{.css-i6dzq1}https://blog.craigie.dev/introducing-glide
A Firefox fork with a TypeScript config that lets you build anything.
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TL;DR: [Glide](https://glide-browser.app) is a Firefox fork with a TypeScript [config](https://glide-browser.app/config) that lets you build *anything*.
[Download](https://glide-browser.app/#download) - [Docs](https://glide-browser.app/) - [Cookbook](https://glide-browser.app/cookbook) - [Source](https://github.com/glide-browser/glide)
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Browsers should be hackable, just like your editor.
glide.keymaps.set("normal", "gC", async () => {
// extract the owner and repo from a url like 'https://github.com/glide-browser/glide'
const [owner, repo] = glide.ctx.url.pathname.split("/").slice(1, 3);
if (!owner || !repo) throw new Error("current URL is not a github repo");
// * clone the current github repo to ~/github.com/$owner/$repo
// * start kitty with neovim open at the cloned repo
const repo_path = glide.path.join(glide.path.home_dir, "github.com", owner, repo);
await glide.process.execute("gh", ["repo", "clone", glide.ctx.url, repo_path]);
await glide.process.execute("kitty", ["-d", repo_path, "nvim"], { cwd: repo_path });
}, { description: "open the GitHub repo in the focused tab in Neovim" });
> Glide keymapping to clone the GitHub repo in the current tab and open it in [kitty](https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/) + [neovim](https://neovim.io/).
For my job, I have to clone many different repos. This keymapping saves me a couple seconds each time, multiple times a day.
Although it probably doesn\'t save me much time, adding this mapping only took a couple of minutes and using it makes me happy
I was using [tridactyl](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tridactyl-vim/) within Firefox and generally enjoying it, but occasionally I would run into frustrating issues due to security constraints imposed by Firefox on web extensions. For example, extensions are completely disabled on [addons.mozilla.org](https://addons.mozilla.org), so all of my mappings could break depending on the website I had open. Additionally, tridactyl wouldn\'t work with a custom homepage.
These security constraints imposed on tridactyl, and every other extension, are fundamental to how extensions operate. For example, it would be very bad if an extension could prevent itself from being uninstalled by modifying [addons.mozilla.org](https://addons.mozilla.org), so browsers have to protect users from potentially malicious extension writers.
At that point, I realised there was an opportunity to make a browser that\'s *truly* customisable at its core, with no restrictions on what you can accomplish. From customising the browser UI itself, to calling out to other tools---anything should be possible.
Glide holistically solves these usability issues by supporting a TypeScript [config](https://glide-browser.app/config) that lets you do *anything*^[1](#fn-1)^.
Glide can support APIs and functionality that will never be supported in web extensions as the security model is fundamentally different. You---the end user---are responsible for the config, so there\'s no reason to restrict what you can do.
In the Glide config you can define custom [key mappings](https://glide-browser.app/keys), access the [web extensions API](https://glide-browser.app/extensions), spawn arbitrary [processes](https://glide-browser.app/api#glide.process), define [macros](https://glide-browser.app/api#glide.keys), and more.
Here\'s a small example that adds [g]{.kbd}+[c]{.kbd} as a key mapping to switch to the calendar tab:
// ~/.config/glide/glide.ts
glide.keymaps.set("normal", "gc", async () => {
const tab = await glide.tabs.get_first({ url: "https://calendar.google.com/*" });
assert(tab && tab.id);
await browser.tabs.update(tab.id, { active: true });
}, { description: "[g]o to [c]alendar.google.com" });
For more examples, see the [cookbook](https://glide-browser.app/cookbook) or my own [dotfiles](https://github.com/RobertCraigie/dotfiles/tree/main/glide).
The cherry on top is that all of this is built on *top* of Firefox. If you already use Firefox, then your existing extensions and workflows will still work in Glide.
Glide borrows the concept of modes from (neo)vim; every key mapping you define will be attached to a specific mode.
Glide switches between modes automatically when you interact with the browser. For example, in the default mode, `normal`, if you click on an `input
If a website doesn\'t play well with your key mappings you can switch to `ignore` mode by pressing [Shift]{.kbd}+[Escape]{.kbd}, in this mode the only default key mapping is [Shift]{.kbd}+[Escape]{.kbd} to exit ignore mode.
Glide supports a `hint` mode that lets you operate web pages entirely using the keyboard.
Press `f` to enter `hint` mode and Glide will overlay text [labels](https://glide-browser.app/hints#label-generation) over every [hintable](https://glide-browser.app/hints#hintable-elements) element, e.g. links and buttons. Typing the [label](https://glide-browser.app/hints#label-generation) for a hint will then focus and click the element.
- `gI` focuses the largest visible input element on the page and it feels like magic every time I use it.
- `:repl` for quickly testing out config changes.
- [hints](https://glide-browser.app/hints) for when I don\'t want to reach for my mouse.
- A [which-key](https://github.com/folke/which-key.nvim) inspired UI for reminding you of the many key mappings.
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I\'ve been daily driving Glide for \~6 months now and while I\'m biased, I love it. It\'s still in a very early alpha stage but if you\'d like to try it out, you can [download](https://glide-browser.app/#download) it for macOS / Linux today. I\'d recommend checking out the tutorial with `:tutor` to get your bearings, although it\'s far from complete yet.
p.s. sorry Linux folks, Glide isn\'t in any package repositories yet, so you\'ll have to untar it and set up Glide manually for now.
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1. ::: {#fn-1}
As Glide is in very early alpha there are missing APIs so you can\'t literally do *everything* yet, but enabling full control is one of the main goals.[↩](#fnref-1){.footnote}
:::
[9]{.small}
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