick tab switching
Ctrl+Shift+Tab	Previous Tab	Quick tab switching
Ctrl+W	Close Tab	Close current tab
N / C (in tab mode)	New Tab	Create new tab
X (in tab mode)	Close Tab	Close current tab
L / Tab (in tab mode)	Next Tab	Navigate to next tab
H / Shift+Tab (in tab mode)	Previous Tab	Navigate to previous tab
Escape (in tab mode)	Exit Tab Mode	Return to normal navigation

Pane Management

Shortcut	Action	Notes
Ctrl+P	Enter Pane Mode	Modal mode for pane operations
→ / R (in pane mode)	Split Right	Create new pane to the right
← / L (in pane mode)	Split Left	Create new pane to the left
↑ / U (in pane mode)	Split Up	Create new pane above
↓ / D (in pane mode)	Split Down	Create new pane below
S (in pane mode)	Stack Pane	Create stacked pane (Zellij-style)
X (in pane mode)	Close Pane	Close current pane
m (in pane mode)	Move Pane To Tab	Opens a tab picker modal
M (in pane mode)	Move Pane To Next Tab	Moves to the next tab, creates new tab if needed
Enter (in pane mode)	Confirm Action	Confirm pane operation
Escape (in pane mode)	Exit Pane Mode	Return to normal navigation
Alt+Arrow Keys	Navigate Panes	Move focus between panes
Alt+Up/Down	Navigate Stack	Navigate between stacked panes
Alt+[ / Alt+]	Consume / Expel Pane	Experimental (alpha): merge into sibling stack, or expel out of stack
Alt+Shift+[ / Alt+Shift+]	Consume / Expel Pane (Vertical)	Experimental (alpha): up/down variants

Resize Mode

Shortcut	Action	Notes
Ctrl+N	Enter Resize Mode	Modal mode for pane resizing
←/↓/↑/→ / h/j/k/l (in resize mode)	Move Divider	Resizes the nearest split by moving the divider
H/J/K/L (in resize mode)	Move Divider (Inverse)	Inverts the direction
+ / - (in resize mode)	Smart Resize	Grow/shrink the active pane (best-effort)
Enter (in resize mode)	Confirm	Exit resize mode
Escape (in resize mode)	Cancel	Exit resize mode

Session Management

Shortcut	Action	Notes
Ctrl+O	Enter Session Mode	Modal mode for session operations
Ctrl+Shift+S	Open Session Manager	Direct access to session browser
S / W (in session mode)	Open Session Manager	Browse and restore sessions
Escape (in session mode)	Exit Session Mode	Return to normal navigation

Mouse Controls

Action	Result	Notes
Drag pane divider	Resize panes	Updates split ratio and persists in session snapshots
Ctrl+Scroll Up	Zoom In	Smooth zoom control
Ctrl+Scroll Down	Zoom Out	Smooth zoom control
Mouse Button 8	Navigate Back	Side button (back)
Mouse Button 9	Navigate Forward	Side button (forward)
Two-finger Swipe	Back/Forward	When supported by touchpad

Omnibox/Find Mode (when active)

Shortcut	Action	Notes
Escape	Close/Clear	Clear input if text present, close if empty
Enter	Execute/Navigate	Navigate to URL or jump to match
Shift+Enter	Previous Match	Find mode: go to previous match
Alt+Enter	Center Match	Find mode: center on match, keep open
Tab	Toggle View	Omnibox mode: switch between history and favorites
Space	Toggle Favorite	Omnibox mode: favorite/unfavorite selected item
Ctrl+1-9, 0	Quick Navigate	Jump to result by number (1-10)
↑/↓ Arrow	Navigate Results	Browse suggestions/matches
Hold key 400ms	Accent Picker	Shows accented variants in any text input (e.g., hold 'e' for è, é, ê, ë)

All zoom changes are automatically persisted per-domain and restored on next visit.

