| ▲ | Ask HN: Any real "programmable web browser"? | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 points by atomicnature 15 hours ago | 7 comments | |||||||||||||||||
Something that's been bugging me lately - why is there not a single real "programmable web browser" (if there's one do let me know) Something like the smalltalk environment - where I can customize/program every aspect of the browser using language of my choice (JS in the least - if possible golang/python etc with WebAssembly). Why can't I coordinate tabs, automate tasks, run scheduled jobs, customize views, and so on right within the browser. Why isn't there a browser + IDE hybrid for power users who can program? Note: Automation frameworks like Selenium/Playwright, or the debug console do not count. They're not integrated into the browser itself by design | |||||||||||||||||
| ▲ | mindcrime 15 hours ago | parent | next [-] | ||||||||||||||||
Old Mozilla / Firefox with XUL / XPCOM[1] was probably about as close as you get. If you were willing to use the low-level interfaces, you could change just about anything as far as I can tell. But that led to security issues and issues with maintaining comparability when there was a need to change those low-level interfaces. So Firefox largely moved away from XPCOM and blocked extensions from calling XPCOM interfaces. That said, AFAIK Pale Moon still allows use of XPCOM. And I think Seamonkey may be the closest remaining browser to the Mozilla of old. I believe you can still use all of the XUL/XPCOM stuff there, but don't quote me on that. | |||||||||||||||||
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| ▲ | burntoutgray 13 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | ||||||||||||||||
Why not go the other way around? For example, with Pharo, there is a WebBrowser project which could be further refined to do more of what you are proposing. | |||||||||||||||||
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| ▲ | sexyman48 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | ||||||||||||||||
Nyxt. Also, google is your friend. | |||||||||||||||||
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