Bridge - Fediverse Browser

A privacy-focused web browser specifically designed for the Fediverse (Mastodon, Lemmy, PeerTube, etc.) built with Rust, GTK4, and WebKitGTK.

Project Status

✅ Phase 1 - Foundation Complete

• Basic Rust project structure with Cargo.toml
• Core application with GTK4 window and WebKitGTK browser view
• Navigation controls (address bar, back/forward/refresh buttons)
• Sidebar placeholder for Fediverse timeline

🔄 Next Phase - Fediverse Integration

• SQLite database schema for bookmarks and settings
• Basic Fediverse account management structure
• Native Mastodon timeline integration

Features Implemented

• Basic Browser: Web browsing with WebKitGTK engine
• Navigation: Address bar with URL/search functionality
• Controls: Back, forward, and refresh buttons
• Layout: Sidebar for future Fediverse integration
• Search: DuckDuckGo search integration for non-URL queries

Dependencies

• GTK4 and WebKitGTK development libraries
• Rust 1.70+ (2021 edition)

Installing Dependencies (Linux)

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install libgtk-4-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev build-essential

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S gtk4 webkit2gtk base-devel

Fedora:

sudo dnf install gtk4-devel webkit2gtk3-devel gcc

Building

cargo build --release

Running

cargo run

Architecture

src/
├── main.rs              # App entry point with GTK4 setup
├── ui/                  # GTK4 interface components
│   ├── browser_window.rs # Main browser window with WebView
│   └── navigation.rs     # Navigation controls (planned)
├── fediverse/           # ActivityPub clients and account management
│   ├── account_manager.rs # Multi-account support (planned)
│   ├── activitypub.rs     # Native ActivityPub protocol (planned)
│   └── timeline.rs        # Unified timeline aggregation (planned)
└── storage/             # SQLite database integration
    ├── database.rs       # Core database operations (planned)
    ├── bookmarks.rs      # Bookmark management (planned)
    └── settings.rs       # Application settings (planned)

Key Dependencies

• gtk4: GTK4 bindings for Rust
• webkit2gtk: WebKit browser engine
• tokio: Async runtime for Fediverse API calls
• reqwest: HTTP client for API requests
• mastodon-async: Mastodon API client
• sqlx: Async SQL toolkit
• serde: Serialization framework

Unique Fediverse Features (Planned)

• Multi-account management across instances/platforms
• Unified timeline combining Mastodon, Lemmy, PeerTube feeds
• Cross-platform interactions (reply to Lemmy from Mastodon account)
• Native ActivityPub protocol support
• Instance-aware search and content discovery
• Privacy-focused federation transparency tools
• Enhanced thread visualization for discussions
• Offline reading with smart Fediverse content caching

Philosophy

• Privacy and security first: No tracking, no data collection
• Native Fediverse integration: Beyond just web interface support
• User control: Full control over data and functionality
• Linux-first: Built for the Fediverse community
• Open source: FOSS hobby project, not commercial

License

GPL-3.0-or-later

Contributing

This is a hobby project focused on creating a unique browser experience for Fediverse users. Contributions are welcome!