Quick Start

Option 1: Use Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

Download the latest release from the releases page:

# Download latest release
wget https://github.com/bnema/dumber/releases/latest/download/dumber_linux_x86_64.tar.gz

# Extract and install to ~/.local/bin (enables auto-updates)
tar -xzf dumber_linux_x86_64.tar.gz
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
install -m 755 dumber_*/dumber ~/.local/bin/

# Ensure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc if needed)
# export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Then install runtime dependencies (see Dependencies section below).

Option 2: Build From Source

Prerequisites:

• Go 1.25+
• Node.js 20+ and npm (for building the embedded TypeScript frontend)
• For GUI build: WebKitGTK 6 and GTK4 dev packages (examples)
  • Minimum runtime versions: WebKitGTK 6.0 >= 2.50, GTK4 >= 4.20, GLib >= 2.84
  • Debian/Ubuntu: libwebkitgtk-6.0-dev libgtk-4-dev build-essential
  • Arch: webkitgtk-6.0 gtk4 base-devel
  • Verify your system with: dumber doctor (or configure runtime.prefix for /opt installs)

Build options:

• Default (recommended):
  • make build # builds frontend + Go (pure Go; CGO off)
  • Run: ./dist/dumber # run the app
• Quick (no frontend rebuild):
  • make build-quick
  • Run: ./dist/dumber

Development:

• make dev runs go run ./cmd/dumber
• make test runs tests; make lint runs golangci‑lint

Install

Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

Pre-built binaries are available for Linux (x86_64/amd64) in the releases page. See Quick Start for installation instructions.

Arch Linux (AUR)

Dumber is available on the Arch User Repository (AUR):

# Binary package (pre-built, recommended - fastest install)
yay -S dumber-browser-bin

# Or build from source (latest git - bleeding edge)
yay -S dumber-browser-git

Both packages install to /usr/bin/dumber and include desktop integration. The binary package downloads pre-built releases from GitHub, while the git package builds from the latest source code.

Note: When installed via AUR, the self-updater is automatically disabled. Use yay -Syu or your preferred AUR helper to update.

Flatpak

A Flatpak bundle is available in each release. This is the easiest way to install Dumber with all dependencies included:

# Download the Flatpak bundle from the latest release
wget https://github.com/bnema/dumber/releases/latest/download/dumber.flatpak

# Install it (user-level, no root required)
flatpak install --user dumber.flatpak

# Run it
flatpak run dev.bnema.Dumber browse

To uninstall:

flatpak uninstall --user dev.bnema.Dumber

Dependencies

Required for both pre-built binaries and source builds:

Arch Linux:

# Core WebKitGTK 6.0 and GTK4
sudo pacman -S webkitgtk-6.0 gtk4

# GStreamer for media playback
sudo pacman -S gst-plugins-base gst-plugins-good gst-plugins-bad gst-plugins-ugly gst-libav gst-plugin-pipewire pipewire pipewire-pulse

# Hardware video decoding (required for YouTube, Twitch, etc.)
sudo pacman -S gst-plugin-va

# VA-API drivers (choose based on your GPU)
# AMD: sudo pacman -S mesa
# NVIDIA: sudo pacman -S libva-nvidia-driver
# Intel: sudo pacman -S libva-intel-driver intel-media-driver

Debian/Ubuntu:

⚠️ Note: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ships with GLib 2.80, but this project requires GLib 2.84+ due to newer GTK/WebKitGTK runtime requirements. Use Arch Linux, Fedora 41+, or another distribution with recent GLib packages.

# Core WebKitGTK and GTK4
sudo apt install libwebkitgtk-6.0-4 libgtk-4-1

# GStreamer for media playback
sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-libav gstreamer1.0-pipewire

# Hardware video decoding (gst-plugins-bad includes VA stateless decoders)
# VA-API drivers
sudo apt install va-driver-all

Build From Source

Note: go install will not work for this project because the frontend assets must be built first and embedded into the binary.

