NavZip

A quieter space for the web.

An open-source Chromium browser with a minimal interface,
flexible tabs and a new tab that belongs to you.

Releases · Get started · Build · Screenshots · Contribute · Roadmap

Experimental developer preview. NavZip has been built and tested on macOS Intel. There is no qualified, signed Chromium installer yet. Windows, Linux and Apple Silicon browser builds remain unvalidated. What has been tested →

Less interface. More room.

• Tabs when you need them. The tab bar disappears with one tab and returns with two. Choose horizontal or vertical tabs.
• Two pages, one view. Native split views keep each page's navigation and state.
• Your own starting point. A local clock, search and shortcuts you add yourself. No bundled sites, greeting, personal name, city or weather widget.
• One visual identity. Graphite and mint in dark mode; quiet, green-accented surfaces in light mode, including Settings.
• A familiar foundation. Chromium, Blink and V8, with native browser services and sandboxing preserved.
• Open development. C++/Views for the browser, HTML/CSS/TypeScript and Mojo for the new tab, and Rust for development tools, migration and the bounded Wasm helper.

Horizontal tabs Navigation first. Tabs just below.

Vertical tabs A different layout for the same pages.

_{Actual macOS captures. The current interface is in Brazilian Portuguese; project documentation and contribution workflows are in English. Historical design concepts are labeled separately in the gallery.}

Try the project

For now, NavZip is for developers comfortable building Chromium. End users should wait for a qualified release; an old Alpha installer is not the Chromium browser shown here.

git clone https://github.com/LuisPeixoto/NavZip.git
cd NavZip
cargo xtask doctor
cargo xtask fetch
cargo xtask build
cargo xtask run -- --no-first-run

Install the native platform prerequisites first. Initial synchronization requires at least 120 GiB free, and builds maintain a 20 GiB reserve; some configurations need more. The Chromium checkout and output stay outside Git. Complete build guide →

Want to contribute without compiling Chromium?

cargo test --workspace --locked
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --locked -- -D warnings
npm ci --ignore-scripts
npx playwright install --with-deps chromium
npm test

On macOS, component tests use an installed Google Chrome unless NAVZIP_QA_BROWSER selects another executable. These tests validate the WebUI component; they are distinct from tests of the native NavZip browser.

Know the boundaries

Area	Current state
macOS Intel browser	Native development build; 16 integration checks passed locally
Tabs, split view, themes	Exercised in the native browser
HTTPS, VP9 video, authenticated downloads, PDF	Covered by the native integration script
Chromium extensions	A local MV3 content script tested; Chrome Web Store and broader compatibility pending
Private browsing	Cookie isolation and post-close test-marker checks passed; full security audit pending
Windows, Linux, macOS Apple Silicon	Build targets planned; browser qualification pending
Installers and updates	No qualified installer, production signing or signed updater yet
Passwords, printing, real-account web apps	Upstream services retained; complete NavZip validation pending
NavZip Wasm extensions	Rust library and isolated worker tested; browser installation UI not integrated

No memory, speed or battery advantage over Chrome or Brave is claimed without reproducible measurements. NavZip is not affiliated with Google, Brave or the Chromium project.

Find your way

For	Start here
Users and first-time contributors	Getting started · FAQ
Browser developers	Build guide · Architecture · Chromium patch workflow
Designers and UI contributors	Design · Screenshot gallery
Test and security contributors	Validation · Security policy · Release gates
Extension authors	Extension model · Examples
Everyone contributing	Contribution guide · Community guidelines · Governance

Help shape NavZip

Start with a small, focused contribution: improve a build instruction, reproduce a bug, review accessibility or add a missing regression check. Check existing issues before proposing work. Use English for issues, pull requests and commits so more people can participate.

Report vulnerabilities privately through the security policy, rather than a public issue.

License and acknowledgments

NavZip's own code is licensed under MPL-2.0. Chromium and other dependencies retain their respective licenses and copyright notices; see third-party notices. Keep those notices with redistributed builds. The project does not ship the proprietary source code or extracted assets of Chrome, Safari or Brave.