{"slug": "zen", "name": "Zen", "category": "browsers", "category_name": "Browsers and extensions", "description": "Open-source, Firefox-based desktop web browser with an Arc-inspired vertical tab interface.", "recommenders": 31, "commenters": 45, "warners": 4, "score": 28.014, "rising": 17.73, "first": "2025-11-14", "latest": "2026-10-26", "why": "Recommended as a Firefox-based replacement for Arc, with sidebar tabs, pinned tabs and spaces that users like.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 31, "neutral": 7, "compare": 3, "warn": 4}, "spark": [1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 6, 0, 5, 5, 11], "listed": true, "loved": ["Arc replacement", "Firefox foundation"], "caveat": "Bugs", "short_quote": "Can highly recommend it as a near drop-in replacement for Arc, albeit built on Firefox.", "icon": true, "domain": "zen-browser.app", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://zen-browser.app/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Zen", "Zen Browser", "zen"], "verdict": [{"text": "Recommended as a Firefox-based replacement for Arc", "cites": [{"id": 803216448, "item_id": 50201028, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201028", "by": "constantlm", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Can highly recommend it as a near drop-in replacement for Arc, albeit built on Firefox.", "excerpt": "I've been expecting this news for a while, and I moved to Zen when they changed direction originally. Can highly recommend it as a near drop-in replacement for Arc, albeit built on Firefox. https://zen-browser.app/", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803177264, "item_id": 50198579, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198579", "by": "Ardakilic", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You could try Zen browser. It's like Arc, but Firefox based.", "excerpt": "You could try Zen browser. It's like Arc, but Firefox based. Or if you like Chromium engine you could try Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "Arc replacement", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803191232, "item_id": 50199452, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50199452", "by": "d3Xt3r", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen Browser, it's based on Firefox but it's pretty sleek and borrows a lot of concepts from Arc", "excerpt": "Zen Browser, it's based on Firefox but it's pretty sleek and borrows a lot of concepts from Arc, so it would be the most obvious replacement I reckon. https://zen-browser.app/", "context": "", "use_case": "Arc replacement browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)"}, {"id": 803167392, "item_id": 50197962, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50197962", "by": "jamie_ca", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen", "excerpt": "Writing was on the wall once they pivoted to Dia, I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen (though for a few things that matter, it's Firefox-based not Chrome). https://zen-browser.app/ They picked up a lot of cues from Arc - sidebar tabs, pinned vs generic tabs, global bookmarks, spaces...", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}]}, {"text": ", with sidebar tabs, pinned tabs and spaces that users like.", "cites": [{"id": 803167392, "item_id": 50197962, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50197962", "by": "jamie_ca", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen", "excerpt": "Writing was on the wall once they pivoted to Dia, I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen (though for a few things that matter, it's Firefox-based not Chrome). https://zen-browser.app/ They picked up a lot of cues from Arc - sidebar tabs, pinned vs generic tabs, global bookmarks, spaces...", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 776963904, "item_id": 48560244, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48560244", "by": "ldom66", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen has a special flavor of vertical tabs where pinned tabs open links in a modal, which I now can't do without", "excerpt": "Try vertical tabs. I fell in love since I've been using it daily. Zen has a special flavor of vertical tabs where pinned tabs open links in a modal, which I now can't do without, and can be reset to the original url with a middle click. I use that all the time for HN, mail, youtube, claude, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "vertical tabs browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaints are bugs, slowdowns and sites that don't work properly", "cites": [{"id": 803173056, "item_id": 50198316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198316", "by": "lnenad", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening.", "excerpt": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening. For example, clicking on exes in the downloads would retrigger the download instead of running the file. Random crashes. I was able to drag the whole window by clicking on random parts of the page (I noticed this as I highlight text during reading). It got very slow. I tried to report these but the button to report would actually redi", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 778426532, "item_id": 48651658, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48651658", "by": "speedgoose", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "excerpt": "Homebrew to get a package manager that is not managed by Apple and its many restrictions and high fees. AltTab and Rectangle to have more features to manage windows. Ghostty can replace Terminal.app though I think it leaks memory. Zen Browser is Firefox with an Arc inspired interface. It's slow and heavy but it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 792244512, "item_id": 49515282, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49515282", "by": "slfnflctd", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen is my favorite browser experience by far", "excerpt": "I recently switched to Zen with Ublock Origin and it does seem like some sites are slower than before. It's got me suspicious that site owners are increasingly throttling users with adblockers. YouTube absolutely does. Zen is my favorite browser experience by far, and I've been using the web since Netscape in 1994. But the slowdowns do put a damper on things. Also some of the streaming platforms don't seem to play ni", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}]}, {"text": ", and some find it less polished than Arc.", "cites": [{"id": 798481746, "item_id": 49905109, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49905109", "by": "thiht", "date": "2026-09-30", "stance": "compare", "quote": "it just doesn\u2019t have the same level of polish", "excerpt": "I use Safari and Arc because they\u2019re both innovative in ways that\u2019s not matched by open source counterparts. I tried ditching Arc for Zen, but it just doesn\u2019t have the same level of polish. It feels like a copycat, which it is. I hope it gets better with time so that I can switch to it some day but it\u2019s not there yet. They should be able to match Arc though since it\u2019s development is stopped. I use Safari because it s", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "The new Firefox design is here"}, {"id": 803266816, "item_id": 