We have some topics about the browser spread over the forum. I thought it was time for a central one as the browser will be part of the upcoming releases. So what is the SAFE Browser?
The SAFE Browser will be the main entrance port to the SAFE Network. It allows for browsing safe://websites and using web apps. The SAFE Browser is based on the Beaker Browser by @PaulFrazee and is fully dedicated to decentralized systems with security and privacy as its core focus.
Dedicated browser for SAFE
MaidSafe got interested in a dedicated browser for SAFE as it will bring ease of use (plugins or proxy-settings no longer needed). At the same time it removes the risks that popular browsers have with cookies, trackers and “evil” scripts. SAFE will have its own environment which is protected by its own browser. Here’s the Request For Proposal (RFP) that led to this winning idea by @joshuef. The development costs where crowdfunded and paid for by MaidSafe (the company) and the SAFE community. Here’s the repository in MaidSafe’s GitHub.
After MaidSafe took over the project from @joshuef they came up with the idea to include the Authenticator inside the SAFE Browser. This tool allows people to log in to SAFE using an included web app. This also removes the need for the “Launcher” which was used in Alpha 1.
old situation (Alpha 1)
Download the Launcher
Use your own popular browser with the right proxy-settings (.pac file)
Log in to SAFE using the Launcher
Browse safe://websites using your own browser
new situation (Alpha 2)
Download the SAFE Browser
Browse safe://website in the browser
Log in to SAFE within the browser (needed for uploads, private data and account creation)
Here are some screenshots of the upcoming SAFE Browser with the built-in Authenticator:
I don’t quite understand this. Does it mean that users don’t need to authenticate themselves in order to use the network unless they are uploading / creating an account?
I was looking to build it myself to test the Authenticator (I was able to build the browser before) so I ended up at the dev forum and found someone that posted some binary ;-). I didn’t test it that much as all the real devs out there seem to have some issues building it all together and get it to work. So I decided to make some screenshots and have this topic up and running. In the coming weeks we’ll see a working version where people can build all that stuff themselves. Would be cool to have mock routing running and to use the Authenticator to log in to your own local network.
Is that the extent of what we know right now – the Java work? I expect that to work on mobile they need a Java and Swift lib over the Rust FFI.
Has there been any plans around what they intend to do after that? I guess what I looking for is whether there will eventually be a SAFE browser for Android/iOS, or whether the mobile libs for native mobile devs are all that is planned.
Actually I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it mentioned they would be using https://cordova.apache.org/ to cross compile on multiple platforms couldn’t find the link for where I had seen it though.
Kumar joined the team to work in the java safe_app library especially aimed at the android (and IOS) development.
A new team member (@Kumar) joined our team earlier this week. He will be working on the Java side. He has been setting up some samples using Maven for dependency management and also to figure out the best possible approaches for distributing the Java safe_app library.
I am very interested in decentralized networks. I downloaded SAFE Browser and noticed that it has built-in support for dat and ipfs. Are there any plans to incorporate ZeroNet, Scuttlebutt, Tor, and/or I2P? I know that I2P eep sites and Tor hidden services are not decentralized, but they have similar use cases to decentralized websites on the SAFE Network or ZeroNet.
