Appearance Mod Loader 0.4.0 Preview

Appearance Mod Loader 0.4.0 Preview — Download and Restart

Based on Search v1.0.4 by Drice Roland / Office Commun and Search’s contributors. Noah Helms contributes the optional appearance loader and Curve mods. This is an unofficial community preview.

In-app installation

Starting with this build, Settings → About → Download and Restart downloads compatible loader updates, verifies their signed metadata and app bundle, quits normally, replaces the preview, and reopens your saved session. The Search menu’s Check for Updates opens this updater too.

• Download progress and cancellation before verification.
• Ed25519-authenticated release metadata, SHA-256 download verification, app identity/code-integrity checks, and downgrade protection.
• A separate helper waits for the browser to quit. The previous app remains available for rollback if replacement or the launch request fails.
• Your existing preview profile and installed mods stay in place. Save unfinished forms before restarting.
• Updates install only when you click. Use a writable Applications folder; read-only or translocated copies must be moved manually.

On 0.3.x or earlier, install this build manually once: quit Search Mod Preview, download and unzip Search-Appearance-Mod-Loader-macOS-arm64.zip, then replace Search Mod Preview.app in Applications. Future signed compatible releases can install through the app. This release cannot retroactively add an installer to an older running build.

Curve Tabs and Curve Tab Folders remain independent optional packages; neither needs to be reimported. The original Search icon is retained. Official Search.app stays separate.

Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Ad-hoc signed, not Apple-notarized. The dedicated community release signature does not claim Office Commun’s signing identity. First-time users moving from official Search still need to sign in again; preserving official Search’s sign-ins through an official update requires Drice / Office Commun to integrate and ship the feature.

Tests cover authentication and tampering, wrong app identities, corrupted archives, downgrade rejection, rollback, waiting for the old process, actual helper relaunch, and the existing rail/folder/multi-window/restart checks. Compatibility checks continue every six hours; conflicts or failed tests stop publication.

Appearance Mod Loader 0.3.1 Preview

Appearance Mod Loader 0.3.1 Preview — Search 1.0.4

Updated to Search v1.0.4, with full credit to Drice Roland / Office Commun and Search's contributors. Noah Helms contributes the optional appearance loader and Curve mods. This is an unofficial community preview.

What changed

• Search 1.0.4's browser improvements and security fixes, including multiple windows, native tab groups, custom shortcuts, improved imports, and the optional sidebar on the right.
• Curve Tabs supports the sidebar on either side of the window.
• Curve Tab Folders retains its saved data in the new session format, shares folder definitions across windows, and preserves tab membership when moving within the same space.
• The loader's own update channel stays active after Search's startup changes. The official Search updater cannot overwrite your mod-enabled preview.
• Search's read-only AppleScript dictionary is included. The original Search icon remains, with updated upstream artwork generation.

Full upstream changes.

Install the update

Quit Search Mod Preview first. Download and unzip Search-Appearance-Mod-Loader-macOS-arm64.zip, then replace your existing Search Mod Preview.app in Applications. Keep that name and leave official Search.app alone. Your preview profile, installed mod files, tabs and folders stay in place. Existing Curve Tabs and Curve Tab Folders packages need no replacement.

Check Settings → About → Check for Updates in the preview, or use this release's download. GitHub labels these community builds as previews; the in-app loader updater includes them. Updates are downloaded and installed manually.

A fresh preview installation remains separate from official Search, so first-time users should expect to sign in again. Seamless integration into official Search requires Drice / Office Commun to accept and ship the feature in their signed app; none is promised.

Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. No mods bundled. Curve Tabs and Curve Tab Folders remain independent, optional packages.

Publication is gated on build, package validation, loader update tests and native checks covering both mods, sidebar sizes, multiple windows, cross-window folder moves, native group metadata and restart restoration. Future Search releases are checked on the existing schedule; source conflicts or failed checks stop publication for review.

Appearance Mod Loader 0.3.0 Preview

Search Appearance Mod Loader 0.3.0

Search is by Drice Roland / Office Commun and its contributors. This unofficial contribution by Noah Helms adds support for a separately installed Curve Tab Folders module, ported from the original Curve browser.

• Folder modules and appearance layouts enable independently: use sidebar folders alone or alongside Curve Tabs.
• Create, rename, collapse, drag tabs into folders, move through tab menus, and remove folders while keeping tabs.
• Folders persist per Search space. Disabling the module retains folder data and open tabs.
• Import/export Curve folder JSON; imported tabs remain asleep until selected. Private tabs stay out of saved folders.
• Bold folder names, right-hand disclosures, indented tabs, and themed dotted guides on child-tab hover.
• Curved rail follows the selected tab’s folder. Existing API 1 mods remain compatible.

The loader ships no installed mods. Download Curve Tab Folders separately, then Settings → Appearance → Import Mod… → Enable. Curve Tabs remains a separate optional mod.