50204176, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50204176", "by": "milch", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Zen as my work browser", "excerpt": "I use Zen as my work browser but weirdly the developers seem to have a few Arc features they are actively opposed to despite ... let's say taking heavy inspiration from Arc otherwise. Two examples I can think of off the top of my head are the auto closing of tabs, and preventing websites from taking over certain keyboard shortcuts.", "context": "", "use_case": "work browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Arc replacement", "summary": "Former Arc users call it a near drop-in replacement and say they don't miss Arc.", "quotes": [{"id": 803216448, "item_id": 50201028, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201028", "by": "constantlm", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Can highly recommend it as a near drop-in replacement for Arc, albeit built on Firefox.", "excerpt": "I've been expecting this news for a while, and I moved to Zen when they changed direction originally. Can highly recommend it as a near drop-in replacement for Arc, albeit built on Firefox. https://zen-browser.app/", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 792275168, "item_id": 49517198, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517198", "by": "Swalden123", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "This caused me to go back and try Firefox again, I struggled with performance years ago on Mac when I did this. This time it\u2019s been great, I switched from Arc to Zen and don\u2019t see any reason to go back.", "context": "Mac user", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}, {"id": 803908464, "item_id": 50244279, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50244279", "by": "Nerdrotic", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Switched to Zen never looked back.", "excerpt": "Meh... Switched to Zen never looked back. Cross-platform far more important to be than any A.I. features. I wanted a browser with no UX and that's what Arc delivered then they had to be copied and cloned by Zen before it became useful. Current release of Zen surpasses what Arc had going on. Don't give a flip about Dia.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}]}, {"label": "Firefox foundation", "summary": "Users like that it runs on Firefox but with a fresh UI, and some long-time Firefox users switched to it.", "quotes": [{"id": 734853472, "item_id": 45928342, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45928342", "by": "4ggr0", "date": "2025-11-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "on desktop devices i've recently switched to Zen which has rekindled my love for FF", "excerpt": "i see a lot of dismissive comments towards Firefox in general in this thread, so i just wanted to mention that i use it since over a decade on all of my devices. on desktop devices i've recently switched to Zen which has rekindled my love for FF. not that i stopped loving it before, but it feels nice to use a completely different UI after all this time.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "I think nobody wants AI in Firefox, Mozilla"}, {"id": 792492496, "item_id": 49530781, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49530781", "by": "Insanity", "date": "2026-09-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've switched to Zen about a year ago after ~2 decades of Firefox.", "excerpt": "I'm holding on.. in a way. I've switched to Zen about a year ago after ~2 decades of Firefox. It's a fork of Firefox so I'm counting it as supporting Firefox anyway. However, on my iPhone and iPad I've stuck with Safari. Because it's \"good enough\", I'm not a heavy phone user, and really any browser on iOS is just a reskin of Safari given they don't allow different web browser engines.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Hang on to Your Firefox"}, {"id": 738292450, "item_id": 46143278, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46143278", "by": "samtheDamned", "date": "2025-12-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'd probably be using Zen [1] because its nice to see a firefox based browser that tries to introduce new features", "excerpt": "I use firefox mostly because it's not blink based, and because I've used it all my life, but I also really love the userChrome system even if its hidden behind a flag. Since I use mostly vanilla gnome I use a firefox libadwaita skin [0] that makes it blend in nicely. I used to be jealous of chrome based browsers for their performance but I tried to switch to brave a couple years ago and honestly it doesn't look or fe", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Which web browser are you using and why?"}]}, {"label": "Tab layout", "summary": "Users praise its vertical tabs, pinned tabs that open links in a modal, and spaces.", "quotes": [{"id": 776963904, "item_id": 48560244, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48560244", "by": "ldom66", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen has a special flavor of vertical tabs where pinned tabs open links in a modal, which I now can't do without", "excerpt": "Try vertical tabs. I fell in love since I've been using it daily. Zen has a special flavor of vertical tabs where pinned tabs open links in a modal, which I now can't do without, and can be reset to the original url with a middle click. I use that all the time for HN, mail, youtube, claude, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "vertical tabs browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers"}, {"id": 803167392, "item_id": 50197962, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50197962", "by": "jamie_ca", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen", "excerpt": "Writing was on the wall once they pivoted to Dia, I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen (though for a few things that matter, it's Firefox-based not Chrome). https://zen-browser.app/ They picked up a lot of cues from Arc - sidebar tabs, pinned vs generic tabs, global bookmarks, spaces...", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 777290432, "item_id": 48580652, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48580652", "by": "upfrog", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "points to Zen (and related efforts) for trying such a different paradigm for arranging tabs.", "excerpt": "I really don't like the idea of vertical tabs, but given how so many web pages these days work, I should probably give them a try. That said, the tree-based approach is fascinating - points to Zen (and related efforts) for trying such a different paradigm for arranging tabs.", "context": "", "use_case": "vertical tabs browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers"}]}, {"label": "Extensions", "summary": "Firefox add-ons such as uBlock Origin, Vimium, Reader View and Apple Passwords work well in it.", "quotes": [{"id": 801225120, "item_id": 50076570, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076570", "by": "godelski", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm a big keyboard person so I love it, especially with the vimium plugin", "excerpt": "Most people don't like Zen (or Arc). Which is fine. I'm a big keyboard person so I love it, especially with the vimium plugin. But sometimes people get confused at my browser because they don't know how to navigate. Which is understandable What I like about Mozilla is they made a hackable browser so we can have things like Zen, WaterFox, or whatever floats your boat.", "context": "keyboard-oriented user", "use_case": "keyboard-driven browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Thunderbird for iOS"}, {"id": 803320880, "item_id": 50207555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50207555", "by": "d3Xt3r", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "on Zen, I use Readability based Reader View and it does the job", "excerpt": "I haven't used Safari Reader so can't say how it compares, but on Zen, I use Readability based Reader View and it does the job, can't really complain about it. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/readability-based-reader-view/", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)"}, {"id": 792282528, "item_id": 49517658, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517658", "by": "krrrh", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recently switched from Safari to Zen and the Firefox extension for Apple passwords works well.", "excerpt": "I recently switched from Safari to Zen and the Firefox extension for Apple passwords works well. You have to enter a pushed 6 digit code when you first start the browser, but it\u2019s relatively painless.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "Safari", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}]}, {"label": "Ad blocking", "summary": "One user says it blocks ads and trackers somewhat better than Chromium browsers or Safari.", "quotes": [{"id": 778426532, "item_id": 48651658, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48651658", "by": "speedgoose", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "excerpt": "Homebrew to get a package manager that is not managed by Apple and its many restrictions and high fees. AltTab and Rectangle to have more features to manage windows. Ghostty can replace Terminal.app though I think it leaks memory. Zen Browser is Firefox with an Arc inspired interface. It's slow and heavy but it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 778569081, "item_id": 48660567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48660567", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "zen browser ( with uBlock origin and betterfox settings )", "excerpt": "homebrew ( indispensable ! all the other apps below are installed/managed via homebrew ): - raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch ) - stats - ice ( menubar manager ) - theBoringNotch ( to have some use for the annoying notch ) - mole ( storage cleaner ) - wezterm - textmate - iina - zen browser ( with uBlock origin and betterfox settings )", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}]}, {"label": "Minimal UI", "summary": "Commenters describe it as a minimal daily driver with little UI getting in the way.", "quotes": [{"id": 797368720, "item_id": 49835545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49835545", "by": "krzs9", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if you would like a super minimal daily driver", "excerpt": "https://zen-browser.app/ - if you would like a super minimal daily driver", "context": "", "use_case": "minimal daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Search \u2013 A small, fast WebKit browser for macOS"}, {"id": 803908464, "item_id": 50244279, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50244279", "by": "Nerdrotic", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Switched to Zen never looked back.", "excerpt": "Meh... Switched to Zen never looked back. Cross-platform far more important to be than any A.I. features. I wanted a browser with no UX and that's what Arc delivered then they had to be copied and cloned by Zen before it became useful. Current release of Zen surpasses what Arc had going on. Don't give a flip about Dia.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Bugs", "summary": "Users report bugs, random crashes, and in one case a system lockup on Fedora.", "quotes": [{"id": 803173056, "item_id": 50198316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198316", "by": "lnenad", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening.", "excerpt": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening. For example, clicking on exes in the downloads would retrigger the download instead of running the file. Random crashes. I was able to drag the whole window by clicking on random parts of the page (I noticed this as I highlight text during reading). It got very slow. I tried to report these but the button to report would actually redi", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 783478224, "item_id": 48967389, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48967389", "by": "KlamKing", "date": "2026-07-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "i just tried it in zen browser on fedora 44 and the system hard locked up", "excerpt": "I love this idea. But i just tried it in zen browser on fedora 44 and the system hard locked up. I guess I could try chromium next time.", "context": "Fedora user", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "I built a browser-based P2P file transfer tool using WebRTC"}]}, {"label": "Performance", "summary": "Some describe it as slow and heavy, or report that sites got slower after switching.", "quotes": [{"id": 778426532, "item_id": 48651658, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48651658", "by": "speedgoose", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "excerpt": "Homebrew to get a package manager that is not managed by Apple and its many restrictions and high fees. AltTab and Rectangle to have more features to manage windows. Ghostty can replace Terminal.app though I think it leaks memory. Zen Browser is Firefox with an Arc inspired interface. It's slow and heavy but it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 792244512, "item_id": 49515282, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49515282", "by": "slfnflctd", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen is my favorite browser experience by far", "excerpt": "I recently switched to Zen with Ublock Origin and it does seem like some sites are slower than before. It's got me suspicious that site owners are increasingly throttling users with adblockers. YouTube absolutely does. Zen is my favorite browser experience by far, and I've been using the web since Netscape in 1994. But the slowdowns do put a damper on things. Also some of the streaming platforms don't seem to play ni", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}, {"id": 803173056, "item_id": 50198316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198316", "by": "lnenad", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening.", "excerpt": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening. For example, clicking on exes in the downloads would retrigger the download instead of running the file. Random crashes. I was able to drag the whole window by clicking on random parts of the page (I noticed this as I highlight text during reading). It got very slow. I tried to report these but the button to report would actually redi", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}]}, {"label": "Site compatibility", "summary": "Some streaming sites and pages misbehave, so some users keep Brave as a fallback.", "quotes": [{"id": 792244512, "item_id": 49515282, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49515282", "by": "slfnflctd", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen is my favorite browser experience by far", "excerpt": "I recently switched to Zen with Ublock Origin and it does seem like some sites are slower than before. It's got me suspicious that site owners are increasingly throttling users with adblockers. YouTube absolutely does. Zen is my favorite browser experience by far, and I've been using the web since Netscape in 1994. But the slowdowns do put a damper on things. Also some of the streaming platforms don't seem to play ni", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}, {"id": 788710848, "item_id": 49294428, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49294428", "by": "mkbkn", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen browser - based on Firefox.", "excerpt": "Zen browser - based on Firefox. Brave browser - when things don't work on Zen/Firefox.", "context": "", "use_case": "main browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser do you use?"