Freedom Browser

Freedom is a browser for the decentralized web, with Swarm, IPFS, onchain applications, Radicle, ENS, and Tezos Domains as first-class protocols. Integrated Ant, freedom-ipfs, Radicle, experimental Myotis, and Tor components provide direct access to decentralized and onion networks without relying on centralized HTTP gateways.

Download

Download the latest build for macOS, Linux, or Windows from the official download page at freedom.baby.

Radicle is available on macOS, Linux, and Windows (x64 and ARM64). Tor is available on macOS and Linux only: the Windows build ships without the bundled Tor (Arti) client, so .onion access is unavailable there.

What Freedom supports

• Native bzz://, ipfs://, ipns://, web3://, and rad:// navigation, plus optional .onion routing through Tor.
• Contract-hosted applications (draft ERC-8244) loaded straight from an Ethereum-compatible chain, with no HTTP gateway.
• Integrated Ant (Swarm), freedom-ipfs, Radicle, experimental Myotis, and Tor components with per-profile configuration.
• ENS, WNS, GNS, and Tezos Domains resolution, including .eth, .box, .wei, .gwei, and .tez names.
• Tabs, sidebar, bookmarks, history, downloads, find-in-page, shortcuts, themes, permissions, and automatic updates.
• Ad blocking with signed list updates and per-site allowlisting.
• Wallet and dApp flows, x402 payments, hardware-wallet support, and Swarm/Radicle provider APIs.
• Custom protocol origins so decentralized applications can use relative assets, storage, service workers, and range requests naturally.

See the feature guide for the detailed capability list.

Run from source

Development uses Node.js 24 LTS. The exact repository version is pinned in .nvmrc.

nvm install
nvm use
npm ci
npm run ant:download
npm run ipfs:download
npm run myotis:download
npm start

Swarm and IPFS start automatically. Radicle and Myotis are opt-in under Settings → Automatic Startup. Run npm run radicle:download before enabling Radicle under Settings → Nodes; on macOS and Linux, run npm run tor:download before enabling Tor under Settings → Experimental. For prerequisites, platform notes, tests, debugging, and local builds, read the development guide.

Architecture

Freedom is an Electron application. Protocol, node-lifecycle, permission, wallet, download, and persistence logic lives in the main process. The renderer is a modular UI layer that communicates with the main process through the allowlisted channels in src/shared/ipc-channels.js.

The main process handles bzz:, ipfs:, ipns:, web3:, rad:, and .onion navigation, manages per-profile nodes and storage, and resolves supported decentralized names. web3: needs no node or gateway: the handler reads the contract's ERC-8244 html() document through the same chain-data router the wallet uses. Security-sensitive capabilities stay out of page and renderer contexts unless exposed through a narrow preload or IPC API.

Directory	Responsibility
src/main/	Electron main process, services, native nodes, protocol handlers, IPC, and persistence
src/renderer/	Browser UI, internal pages, navigation, settings, and dApp integration
src/shared/	Constants and utilities shared across processes
test-e2e/	Playwright harness and live Electron tests
config/	Runtime templates, default data, and platform entitlements
scripts/	Build, download, smoke-test, and maintenance tooling
docs/	User, protocol, contributor, and maintainer documentation

Contributors changing process responsibilities or adding IPC channels must follow the architecture boundaries.

Security model

• Electron runs with context isolation enabled and Node integration disabled in web content.
• Privileged internal APIs are restricted to trusted freedom:// pages or narrow provider surfaces.
• Web permissions are denied by default and granted through per-site prompts.
• Nodes run locally by default; external endpoints are explicit per-profile settings.
• ENS resolution uses public RPC fallbacks unless a custom or locally verified endpoint is configured.

Do not post credentials, seed phrases, private keys, or sensitive logs in public issues. See CONTRIBUTING.md for disclosure guidance.

Documentation

• Documentation index
• Development
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• Swarm content retrieval and migration
• IPFS/IPNS content retrieval and migration
• Contract-hosted applications (ERC-8244)
• Radicle provider API
• Native IPFS desktop integration
• Changelog

Contributing

Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening an issue or pull request. It explains issue scope, local verification, commit conventions, licensing, and the policy for AI-assisted contributions.

Freedom Browser is available under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Third-party notices are recorded in NOTICES.