Update an existing preview by quitting and replacing Search Mod Preview.app, preserving its name/profile. First-time users switching from official Search should expect to log in again. Seamless official profile-preserving integration requires Drice / Office Commun to integrate and ship the feature; this is not an official Search update.

Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Original Search icon retained. Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. Upstream stable version is recorded in UPSTREAM_VERSION. Native app, import, independent selection, persistence, space isolation, rail, and restart regression checks gate publication.

Appearance Mod Loader 0.2.1 Preview

Appearance Mod Loader 0.2.1 — optional sidebar with curved tabs

Search and its original app icon are by Drice Roland / Office Commun and Search’s contributors. Appearance support is by Noah Helms (@haon-v2). This is an unofficial community preview.

Choose either layout

Enable Curve Tabs, then open Settings → Appearance → Show sidebar with curved tabs:

• On: keep Search’s full-height, resizable sidebar beside the curved top/right rail.
• Off: use curved tabs alone for more webpage space.

The choice is saved. Enabling the mod preserves your existing sidebar preference. View → Show Tabs in Sidebar (⇧⌘S) changes the same setting. Both layouts share the same tabs and pages; resizing reserves space for the sidebar and rail. Folding hides both; hovering at the left, top or right edge reveals them.

Based on Search 1.0.3. The existing Curve Tabs JSON works unchanged and remains a separate optional download. No mods are bundled. This fix lives in the loader’s layout support.

Update

Download Search-Appearance-Mod-Loader-macOS-arm64.zip, quit Search Mod Preview, and replace Search Mod Preview.app with the unzipped copy. Existing preview data and installed mods remain in place. Do not replace official Search.app. Settings → About also offers this release.

Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Ad-hoc signed, not notarized. If blocked, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway for this app.

First switching from official Search still requires logging into websites again. Drice / Office Commun would need to integrate and officially sign the loader to deliver it as a normal Search update retaining those sign-ins. No upstream commitment is implied.

Appearance Mod Loader 0.2.0 Preview

Appearance Mod Loader for Search — 0.2.0 Preview

Search and its original app icon are by Drice Roland (@driceroland) / Office Commun, with Search’s contributors. Appearance-mod support is by Noah Helms (@haon-v2). This is an unofficial community preview, not an endorsed Search release. The original MIT notice is preserved.

Search updates, with the loader preserved

• Integrates stable Search 1.0.3, including its browser improvements and security fixes.
• Settings → About now checks a separate compatible-loader update channel, daily and on demand. Failed checks no longer imply that the preview is up to date.
• Future stable Search releases are checked every six hours in GitHub Actions. Integration, build, manifest validation and native UI checks must succeed before an updated preview is published. Source conflicts and failed checks stop publication for review.
• Existing schema-1 packages remain supported. No mods are bundled. Curve Tabs remains a separate optional package.

Install this update once

0.1.x cannot update itself: it needs this one-time manual upgrade. Download Search-Appearance-Mod-Loader-macOS-arm64.zip, quit Search Mod Preview, unzip and replace the existing Search Mod Preview.app. Keep its name and leave official Search.app in place. Reopen; your preview profile and installed mods remain in place.

From this version onward, Settings → About → Download update opens a compatible release when one is available. Installation remains manual because the community preview is ad-hoc signed, not officially signed or notarized. Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. If macOS blocks it, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway for this app.

First switching from official Search requires logging into your websites again. Its cookies, sign-ins and saved-password access are not migrated. Drice / Office Commun would need to integrate the feature and ship an official signed Search update to retain those sign-ins through a normal update. No upstream commitment or timeline is implied.

Future compatibility is tested, not universally guaranteed. A major Search change can require adaptation before a compatible loader build becomes available. See the update policy and automation status.

Appearance Mod Loader for Search — 0.1.1 Preview

Update available: Install loader 0.2.0 or newer once manually. This older preview has no working community update checker. Newer loaders check compatible Search-based releases in Settings → About; replace Search Mod Preview.app to retain your preview profile and mods.

Appearance Mod Loader for Search — 0.1.1 Preview

Search and its original app icon are by Drice Roland (@driceroland) / Office Commun, with Search’s upstream contributors. Appearance-mod support is a community contribution by Noah Helms (@haon-v2). The original MIT notice is preserved; this is not an official or endorsed Search release.

Icon fix

The loader now explicitly bundles Search’s original app icon, generated from the unchanged upstream artwork. Older preview builds used Curve’s icon; 0.1.0 removed that resource but omitted a replacement icon declaration, allowing a generic or cached icon to appear. Version 0.1.1 includes AppIcon.icns, declares it in the app bundle, removes the old Curve icon resource, and increments the bundle version.

The loader and mods remain separate. No mods are bundled or installed automatically. Curve Tabs remains an independent optional package and does not change the host app’s icon.