}, {"id": 803856272, "item_id": 50241017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50241017", "by": "luplex", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Zen btw", "excerpt": "it completely clips when viewing on firefox (I use Zen btw). Like half the pixels are pure white. Looks fine on chromium.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: A Truly Modular Keyboard"}]}, {"label": "Arc gaps", "summary": "Some say it lacks Arc's polish and some Arc features, such as auto-closing tabs.", "quotes": [{"id": 798481746, "item_id": 49905109, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49905109", "by": "thiht", "date": "2026-09-30", "stance": "compare", "quote": "it just doesn\u2019t have the same level of polish", "excerpt": "I use Safari and Arc because they\u2019re both innovative in ways that\u2019s not matched by open source counterparts. I tried ditching Arc for Zen, but it just doesn\u2019t have the same level of polish. It feels like a copycat, which it is. I hope it gets better with time so that I can switch to it some day but it\u2019s not there yet. They should be able to match Arc though since it\u2019s development is stopped. I use Safari because it s", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "The new Firefox design is here"}, {"id": 803266816, "item_id": 50204176, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50204176", "by": "milch", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Zen as my work browser", "excerpt": "I use Zen as my work browser but weirdly the developers seem to have a few Arc features they are actively opposed to despite ... let's say taking heavy inspiration from Arc otherwise. Two examples I can think of off the top of my head are the auto closing of tabs, and preventing websites from taking over certain keyboard shortcuts.", "context": "", "use_case": "work browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803309904, "item_id": 50206869, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50206869", "by": "puszczyk", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "i've installed zen on a modern mbp pro and so far really like it", "excerpt": "thanks for the recommendation, i was a bit skeptical because i wasn't happy with the firefox ui/ux and i had a vague recollection it destroy battery life nevertheless, i've installed zen on a modern mbp pro and so far really like it the biggest miss is the little arc (there's the glance feature, but it only works when navigating from within existing pages) i don't miss ai crap at all -- i'm an AI pilled SWE, but clau", "context": "AI-pilled SWE", "use_case": "Arc replacement browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)"}]}, {"label": "Sidebar UI", "summary": "The sidebar-centric interface doesn't suit everyone and can confuse other people who use the browser.", "quotes": [{"id": 738753202, "item_id": 46172075, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46172075", "by": "KitN", "date": "2025-12-06", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I like Zen, but I\u2019m not a fan of sidebars in browsers.", "excerpt": "I was looking for a good browser. I\u2019m finally interning, and Brave has taken over as my official browser(I don\u2019t like the concept of workspaces/profiles). I used Comet for a while but found it extremely annoying. I like Zen, but I\u2019m not a fan of sidebars in browsers. Currently settled on Helium. This would have been good, but I can\u2019t seem to understand the obsession with sidebars.", "context": "intern", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nook Browser"}, {"id": 801225120, "item_id": 50076570, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076570", "by": "godelski", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm a big keyboard person so I love it, especially with the vimium plugin", "excerpt": "Most people don't like Zen (or Arc). Which is fine. I'm a big keyboard person so I love it, especially with the vimium plugin. But sometimes people get confused at my browser because they don't know how to navigate. Which is understandable What I like about Mozilla is they made a hackable browser so we can have things like Zen, WaterFox, or whatever floats your boat.", "context": "keyboard-oriented user", "use_case": "keyboard-driven browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Thunderbird for iOS"}]}, {"label": "Linux packaging", "summary": "One Linux user won't try it because it isn't in their distro's repositories.", "quotes": [{"id": 801367490, "item_id": 50085468, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50085468", "by": "OroPla", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I'd give Zen a try, too, but it's not in the repositories of my Linux machine", "excerpt": "It's because since FF3.5 they only made the browsing experience worse. To the point I hate updating Firefox, because it there's a chance it will do something silly I'll have to fix. But all the other browsers are even worse. I'd really like to move to qutebrowser, but it doesn't have good enough adblocking. I'd give Zen a try, too, but it's not in the repositories of my Linux machine and I'm never installing a browse", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Firefox Enterprise"}]}], "who": [{"by": "puszczyk", "context": "AI-pilled SWE", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50206869", "date": "2026-10-23"}, {"by": "godelski", "context": "keyboard-oriented user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076570", "date": "2026-10-13"}, {"by": "atombender", "context": "uses Google SSO at work and personal accounts", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49884359", "date": "2026-09-28"}, {"by": "Swalden123", "context": "Mac user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517198", "date": "2026-09-01"}, {"by": "antibarbarus", "context": "Linux user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49255677", "date": "2026-08-11"}, {"by": "tomaszjanusz", "context": "built a fingerprinting extension", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49126469", "date": "2026-07-31"}], "tags": ["for former Arc users", "for Firefox fans", "for keyboard users", "for Linux users", "for Mac users"], "use_cases": ["browser", "daily browser", "web browsing", "web browser", "arc replacement