Afrika Browser

Afrika is a lightweight desktop web browser built with C++ and Qt WebEngine. The project focuses on clean UI, simple architecture, and easy maintainability.

Highlights

• Modern, compact UI with an ice-white theme
• Tabbed browsing with favicon support
• Navigation controls (back, forward, reload)
• Address/search bar with URL-or-search behavior
• Session save and restore
• Configurable homepage and dark mode toggle
• Centralized UI styling and theme tokens

Tech Stack

• C++17
• CMake (Ninja supported)
• Qt 6 Widgets
• Qt 6 WebEngine

Project Structure

src/
	main.cpp
	storage/
		SessionStorage.*
		Settings.*
	ui/
		BrowserWindow.*
		BrowserWindowMenu.cpp
		BrowserWindowNavigation.cpp
		BrowserWindowSession.cpp
		BrowserWindowTabs.cpp
		UIStyleSheet.*
		UIStyleSheetToolbar.cpp
		UIStyleSheetTabs.cpp
		UIStyleSheetDialogs.cpp
		UITheme.h
	utils/
		UrlUtils.*

Requirements

• C++ compiler with C++17 support
• CMake 3.16+
• Qt 6 (Widgets + WebEngine modules)

Installation

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install cmake ninja qt qtwebengine

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential cmake ninja-build qt6-base-dev qt6-webengine-dev

Build

From the project root:

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/homebrew/opt/qt/lib/cmake
cmake --build build

Notes:

• The CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH above is the common Homebrew Qt path on macOS.
• On Linux, you usually do not need to pass CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH if Qt was installed from apt.

Run

./build/Afrika

Configuration and Data

Afrika stores local data in user directories:

• Settings/session config: ~/.config/afrika
• Cache/storage data: ~/.cache/afrika

Paths are resolved through Qt standard locations and may vary by platform.

Development Notes

• Keep UI logic split by responsibility (toolbar, tabs, dialogs, navigation, sessions).
• Keep styles centralized in the UIStyleSheet modules and UITheme tokens.
• Prefer small, focused files for maintainability.

Troubleshooting

• If CMake cannot find Qt on macOS, provide CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH explicitly.
• If WebEngine fails to link, verify that qtwebengine is installed and matches your Qt version.
• For a clean rebuild:

rm -rf build
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/homebrew/opt/qt/lib/cmake
cmake --build build

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

See LICENSE for the full license text.