The last Firn on Electron.

Firn is becoming a native Mac app. This is the final version of the one you have now, and it says so once, with a note from David. From here on it no longer checks for updates.

New

• A note from David shows once after you update, and stays in the Firn menu if you want to read it again.

Better

• Settings > Updates now says plainly that this version no longer updates itself. It still shows which version you have.
• Nothing is sent to look for updates anymore. Your tabs, history, and passwords stay on your computer, and reinstalling keeps them.

Signing in to Google works in Firn.

Some people saw "This browser or app may not be secure" when signing in to Google. Firn now signs in like any other browser, in a tab or through a "Sign in with Google" button.

Better

• The empty space under your tabs now moves the window on Windows, like a title bar. Right-clicking there still opens the space's menu. Thanks to whzmsa, Firn's first contributor!

Fixed

• Google sign-in no longer turns Firn away.

Your saved passwords now ask it's you.

Showing or copying a saved password in Settings now asks for Touch ID on a Mac or Windows Hello on Windows first. Once you say yes, it stays open for a minute, or until you close the sheet.

Better

• Saved passwords can be shown or copied only after you prove it's you, so someone at an unlocked computer can't read them. Passwords still fill in on their own sites as before.
• Under the hood, Firn's own building blocks are pinned to exact, checked versions, so every update is built from exactly what was tested.

Fixed

• On a computer with no Touch ID or Windows Hello, saved passwords are no longer shown or copied at all. They still fill in on their sites.

A quieter, more careful Firn.

We looked through Firn closely for anything a website could misuse, and closed every gap we found. Most of it you'll never see; a few things now work the way Chrome does.

Better

• Pop-ups and new tabs open only after you click or press a key on a page. A site can no longer open them on its own.
• Sign-in windows always show the real site first in their title, like "accounts.google.com — Sign in", so a page can't pretend to be someone else.
• Downloads need a click too: a page can start one download by itself, then one per click. File names are cleaned of characters that could hide what a file really is.
• Permission questions (camera, location, and so on) name the site in the address bar, and your answer is remembered for that site, even when the question comes from something embedded in the page.
• Links that open other apps are refused for a few kinds that attackers abuse on Windows. Zoom, Teams, and other apps still ask first, as before.

Fixed

• A web page saved on your computer could read other files on your computer. It no longer can.
• Sites asking for a security certificate were handed the first one on your computer. They now get none, and sites asking for a Bluetooth, USB, or similar device are always refused.
• Firn's own sidebar and menus are locked down so nothing from a website can ever run inside them.
• A hidden troubleshooting shortcut no longer prints the addresses of your open pages.

A quicker top bar, and Chromium's version in Settings.

The top bar now comes down a little sooner when you rest the mouse at the top of the window, and Settings shows which version of Chromium (the web engine) your Firn is built on.

Better

• The top bar comes down after a shorter rest at the top edge. A quick flick past the edge, up to a site's own search box or menu, still doesn't bring it.
• Settings shows Chromium's version next to Firn's, in Settings > Updates and at the bottom of Settings, like "Firn 0.10.1 · Chromium 152".

A command bar that finishes your sentences.

Type the start of a site in the command bar and Firn fills in the rest. It can also show your search engine's suggestions, but only if you say yes first. And a Reddit picture now opens on its own in a new tab.

New

• The command bar completes addresses. Type "git" and it fills in "github.com" from your history and open tabs, the added part selected. Keep typing to replace it, or press Enter to go there. It all stays on your computer.
• Search suggestions, if you want them. Firn asks once, in the welcome or the first time you type in the command bar, before it sends anything you type to your search engine. You can change it any time in Settings > Search.
• Ask where to save each file. Settings > Downloads has a new switch. Turn it on and Firn asks where each file should go.

Fixed

• Pictures on Reddit (and sites that work the same way) opened the post again when you clicked one to open it in a new tab. They now open as the full picture, like in Zen.
• The sliding sidebar stayed out when your mouse went down to the taskbar or off the window's left edge. It now tucks away.
• A finished download sometimes showed two file icons stacked.
• Windows is asked whether Firn is your default browser only when Settings or the welcome is showing, not every time the window comes to the front.
• Websites now see Chrome's main version number only, as they do in Chrome.