browser", "browsing"], "compared": [{"slug": "arc", "name": "Arc", "co": 12, "switched_from": 6, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "firefox", "name": "Firefox", "co": 18, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "brave", "name": "Brave", "co": 6, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "safari", "name": "Safari", "co": 6, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "orion", "name": "Orion", "co": 3, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "helium", "name": "Helium", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "glide", "name": "Glide", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "chrome", "name": "Chrome", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [{"id": 789932768, "item_id": 49370798, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49370798", "by": "rukshn", "date": "2026-08-19", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "connected my email and calendar to a simple agent I built via MCP and I get a summery of important emails", "excerpt": "This I fully agree. I think I was few who never wanted to try Open Claw or wanted to connect my accounts because I saw someone at Meta getting their emails deleted. Then after I listened to Garry\u2019s talk on Gbrain last week I thought why not give it a try. So connected my email and calendar to a simple agent I built via MCP and I get a summery of important emails and also delete all non important ones. Still a WIP: ht", "context": "", "use_case": "email summaries and cleanup", "switched_from": "", "story": "Launch HN: OneCLI (YC S26) \u2013 OSS sandboxed agent harness for teams"}, {"id": 776491264, "item_id": 48530704, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48530704", "by": "anfragment", "date": "2026-06-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "system-wide filtering disables ads and tracking not just in browsers, but desktop apps as well", "excerpt": "I'm working on a system-wide desktop ad-blocker and privacy guard called Zen (for almost 2.5 years now): https://github.com/irbis-sh/zen-desktop Working on it has been a joy as ad-blocking tech touches so many aspects of software engineering - from systems and security to the intricacies of JS environments in browsers. Benefits-wise, system-wide filtering disables ads and tracking not just in browsers, but desktop ap", "context": "", "use_case": "system-wide ad-blocking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)"}, {"id": 773690864, "item_id": 48355679, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48355679", "by": "arendjr", "date": "2026-06-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen is simply a fork of Zed for those who are happy to use an IDE free from AI, telemetry, and other cloud-based services. I use it as my daily driver", "excerpt": "Zen is simply a fork of Zed for those who are happy to use an IDE free from AI, telemetry, and other cloud-based services. I use it as my daily driver and intend to maintain it so that I can also use it as the base for some non-developer tooling I want to create. Only tested on Linux for now, though Zed's support for other platforms should be (mostly?) intact.", "context": "maintainer of the fork", "use_case": "daily code editor", "switched_from": "", "story": "Zen: A distraction-free code editor based on Zed"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50197601", "title": "A farewell to Arc browser", "mentions": 7}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198852", "title": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49514878", "title": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49286427", "title": "Ask HN: What browser do you use?", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48555244", "title": "Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49527748", "title": "Hang on to Your Firefox", "mentions": 2}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1, "compare": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 6}, "2026-07": {"neutral": 2, "warn": 2}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 1, "compare": 1}, "2026-10": {"warn": 2, "recommend": 11, "compare": 1, "neutral": 2}}, "quotes": [{"id": 803908464, "item_id": 50244279, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50244279", "by": "Nerdrotic", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Switched to Zen never looked back.", "excerpt": "Meh... Switched to Zen never looked back. Cross-platform far more important to be than any A.I. features. I wanted a browser with no UX and that's what Arc delivered then they had to be copied and cloned by Zen before it became useful. Current release of Zen surpasses what Arc had going on. Don't give a flip about Dia.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803864112, "item_id": 50241507, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50241507", "by": "MrAlex94", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Congratulations to the developers of Zen, they've done so well with it.", "excerpt": "Congratulations to the developers of Zen, they've done so well with it. I can't help but be envious at the attention they've been getting the past year or so, it's what I only dreamed of what I would achieve with Waterfox. In a sense, I'd always hoped I'd end up being the alternative to the big boys, but I never quite got there - good for them.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Zen Browser is the Arc replacement I was looking for"}, {"id": 803856272, "item_id": 50241017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50241017", "by": "luplex", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Zen btw", "excerpt": "it completely clips when viewing on firefox (I use Zen btw). Like half the pixels are pure white. Looks fine on chromium.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: A Truly Modular Keyboard"}, {"id": 803320880, "item_id": 50207555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50207555", "by": "d3Xt3r", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "on Zen, I use Readability based Reader View and it does the job", "excerpt": "I haven't used Safari Reader so can't say how it compares, but on Zen, I use Readability based Reader View and it does the job, can't really complain about it. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/readability-based-reader-view/", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)"}, {"id": 803309904, "item_id": 50206869, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50206869", "by": "puszczyk", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "i've installed zen on a modern mbp pro and so far really like it", "excerpt": "thanks for the recommendation, i was a bit skeptical because i wasn't happy with the firefox ui/ux and i had a vague recollection it destroy battery life nevertheless, i've installed zen on a modern mbp pro and so far really like it the biggest miss is the little arc (there's the glance feature, but it only works when navigating from within existing pages) i don't miss ai crap at all -- i'm an AI pilled SWE, but clau", "context": "AI-pilled SWE", "use_case": "Arc replacement browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)"}, {"id": 803266816, "item_id": 50204176, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50204176", "by": "milch", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Zen as my work browser", "excerpt": "I use Zen as my work browser