Nordstjernen is a from-scratch C browser supporting HTML/CSS, running on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and BSD. Version 1.0.40 adds Shared Web Workers, real popups, VP9/AV1/HEVC via GStreamer, and a Rust IPC parser. Northstar 1.0.20 improves video decoding via OS-native Media Foundation/GStreamer, Font Face API, and security fixes. Southstar 1.0.6 (Rust) now plays MP4/H.264 on Windows and fixes iframe and cookie bugs.
All three implement 141 HTML spec rows fully, pass 91.5% of Web Platform Tests, and 82,243 of 262 JS tests. Security is sandboxed per tab with seccomp/Landlock/Seatbelt, no JIT. The engine is ~245K lines, auditable by one person. Features include Quick JS, Canvas 2D, Web Crypto, WebAssembly, WebGPU, SVG, MathML, and local safe browsing.
Since 1.0.33, Nordstjernen includes an MCP server for agent remote control (off by default). Since 1.0.23, Ctrl+P uses OS print dialogs with full CSS print support.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing