Kernel Browser

A polished GeckoView browser for Android, built without Chromium WebView.

Safari-inspired chrome · address suggestions · private tabs · bundled extensions
_{Kernel Browser is an Android browser shell around Mozilla GeckoView with native Kotlin UI, smooth settings sheets, square tab previews, history autofill, Google recommendations, and allowlisted WebExtension support.}

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Description

Kernel Browser is a native Android browser focused on a clean, Safari-like mobile experience while running on Mozilla GeckoView instead of Chromium WebView. It combines bottom-first browser controls, Google search suggestions, visited-site autofill, private tabs, tab previews, and bundled extension support in a lightweight Kotlin app shell.

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[!IMPORTANT] Kernel Browser is still an early Android browser project. Use the ABI-specific APK for your device; modern Samsung/Pixel phones should install the arm64-v8a APK from v1.10.

What Is Kernel Browser?

Kernel Browser is a native Android browser built with Kotlin, XML views, and GeckoView. It keeps the UI lightweight and Android-first while using Mozilla's browser engine instead of Android WebView.

Android UI -> BrowserTabs -> GeckoSession -> GeckoView
                 |
                 +-> History, settings, extensions, tab previews

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Features

Feature	Details
Native Android Shell	Kotlin and XML views drive the app chrome without a web-based UI layer.
GeckoView Engine	Pages run through Mozilla GeckoView with one shared GeckoRuntime.
Safari-Inspired Chrome	Bottom controls auto-hide after a short delay and return when the page is tapped.
Google Defaults	Home, empty input, and non-URL searches use Google.
Address Suggestions	The address bar shows Google recommendations and previously visited pages while typing.
Tab Management	Normal/private tab modes, a clean square tab panel, and live page thumbnails.
Private Tabs	Private tabs are separated and closed when the app exits.
History	The settings sheet can show and clear browsing history.
Extensions	Allowlisted WebExtensions with permission summaries and private-tab toggles.
Bundled Blocking	uBlock Origin is enabled by default when extension assets are fetched.

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Quick Start

1. Clone

git clone https://github.com/YashasVM/Kernel-browser.git
cd Kernel-browser

2. Fetch Extension Assets

Extension binaries are generated assets and are ignored by Git. Fetch the pinned allowlist before testing extension behavior:

.\scripts\fetch_extensions.ps1 -Clean

3. Build

Use Android Studio's bundled JBR for command-line builds:

$env:JAVA_HOME='C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr'
.\gradlew.bat testDebugUnitTest assembleRelease --no-daemon

Release APKs are written to:

app/build/outputs/installable/

For phone installs, see docs/install.md. For release verification, see docs/build.md.

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APKs

APK	Use On
KernelBrowser-1.10-v1.10-safari-suggestions-2026-06-24-arm64-v8a.apk	Modern phones, including Galaxy S24 Ultra
KernelBrowser-1.10-v1.10-safari-suggestions-2026-06-24-armeabi-v7a.apk	Older 32-bit Android devices
KernelBrowser-1.10-v1.10-safari-suggestions-2026-06-24-x86_64.apk	Android emulators and x86_64 devices

[!NOTE] GeckoView native libraries dominate APK size. ABI split APKs are the practical way to avoid shipping every native architecture to one phone.

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Repository Layout

.
|-- app/
|   |-- src/main/java/com/kernel/browser/     # Kotlin browser shell
|   |-- src/main/res/                         # Native Android UI resources
|   `-- build.gradle.kts                      # Android app build
|-- assets/                                   # README and project visuals
|-- docs/                                     # Install and release notes
|-- scripts/fetch_extensions.ps1              # Fetch pinned extension assets
|-- build.gradle.kts
|-- settings.gradle.kts
`-- README.md

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Building

Debug

$env:JAVA_HOME='C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr'
.\gradlew.bat testDebugUnitTest assembleDebug --no-daemon

Release

$env:JAVA_HOME='C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr'
.\gradlew.bat testDebugUnitTest assembleRelease --no-daemon

Install On A Connected Phone

$adb="$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\platform-tools\adb.exe"
& $adb install -r app\build\outputs\installable\KernelBrowser-1.10-v1.10-safari-suggestions-2026-06-24-arm64-v8a.apk

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Extension Assets

The fetch script downloads official AMO XPI artifacts, verifies SHA-256 checksums, unpacks them into app/src/main/assets/extensions/, validates Gecko extension IDs from manifest.json, and writes app/src/main/assets/extensions.json.

Extension	Default
uBlock Origin	Enabled
Cookie-Editor	Disabled

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Release Notes

Latest release notes are in docs/releases/v1.10.md.

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Roadmap

• Smooth out tab thumbnails across background tabs.
• Add a first-run onboarding screen for extension permissions.
• Add signed CI release builds for ABI split APKs.
• Keep refining settings, extensions, and tabs around the same Safari-like motion system.

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_{Made by @yashas.vm / YashasVM
Small, fast, and still getting sharper with every build.}

Built With

• kotlin
• powershell