but weirdly the developers seem to have a few Arc features they are actively opposed to despite ... let's say taking heavy inspiration from Arc otherwise. Two examples I can think of off the top of my head are the auto closing of tabs, and preventing websites from taking over certain keyboard shortcuts.", "context": "", "use_case": "work browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803231440, "item_id": 50201965, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201965", "by": "petemilly", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Ben Werdmuller recommends Zen", "excerpt": "Thanks. I also just saw Ben Werdmuller recommends Zen https://werd.io/why-im-all-in-on-zen-browser", "context": "", "use_case": "Arc replacement browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)"}, {"id": 803216448, "item_id": 50201028, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201028", "by": "constantlm", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Can highly recommend it as a near drop-in replacement for Arc, albeit built on Firefox.", "excerpt": "I've been expecting this news for a while, and I moved to Zen when they changed direction originally. Can highly recommend it as a near drop-in replacement for Arc, albeit built on Firefox. https://zen-browser.app/", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803191232, "item_id": 50199452, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50199452", "by": "d3Xt3r", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen Browser, it's based on Firefox but it's pretty sleek and borrows a lot of concepts from Arc", "excerpt": "Zen Browser, it's based on Firefox but it's pretty sleek and borrows a lot of concepts from Arc, so it would be the most obvious replacement I reckon. https://zen-browser.app/", "context": "", "use_case": "Arc replacement browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser should I use? (RIP Arc)"}, {"id": 803180065, "item_id": 50198754, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198754", "by": "usrme", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "am now trying my luck with Zen browser", "excerpt": "I've been using Arc for years now and am really sad to see it being sunset, but am now trying my luck with Zen browser. I'd really want to be on Dia as I have much respect for its original creators, but Atlassian being behind it kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I even tried to import my Arc account into Dia to get everything done and dusted quickly, but it failed to do so, asked me to try again in a few minute", "context": "", "use_case": "replacement for Arc", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803177264, "item_id": 50198579, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198579", "by": "Ardakilic", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You could try Zen browser. It's like Arc, but Firefox based.", "excerpt": "You could try Zen browser. It's like Arc, but Firefox based. Or if you like Chromium engine you could try Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "Arc replacement", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803173056, "item_id": 50198316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198316", "by": "lnenad", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening.", "excerpt": "Zen turned to shit for me in the last month. So many stupid bugs started happening. For example, clicking on exes in the downloads would retrigger the download instead of running the file. Random crashes. I was able to drag the whole window by clicking on random parts of the page (I noticed this as I highlight text during reading). It got very slow. I tried to report these but the button to report would actually redi", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803167392, "item_id": 50197962, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50197962", "by": "jamie_ca", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen", "excerpt": "Writing was on the wall once they pivoted to Dia, I'm pretty happy having switched to Zen (though for a few things that matter, it's Firefox-based not Chrome). https://zen-browser.app/ They picked up a lot of cues from Arc - sidebar tabs, pinned vs generic tabs, global bookmarks, spaces...", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 801367490, "item_id": 50085468, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50085468", "by": "OroPla", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I'd give Zen a try, too, but it's not in the repositories of my Linux machine", "excerpt": "It's because since FF3.5 they only made the browsing experience worse. To the point I hate updating Firefox, because it there's a chance it will do something silly I'll have to fix. But all the other browsers are even worse. I'd really like to move to qutebrowser, but it doesn't have good enough adblocking. I'd give Zen a try, too, but it's not in the repositories of my Linux machine and I'm never installing a browse", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Firefox Enterprise"}, {"id": 801225120, "item_id": 50076570, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076570", "by": "godelski", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm a big keyboard person so I love it, especially with the vimium plugin", "excerpt": "Most people don't like Zen (or Arc). Which is fine. I'm a big keyboard person so I love it, especially with the vimium plugin. But sometimes people get confused at my browser because they don't know how to navigate. Which is understandable What I like about Mozilla is they made a hackable browser so we can have things like Zen, WaterFox, or whatever floats your boat.", "context": "keyboard-oriented user", "use_case": "keyboard-driven browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Thunderbird for iOS"}, {"id": 800845680, "item_id": 50052855, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50052855", "by": "matzie", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "promote Zen, i love it", "excerpt": "Also just wanna get in here and promote Zen, i love it. But the crest and design things here seem nice", "context": "", "use_case": "browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Crest \u2013 an Arc-inspired open-source browser for Mac"}, {"id": 799201265, "item_id": 49950079, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49950079", "by": "ToyKeeper", "date": "2026-10-04", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Impossible to support: Zen Browser", "excerpt": "Dang, looking at this later, I realize I forgot again that HN doesn't support common list formatting. If I put one \"- item\" per line, it joins them all into a single paragraph. And now it's too late to edit. It should work if I put a blank line between each item though. That last bit was supposed to say: - Supported: Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Floorp, Chromium, Brave, Vivaldi, Librewolf, Waterfox, Ungoogled Chromium, Tho", "context": "browser extension developer", "use_case": "browser extension testing", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Update on Orion for Linux and Windows"}, {"id": 798481746, "item_id": 49905109, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49905109", "by": "thiht", "date": "2026-09-30", "stance": "compare", "quote": "it just doesn\u2019t have the same level of polish", "excerpt": "I use Safari and