Calmer scrollbars, and a steadier Firn.

A long list of tabs, Settings, and History now scroll with the same soft, thin scrollbar as web pages. This release also fixes a handful of small bugs and makes Firn more careful with your saved data.

Better

• Scrollbars. A long list of tabs, Settings, History, and Firn's other panels scroll with a soft, thin scrollbar, like the one on web pages, instead of a gray bar with arrows.
• Your saved data is safer. If Firn ever finds a saved file it can't read (your tabs and spaces, settings, passwords, or history), it keeps a copy instead of writing over it. Firn also saves everything when Windows shuts down.
• Lighter while downloading, and site icons that are too big or too slow no longer hold Firn up.

Fixed

• A link opened from a split view now opens below the split, instead of between its two halves.
• Closing a tab while its video was full screen left Firn stuck in full screen.
• Unloading the only tab in a space loaded it right back up. It now rests.
• A page could jump to the wrong width when the sidebar and the top bar slid at the same time.
• Switching spaces while dragging a tab could leave the tab stuck.
• Opening a panel while dragging a split view's handle left the two halves swapped.
• The sidebar could keep resizing after letting go of its edge.
• Links from other apps are passed to Firn more safely on Windows.

Panels in your space’s color, and a steady speaker.

The command bar, Settings, and Firn's other panels now take a faint touch of your space's color. The speaker on a tab stays for as long as its podcast or song plays. And a few sites whose top bar didn't respond now work as they do in Chrome.

Fixed

• Some sites' top bars didn't respond to clicks (a search box, for one), and right-clicking there opened the window's menu. They now work as they do in Chrome.
• Basecamp tiles come out more easily. A tile leaves Basecamp as soon as you drag it past the bottom edge, and letting go just below Basecamp makes it your first pinned tab instead of sending it back.
• A double-click on a pinned tab's button lets it rest, without opening it again.
• The speaker on a tab playing a podcast or song stays while it plays, instead of flickering off whenever it goes quiet. The mini player stays too.
• The speaker on a Basecamp tile is clearer and sits centered in its circle.

Better

• The command bar, Settings, and other panels take a faint touch of your space's color.

Drag your favorite sites into Basecamp.

Drag any tab up into Basecamp to keep it there, or drag a tile down into your tabs. And a pinned tab you no longer need can now be removed.

New

• Drag into and out of Basecamp. Drag a tab up into Basecamp and a spot opens where it will land. Drag a tile down into your tabs: above the line it becomes a pinned tab, below it an everyday tab.
• Remove a pinned tab. A pinned tab's button first lets it rest. Once it's resting, move the mouse away and back, and an × removes it. Changed your mind? Ctrl+Shift+T (⌘+Shift+T on a Mac) brings it back, in its old place.

Fixed

• A page staying blank after minimizing, on Windows: Firn now puts the page back on screen the way switching tabs does.

A friendlier welcome, and a Basecamp that lines up.

The welcome now shows how Firn's sidebar works, Basecamp, pinned tabs, and everyday tabs, and lets you pick your search engine. Basecamp's tiles now always sit in even rows.

New

• How your sidebar works. A new welcome step draws the sidebar and explains its three parts: Basecamp for your everyday sites, pinned tabs for each space, and the rest of your tabs, which tidy themselves away. Right-click any tab to add it to Basecamp or pin it.
• Choose your search. The welcome asks which search you like: Google, DuckDuckGo, or Bing. More choices are in Settings.

Better

• Google is now the starting search for new installs. If you already use Firn, nothing changes.
• Basecamp's tiles sit in even rows: five tiles make a row of 3 and a row of 2, six make two rows of 3, and a tile is never left alone on a row.
• Downloads are easier to notice. A new download rises in with a soft wash of your space's color, and a gentle ring marks the moment it's finished. The flake from 0.7.5 is gone.
• Websites see Firn as Chrome, the browser it's built on, so sites that acted strangely in Firn may now work as they do in Chrome.

Fixed

• Long download names no longer push the download, and its buttons, under the page.
• A page staying blank after minimizing, on Windows: another fix, this time for how Windows decides what needs drawing.