Prerequisites:

• Go 1.25+
• Node.js 20+ and npm (for building the embedded TypeScript frontend)
• WebKitGTK 6 and GTK4 dev packages:
  • Minimum runtime versions: WebKitGTK 6.0 >= 2.50, GTK4 >= 4.20, GLib >= 2.84
  • Debian/Ubuntu: libwebkitgtk-6.0-dev libgtk-4-dev build-essential
  • Arch: webkitgtk-6.0 gtk4 base-devel
  • Verify your system with: dumber doctor (or configure runtime.prefix for /opt installs)

Build options:

• GUI build (default, recommended):
  • Clone the repo and run make build (builds frontend first, then Go with GUI support)
  • The resulting ./dist/dumber binary includes the native GUI window
• CLI‑only (no native window):
  • Clone the repo and run make build-no-gui
  • The resulting ./dist/dumber-no-gui binary runs CLI flows with GUI code stubbed

Usage

• Open a URL, local file, or search:
  • dumber browse https://example.com
  • dumber browse example.com # scheme auto‑added
  • dumber browse ./test.html # local file path (converted to file://)
  • dumber browse dumb://home # built-in home page (stats, shortcuts, etc.)
  • dumber browse "!g golang" # search via bang shortcut
• Show version information:
  • dumber about # version, commit, and build date
• Check for and install updates:
  • dumber update # check and install if available
  • dumber update --force # force reinstall (skips version check)
• Launcher integration (dmenu‑style examples with favicon support):
  • rofi: dumber dmenu | rofi -dmenu -show-icons -p "🔍 " | dumber dmenu --select
  • fuzzel: dumber dmenu | fuzzel --dmenu -p "🔍 " | dumber dmenu --select
  • dumber dmenu --interactive # built-in TUI fuzzy finder
  • dumber dmenu --days 7 # show history from last 7 days (default: 30)
  • dumber dmenu --most-visited # sort by visit count instead of recency
• Manage browsing history:
  • dumber history # interactive history browser (timeline tabs + fuzzy search)
  • dumber history --json # output recent entries as JSON
  • dumber history --json --max 50 # limit JSON output to N entries
  • dumber history stats # show history statistics
  • dumber history clear # interactive time-range cleanup
• Clean up data:
  • dumber purge # interactive selection (TUI)
  • dumber purge --force # remove everything (no prompts)
• Manage configuration:
  • dumber config status # show config path and migration availability
  • dumber config migrate # add missing default settings to config
  • dumber config migrate --yes # skip confirmation prompt
• Manage sessions:
  • dumber sessions # interactive session browser (TUI)
  • dumber sessions list # list saved sessions
  • dumber sessions list --json # output sessions as JSON
  • dumber sessions list --limit 50 # limit number of sessions shown
  • dumber sessions restore <id> # restore a session in a new window
  • dumber sessions delete <id> # delete a saved session
• Manage logs:
  • dumber logs # list sessions with log files
  • dumber logs <session> # show logs for a session (full ID or unique suffix)
  • dumber logs -f <session> # follow logs in real time
  • dumber logs -n 200 <session> # show last N lines
  • dumber logs clear # clean up old log files
  • dumber logs clear --all # remove all log files
• Generate documentation:
  • dumber gen-docs # install man pages to ~/.local/share/man/man1/
  • dumber gen-docs --format markdown # generate markdown docs to ./docs/
  • dumber gen-docs --output ./man # generate to custom directory

Dmenu mode invocation

You can invoke dmenu mode in two ways:

• Piped launcher (generate options): dumber dmenu
• Receive selection from stdin: dumber dmenu --select

For a built-in fuzzy finder UI, use: dumber dmenu --interactive

In GUI mode the app serves an embedded home page via dumb://home, and frontend assets under dumb://app/....

There is also a WIP config UI at dumb://config for viewing/applying settings with live reload.