Arc because they\u2019re both innovative in ways that\u2019s not matched by open source counterparts. I tried ditching Arc for Zen, but it just doesn\u2019t have the same level of polish. It feels like a copycat, which it is. I hope it gets better with time so that I can switch to it some day but it\u2019s not there yet. They should be able to match Arc though since it\u2019s development is stopped. I use Safari because it s", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "The new Firefox design is here"}, {"id": 798149744, "item_id": 49884359, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49884359", "by": "atombender", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Does Zen have multi-account container tabs? Edit: Yes, it does!", "excerpt": "Does Zen have multi-account container tabs? Edit: Yes, it does! [1] (I need them partly because of Google, as Google has a broken login system. I use GGP at work plus a bunch of work apps that use Google for SSO. But for some products like Maps and YouTube, I use my personal account. Doing that on e.g. Chrome is painful, because every URL opens with whatever is your default login, and whatever I set as the default, i", "context": "uses Google SSO at work and personal accounts", "use_case": "multi-account browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "I switched to Brave"}, {"id": 797368720, "item_id": 49835545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49835545", "by": "krzs9", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if you would like a super minimal daily driver", "excerpt": "https://zen-browser.app/ - if you would like a super minimal daily driver", "context": "", "use_case": "minimal daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Search \u2013 A small, fast WebKit browser for macOS"}, {"id": 792492496, "item_id": 49530781, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49530781", "by": "Insanity", "date": "2026-09-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've switched to Zen about a year ago after ~2 decades of Firefox.", "excerpt": "I'm holding on.. in a way. I've switched to Zen about a year ago after ~2 decades of Firefox. It's a fork of Firefox so I'm counting it as supporting Firefox anyway. However, on my iPhone and iPad I've stuck with Safari. Because it's \"good enough\", I'm not a heavy phone user, and really any browser on iOS is just a reskin of Safari given they don't allow different web browser engines.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Hang on to Your Firefox"}, {"id": 792479264, "item_id": 49529954, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49529954", "by": "jkahrs595", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Zen (firefox under the hood) and I just don't understand all of the bitching people do about Firefox.", "excerpt": "I use Zen (firefox under the hood) and I just don't understand all of the bitching people do about Firefox. Once I learned all about manifest v2 deprecation it was such an easy decision to move away from Chromium based browsers. The transition was one of the most painless things I've ever done in the software world. Literally what is the issue?", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "Chromium-based browsers", "story": "Hang on to Your Firefox"}, {"id": 792282528, "item_id": 49517658, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517658", "by": "krrrh", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recently switched from Safari to Zen and the Firefox extension for Apple passwords works well.", "excerpt": "I recently switched from Safari to Zen and the Firefox extension for Apple passwords works well. You have to enter a pushed 6 digit code when you first start the browser, but it\u2019s relatively painless.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "Safari", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}, {"id": 792275168, "item_id": 49517198, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517198", "by": "Swalden123", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "This caused me to go back and try Firefox again, I struggled with performance years ago on Mac when I did this. This time it\u2019s been great, I switched from Arc to Zen and don\u2019t see any reason to go back.", "context": "Mac user", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}, {"id": 792244512, "item_id": 49515282, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49515282", "by": "slfnflctd", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen is my favorite browser experience by far", "excerpt": "I recently switched to Zen with Ublock Origin and it does seem like some sites are slower than before. It's got me suspicious that site owners are increasingly throttling users with adblockers. YouTube absolutely does. Zen is my favorite browser experience by far, and I've been using the web since Netscape in 1994. But the slowdowns do put a damper on things. Also some of the streaming platforms don't seem to play ni", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"}, {"id": 789368640, "item_id": 49335540, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49335540", "by": "astudentinearth", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend giving a try to alternatives like Zen or Helium", "excerpt": "Much needed list. On the browser front, I recommend giving a try to alternatives like Zen or Helium, which are Firefox and Chromium based respectively. For AI buttons that specifically bug you, content blockers like uBlock Origin are especially helpful to zap them out of the page.", "context": "", "use_case": "avoiding intrusive AI in browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI"}, {"id": 788746497, "item_id": 49296656, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49296656", "by": "suveshmoza", "date": "2026-08-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I also use Zen as my secondary browser.", "excerpt": "Glide is my go-to browser. I like it for its extensibility, commandline, keymaps, hints, and the ability to configure everything through a ts file. I also use Zen as my secondary browser.", "context": "", "use_case": "secondary browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser do you use?"}, {"id": 788710848, "item_id": 49294428, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49294428", "by": "mkbkn", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen browser - based on Firefox.", "excerpt": "Zen browser - based on Firefox. Brave browser - when things don't work on Zen/Firefox.", "context": "", "use_case": "main browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser do you use?"}, {"id": 788588512, "item_id": 49286782, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49286782", "by": "Pieczasz", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Have you tried any other firefox based browsers, like Zen, or LibreWolf?", "excerpt": "Have you tried any other firefox based browsers, like Zen, or LibreWolf?", "context": "", "use_case": "Firefox-based browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What browser do you use?"