Install or update

First-time setup: expect to log in to all your websites again. Search Mod Preview uses a separate profile and does not automatically carry over Search’s cookies, active sign-ins, or saved-password access. Your existing Search data and sign-ins remain in the original app. This applies when first switching to the preview; updating an existing preview installation retains its own profile.

A seamless update requires official integration. To add appearance mods to your existing Search installation while retaining its profile and sign-ins through a normal update, Drice / Office Commun would need to accept and integrate the loader into Search and ship it as an official signed update. This community preview cannot deliver that official update. The feature has not been integrated upstream, and there is no commitment or timeline from Drice.

1. Download Search-Appearance-Mod-Loader-macOS-arm64.zip below (Apple Silicon, macOS 14+).
2. Quit Search Mod Preview, unzip the download, and replace your existing Search Mod Preview.app with this copy. Keep its name and leave the official Search.app in place.
3. Reopen the preview. Its existing preview profile and installed mods are retained.
4. If a Dock shortcut still shows an old cached Curve icon, remove that shortcut from the Dock and drag the updated app back from Finder.

This build is ad-hoc signed, not notarized. If macOS blocks it, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway for this app. Mod installation remains Settings → Appearance → Import Mod… → Enable. No website engine or tab behavior changed in this patch.

Verified the generated icon against the original icon in the installed Search app, checked the bundle’s icon declaration and absence of Curve assets, and verified the app signature and release ZIP. Loader source and instructions.

The loader’s experimental limitations from 0.1.0 still apply. No upstream issue or pull request has been submitted.

Appearance Mod Loader for Search — 0.1.0 Preview

Update available: Install loader 0.2.0 or newer once manually. This older preview has no working community update checker. Newer loaders check compatible Search-based releases in Settings → About; replace Search Mod Preview.app to retain your preview profile and mods.

Appearance Mod Loader for Search — 0.1.0 preview

Search is the work of Drice Roland (@driceroland), Office Commun, and its upstream contributors. Full credit for the original browser belongs to them.

I’m Noah Helms (@haon-v2). My contribution is appearance-mod support: a local package loader, import/enable/disable/remove controls, validation, and generic native appearance capabilities. This is an unofficial community preview built on Search—not a new browser foundation or an official Office Commun release. Search’s MIT license and original copyright notice are preserved.

Loader only — no mods bundled

This release contains the mod-enabled host, named Search Mod Preview. A fresh installation has zero mods installed and uses Search’s standard appearance.

Curve Tabs is a separate optional package and release. You do not need to install it. Other packages can use standard tabs with color themes or configure the host’s generic edge-rail renderer.

Download and install

First-time setup: expect to log in to all your websites again. Search Mod Preview uses a separate profile and does not automatically carry over Search’s cookies, active sign-ins, or saved-password access. Your existing Search data and sign-ins remain in the original app. This applies when first switching to the preview; updating an existing preview installation retains its own profile.

A seamless update requires official integration. To add appearance mods to your existing Search installation while retaining its profile and sign-ins through a normal update, Drice / Office Commun would need to accept and integrate the loader into Search and ship it as an official signed update. This community preview cannot deliver that official update. The feature has not been integrated upstream, and there is no commitment or timeline from Drice.

1. Download Search-Appearance-Mod-Loader-macOS-arm64.zip below. Requires an Apple Silicon Mac and macOS 14+.
2. Unzip and move Search Mod Preview.app to Applications under its own name. Keep your existing Search app.
3. Open the preview. It is ad-hoc signed, not notarized; macOS may require System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway for this app.
4. Download any compatible mod separately, then use Settings → Appearance → Import Mod… → Enable.

Installing the loader alone does not enable a mod. Disable/remove restores standard rendering without closing your loaded pages. The preview has its own profile and keychain label and does not automatically migrate your data. Upstream automatic updates are disabled for this preview.

What API 1 supports

• Bounded local JSON packages with explicit import and activation.
• Light/dark color roles.
• Standard tabs or a configurable top/right edge rail (corner radius, tab length, spacing).
• Corrupt/missing selected packages fall back to standard appearance.
• No executable mod code, browsing-data access, or background mod downloads.

This is not WebExtension or Zen Mod compatibility. New rendering capabilities still require a host update. The unmodified official Search app cannot import these packages yet.

Validation and limitations

Release build and signature verification passed, as did manifest/persistence tests and isolated native checks for unchanged loaded webviews when switching mods, page clicks, rail selection/drag/close/scroll, resizing, and folded-rail reveal. A fresh-profile check confirmed no mods are installed.

The alternate rail’s accessibility is incomplete, and Search’s inline tab-edit/site-information card and space-switching gestures remain in the standard layout. This is a pre-release for feedback, not a claim of full everyday-browser validation or a guarantee about RAM usage.

Based on Search commit 9e31d6b. Source and API guide. No upstream issue or pull request has been submitted; this contribution has not been accepted or endorsed upstream.