Monivo

The browser that just gets the job done. Originally by @sakihanii, rewritten in C.

Change logs

• Added tabs
• Added experimental feature spoof user agent. Disabled by default as it can backfire and track you more easily.
• To change config you must edit config.lua if you want to enable experimental features.

Screenshots

How is this different than the original?

• Removed the unnecessary shortcuts.
• Rewritten in C.
• Added new features.
• Binary file is now 20kb instead of 800kb.
• Super lightweight, adblocker and NoScript-style extensions built-in.
• UTC and language spoofing, Tor-style.

How it differs from traditional browsers, like Mozilla Firefox and Chromium?

• Instead of using a settings interface like most browsers, config is in a one config.lua file, where you can add search engines, remove features you don't like, etc.
• After editing config.lua, you must recompile the browser again to use it with the new settings.
• Despite all of this, configurations are easy to setup and don't require any programming knowledge.
• You build it from source, and it is actually fast.
• Minimalism by design.
• Amnesiac design. No history. And also not a fork.

Recommended to use with a VPN/Tor/Proxies for maximum security and privacy.

Requirements:

Lua GCC gtk3 libsoup_3 webkitgtk_4_1 pkg-config

A tiny privacy-first browser: GTK3 + WebKitGTK 4.1 (libsoup 3), one C file (~500 lines).

• Ephemeral session: no history, cookies or cache on disk; third-party cookies blocked
• Fingerprint hardening: time zone forced to UTC, language to en-US/en, canvas readback blocked (Tor-style)
• Built-in adblock (EasyList-syntax lists, converted at build time) and NoScript-style modes
• Search-engine picker next to the address bar; add your own in config.lua
• Audio/video (GStreamer) and file downloads (to your Downloads folder, never overwritten)
• Shortcuts: Ctrl+L address bar, Ctrl+H home, Alt+←/→ back/forward, Ctrl+R/F5 reload, Ctrl +/-/0 zoom, Ctrl+Shift+J NoScript mode, Ctrl+Q quit

Build

Needs gtk3, webkit2gtk-4.1, pkg-config, a C compiler, and lua >= 5.3 (build-time only).

make run                       # build and start from this directory
make install PREFIX=~/.local   # installs bin/, share/applications/ (launcher entry), share/monivo/

Nix / NixOS

nix build && ./result/bin/monivo      # flake
nix-build && ./result/bin/monivo      # classic

Install it so launchers see it (dmenu lists binaries from $PATH; rofi/GNOME/etc. use the .desktop file):

environment.systemPackages = [
  (pkgs.callPackage /path/to/monivo/package.nix {
    configFile = ./monivo.lua;                 # your config.lua
    # filterLists = [ (pkgs.fetchurl { url = "https://easylist.to/easylist/easylist.txt"; hash = "sha256-..."; }) ];
  })
];

Optional default browser: xdg-settings set default-web-browser monivo.desktop.

config.lua (read at build time: edit, then rebuild)

• engines / default: search engines; %s in the url is the query.

• adblock = true|false, adblock_lists = { ... }: lists in ABP/EasyList syntax. filters/default.txt is a small starter list; tools/update-lists.sh downloads EasyList, EasyPrivacy and uBlock filters.

• noscript = true|false, noscript_mode = 1|2 (start mode; Ctrl+Shift+J or the NS button flips it live).

  • Mode 1: scripts, frames, wasm, media, fetch/XHR allowed; fonts, WebGL, unprompted popups blocked.
  • Mode 2: static only: HTML, CSS and images. Everything above blocked.
  • noscript_modes = { [1] = { font = true } } overrides single capabilities (script frame media fetch font image popup webgl).

• timezone = "UTC" (or any zone name, or false): sets TZ for the browser, so Date/Intl report it.

• languages = { "en-US", "en" } (or false): Accept-Language, navigator.language(s), Intl default locale. Plain { "en" } works but is rarer than en-US, so it stands out more.

• canvas = "block" | "noise" | false: block returns blank data from toDataURL/toBlob/getImageData/WebGL readPixels (like Tor, minus its permission prompt); noise flips low bits differently per site and per session.

Compiled adblock rules are cached in ~/.cache/monivo/filters (no browsing data).

Limits (compared to the real extensions)

WebKitGTK has no WebExtension support, so uBlock Origin and NoScript themselves can't run here. This is a native equivalent built on WebKit's content-blocker engine: network blocking and element hiding from EasyList-style lists work; uBO-only features (scriptlets, $redirect, $removeparam, $csp, procedural cosmetic filters, dynamic filtering matrix, per-site allow lists) are skipped. NoScript modes are global (no per-site trust list), and WebSocket/beacon traffic can't be filtered separately.

Canvas protection is a script injected into every frame, not a browser-engine patch: determined pages can sidestep it (e.g. canvas work inside Web Workers). Fonts, screen size, WebGL strings, audio and the User-Agent are not spoofed (WebGL is off in NoScript mode 1).

Troubleshooting

• Blank/white window on NVIDIA or some Wayland setups: WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1 monivo
• Adblock "rules failed" in the toolbar: the full error is printed to the terminal; remove the last list you added.
• Sandbox error in containers: WEBKIT_DISABLE_SANDBOX_THIS_IS_DANGEROUS=1 monivo (last resort)