}, {"id": 788090832, "item_id": 49255677, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49255677", "by": "antibarbarus", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen is still the better main browser, particularly on Linux", "excerpt": "Brave sort of created that themselves, it\u2019s called Brave Origin and allows you to have a browser without all the cruft compiled in. Believe it or not, it\u2019s meant to be a paid product, but it\u2019s (intentionally) free on Linux. Now, on Linux there\u2019s also a setting in regular Brave which allows you to uncover per-feature switches to disable offending elements and retain some, which is the way I use it, to avoid having to ", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "main browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Microsoft Edge is about to lock out older ad blockers, just like Chrome did"}, {"id": 786023505, "item_id": 49126469, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49126469", "by": "tomaszjanusz", "date": "2026-07-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Helium and Zen myself, depending on the context of the work I do", "excerpt": "This extension does not allow you to adjust how a given patch works - for the reasons you wrote. You are 100% right. This extension allows you to configure the availability of certain spoofed surfaces for specific sites. Moreover, this extension does not try to override the protections that Firefox uses, e.g. in the case of limits on the presentation of the amount of available RAM. Your opinion is completely correct ", "context": "built a fingerprinting extension", "use_case": "browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: I built a cross-browser extension that controls fingerprinting surfaces"}, {"id": 783579106, "item_id": 48973694, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48973694", "by": "sodapopcan", "date": "2026-07-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This was one of my big problems when I tried out Zen.", "excerpt": "I paid the one-time fee that gives you lifetime access to it over a year ago and it's been at least a year that I haven't used it (It was like $270USD or something... I can't remember). I wanted to, and still want to, like it so badly but there were just too many bugs and I have been using Firefox since. Every once in a while I come back to Orion to see what's up... Now... this is likely going to sound extremely stup", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Orion Browser by Kagi"}, {"id": 783478224, "item_id": 48967389, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48967389", "by": "KlamKing", "date": "2026-07-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "i just tried it in zen browser on fedora 44 and the system hard locked up", "excerpt": "I love this idea. But i just tried it in zen browser on fedora 44 and the system hard locked up. I guess I could try chromium next time.", "context": "Fedora user", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "I built a browser-based P2P file transfer tool using WebRTC"}, {"id": 782682800, "item_id": 48917675, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48917675", "by": "t3ntxcles", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Zen on a daily basis, it is Firefox based", "excerpt": "Yes, I agree, thanks for testing on Firefox. I use Zen on a daily basis, it is Firefox based and my result is also interestingly around (0.56ms median, 0.59ms mean, 0.78ms P95, 0.94ms p99, min 0.48ms, max 1.3ms) for prefix bangs. I think that the differences come in how each browser may have implemented SW. On benchmarking suite specifically the tail can also come from scheduling, IPC, extensions, timer precision, or", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Flashbang \u2013 DuckDuckGo bangs resolved locally with a Service Worker"}, {"id": 778569081, "item_id": 48660567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48660567", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "zen browser ( with uBlock origin and betterfox settings )", "excerpt": "homebrew ( indispensable ! all the other apps below are installed/managed via homebrew ): - raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch ) - stats - ice ( menubar manager ) - theBoringNotch ( to have some use for the annoying notch ) - mole ( storage cleaner ) - wezterm - textmate - iina - zen browser ( with uBlock origin and betterfox settings )", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 778426532, "item_id": 48651658, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48651658", "by": "speedgoose", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "excerpt": "Homebrew to get a package manager that is not managed by Apple and its many restrictions and high fees. AltTab and Rectangle to have more features to manage windows. Ghostty can replace Terminal.app though I think it leaks memory. Zen Browser is Firefox with an Arc inspired interface. It's slow and heavy but it blocks ads and trackers a bit better than Chromium based browsers, or Safari.", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 777290432, "item_id": 48580652, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48580652", "by": "upfrog", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "points to Zen (and related efforts) for trying such a different paradigm for arranging tabs.", "excerpt": "I really don't like the idea of vertical tabs, but given how so many web pages these days work, I should probably give them a try. That said, the tree-based approach is fascinating - points to Zen (and related efforts) for trying such a different paradigm for arranging tabs.", "context": "", "use_case": "vertical tabs browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers"}, {"id": 776963904, "item_id": 48560244, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48560244", "by": "ldom66", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Zen has a special flavor of vertical tabs where pinned tabs open links in a modal, which I now can't do without", "excerpt": "Try vertical tabs. I fell in love since I've been using it daily. Zen has a special flavor of vertical tabs where pinned tabs open links in a modal, which I now can't do without, and can be reset to the original url with a middle click. I use that all the time for HN, mail, youtube, claude, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "vertical tabs browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers"}, {"id": 776935600, "item_id": 48558475, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48558475", "by": "ldom66", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Full disclosure I use Zen, not vanilla Firefox", "excerpt": "I see a lot of people saying that Firefox is not as good as Chrome. Do you have any examples of things Chrome does that Firefox doesn't? Genuinely curious, I have been alternating between Chrome and Firefox for the past two decades and last time I switched back to Firefox was 2 years ago, and I haven't had any performance/compability/feature concerns at all. (Full disclosure I use Zen, not vanilla Firefox)", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome update will close the door on ad blockers"}, {"id": 776044368, "item_id": 48502773, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48502773", "by": "pjjpo", "date": "2026-06-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Zen Browser last year and never looking back.", "excerpt": "Completely irrelevant news - switched to Zen Browser last year and never looking back. (Cheeky phrasing, of course this is an anecdote. But for anyone the news is relevant to, definitely recommend a try!)", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow"}]}