Tab Management

Each tab holds its own workspace. Each workspace can contain multiple panes (split or stacked). Switch between tabs to switch between independent workspaces.

How it Works

1. Enter Tab Mode: Press Ctrl+T to enter tab mode (modal interface with timeout)
2. Create/Close Tabs: Use keyboard shortcuts:
   • N or C - New tab
   • X - Close current tab
3. Navigate: Use Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab for quick tab switching, or L/H in tab mode
4. Exit: Press Escape to exit tab mode or wait for timeout

Pane Management

Split your browser window into multiple panes, each running independent web sessions.

How it Works

1. Enter Pane Mode: Press Ctrl+P to enter pane mode (modal interface with timeout)
2. Split or Stack Panes: Use arrow keys or letter shortcuts:
   • → or R - Split right
   • ← or L - Split left
   • ↑ or U - Split up
   • ↓ or D - Split down
   • S - Stack panes (Zellij-style, shows title bars for collapsed panes)
3. Navigate: Use Alt+Arrow Keys to move focus between split panes, or Alt+Up/Down to navigate within stacked panes
4. Close: Press X in pane mode to close the current pane

Session Management

Dumber automatically saves your browser session (tabs, panes, split ratios, URLs) and allows you to restore previous sessions.

How it Works

1. Automatic Snapshots: Session state is saved automatically (debounced, every 5s by default) and on graceful shutdown
2. Session Manager: Press Ctrl+O → s or Ctrl+Shift+S to open the session manager modal
3. Browse Sessions: View active and exited sessions with tab/pane previews
4. Restore: Select an exited session to restore it in a new browser window
5. CLI Access: Use dumber sessions for an interactive TUI, or dumber sessions list/restore/delete for scripting

Configuration

Configuration file: ~/.config/dumber/config.toml (supports TOML, JSON, YAML)

A default config is created on first run. Changes are applied automatically (hot reload). Override any setting with DUMB_BROWSER_* or DUMBER_* environment variables.

Full documentation: docs/CONFIG.md - Complete reference for all settings, workspace controls, shortcuts, styling, and more.

Building With WebKitGTK 6 (GTK4)

• Dumber uses pure-Go bindings (no CGO).
• You still need the system GTK4/WebKitGTK runtime libraries installed to run the GUI.
• Build targets:
  • make build (builds frontend + binary)
  • make build-quick (binary only; skips frontend build)

Media (GStreamer) & Hardware Acceleration

WebKitGTK uses GStreamer for media playback. Dumber includes automatic hardware video acceleration support that detects your GPU and configures the appropriate drivers.

Hardware Acceleration Features:

• Automatic GPU detection (AMD, NVIDIA, Intel)
• VA-API and VDPAU driver configuration
• Support for H.264, HEVC, VP9, and AV1 codecs
• Significantly reduced CPU usage during video streaming

Required packages:

• Arch Linux:
  • sudo pacman -S gst-plugins-base gst-plugins-good gst-plugins-bad gst-plugins-ugly gst-libav gst-plugin-pipewire pipewire pipewire-pulse
  • Hardware decoding: gst-plugin-va (stateless VA decoders - required for WebKitGTK)
  • VA-API drivers: mesa (AMD), libva-nvidia-driver (NVIDIA), libva-intel-driver intel-media-driver (Intel)
• Debian/Ubuntu:
  • sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-libav gstreamer1.0-pipewire
  • Hardware decoding: gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad includes VA stateless decoders
  • VA-API drivers: va-driver-all (covers most GPUs)

References

• puregotk: https://github.com/jwijenbergh/puregotk
• puregotk-webkit: https://github.com/bnema/puregotk-webkit
• ublock-webkit-filters (filter list releases): https://github.com/bnema/ublock-webkit-filters

Contribute

I will gladly accept contributions, especially related to UI/UX enhancements. Feel free to open an issue and let's discuss it!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.