Northstar is a minimalist, free-software web browser implemented from scratch in C (~160k lines) and distributed under GPLv3+. It intentionally avoids upstream engines (no Gecko/WebKit/Blink) and runs as a single window, single page, single process to maximize auditability. Linux builds run behind a Landlock filesystem sandbox with PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS and a default-deny seccomp filter; there is no JIT. Privacy is built in: no telemetry or update pings, on-device safe-browsing via a local SHA-256 blocklist, and partitioned cookies, storage and cache. The project emphasizes measurable specification compliance rather than inherited behavior.
Functionally it implements a broad slice of modern web platform features: an in-engine cascade and layout with flex, grid, transforms, animations, container queries and color() spaces; JavaScript via quickjs-ng (or original QuickJS), DOM/Shadow DOM, Canvas2D, WebCrypto over OpenSSL, workers, IndexedDB over SQLite, service workers, WebExtensions, HTTP/2 (HTTP/3 via libcurl/alt‑svc), image codecs via Wuffs/libavif and in-engine SVG, WebAssembly via WAMR, printing and a headless mode. Northstar 1.0.12 adds UI polish, an 8 MB engine stack and a QuickJS build. Deliberate omissions include no multi-tab/multi-window model, no WebGL/WebGPU, no H.264 or Media Source Extensions (so many streaming sites won’t play), and limited media codec support (MPEG‑1, MP3, Ogg).
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A browser-native implementation of the classic Visual Basic VB6 IDE has been developed, allowing users to run VB6 applications directly in a web browser. The project aims to recreate the original development environment using web technologies. (wieslawsoltes.github.io)
An open directory catalogs 291 data visualization tools, ranked daily using GitHub, NPM, PyPI, and CRAN data. It covers categories like JavaScript, Python, R, and more, with tools including charting libraries, dashboards, and mapping visualizers. (awesomedataviz.com)
A user searched for an affordable, customizable email solution for their domain jacobg.co, focusing on easy setup and unlimited addresses. After testing Cloudflare email routing, Mailflare, and Purelymail, they identified limitations in reliability and cost, leading to their final choice. (jacobg.co)
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