Arora Web Browser
What is Arora
Arora is a free, open-source web browser written in C++, built using the Qt toolkit and the WebKit rendering engine. Wikipedia+2GitHub+2
It was intended to be minimal, fast, cross-platform, and include many basic browser features without bloat. AlternativeTo+2/home/liquidat+2
Key Features
Arora included (among others):
Tabbed browsing Wikipedia+1
Bookmarks, history management Wikipedia+1
Smart location bar (URL completion, etc.) Wikipedia+2AlternativeTo+2
Session management (restore tabs etc.) Wikipedia+1
Privacy mode / private browsing Wikipedia+1
Download manager, WebInspector (developer tools), OpenSearch support, AdBlock built-in. Wikipedia+2codedocs.org+2
Development History & Timeline
Here are the main milestones in Arora’s history:
Date / Period —>What Happened
Around Qt 4.4 release (2008) —>Arora began as a demo/browser included with Qt 4.4, to showcase QtWebKit integration. Benjamin C. Meyer took that demo code and turned it into an independent project called Arora. /home/liquidat+2Wikipedia+2
2008-2009 —>Arora developed actively: small, lightweight feature set, new versions released (e.g. version 0.10.0). It starts being packaged in Linux distributions. AlternativeTo+3freshports.org+3Wikipedia+3
2009-2010 —>More progress: version 0.11.0 was released (Dec 2010 for some platforms) with updates (Qt version compatibility, bug fixes, features like AdBlock being built in by default). freshports.org+2arora.en.download.it+2
2011 —>Development stops: Benjamin C. Meyer discontinues active development. The decision was influenced by “non-compete clauses” from his employer, which prevented further work. Project was officially closed around July 2011. Wikipedia+2AlternativeTo+2
Post-2011 forks and patches
After original discontinuation, other developers created forks or variants:
• Bastien Pederencino created zBrowser, later renamed Zeromus Browser in Feb 2013. Wikipedia+1
• BlueLightCat (also by Pederencino) in 2013. Wikipedia+1
• In 2014, some patches were released on Arora’s GitHub and some Linux distros included the patched versions. Wikipedia+1
• In 2020, another fork, Endorphin Browser, was started by Aaron Dewes to modernize Arora, add new features. Wikipedia
Reason for Discontinuation
The author, Benjamin C. Meyer, stopped working on Arora due to legal / contractual restrictions — non-compete clauses at his employer prevented him from contributing further. Wikipedia+1
After discontinuation, community support dwindled; packages in many OS repositories became out of date or broken (e.g. the FreeBSD port marked “broken” once source, repositories ceased being maintained or moved). freshports.org+1
Legacy, Forks, and Modern Status
Though discontinued, Arora has left a legacy in the lightweight browser space and in the Qt/WebKit community. /home/liquidat+1
Forks and variants attempted to revive or modernize the code: Zeromus Browser, BlueLightCat, Endorphin Browser. Some add new features, modern patches. Wikipedia
Some Linux distributions incorporated community patches rather than using the unmaintained upstream. Wikipedia
Arora was a minimal, fast, cross-platform browser built with Qt+WebKit, offering many of the standard features but emphasizing lightness and simplicity. It was started by Benjamin C. Meyer around 2008, stopped development in 2011 due to legal/employment constraints, and has since been maintained in minor forks and patches by others. It remains an example of how a small browser project can deliver core browsing functionality with minimal overhead.
Arora’s history is a classic story of an innovative, cross-platform open-source project that was eventually overshadowed by larger, more resource-rich competitors and the technological consolidation around the Chromium engine.
Phase 1: Inception and Innovation - The Lightweight Qt WebKit Pioneer (2008-2009)
Initial Release (2008): Arora was created in 2008 by Benjamin C. Meyer (“icefox”), a prominent KDE and Qt developer. The name “Arora” doesn’t have a specific meaning and was chosen to be short, unique, and easy to remember.
The “Why”: The goal was to create a simple, fast, and lightweight cross-platform browser that showcased the power of the Qt toolkit and the emerging WebKit rendering engine. At the time, the dominant cross-platform browser was Mozilla Firefox, which was based on the heavier Gecko engine and XUL interface.
Foundational Technology:
Qt Framework: Using Qt allowed Arora to have a single codebase that provided a native look and feel on Windows, macOS, and Linux—a significant advantage at the time.
WebKit Engine: Arora was one of the very first browsers to use the QtWebKit component, positioning it at the forefront of the WebKit revolution. It demonstrated that a lightweight, non-Mozilla browser could be a full-featured, standards-compliant alternative.
Phase 2: Feature Set and Peak Relevance (2009-2010)
Rapid Development and Features: For a small project, Arora developed quickly and incorporated many modern features that users expected:
Tabbed Browsing: With a clean and simple tab bar.
Speed Dial: A page showing frequently visited sites, popularized by Opera.
Privacy Features: A built-in ad-blocker and private browsing mode.
Bookmarks and History: Standard management tools.
A Showcase Application: Arora became a beloved “proof-of-concept” browser. It proved that Qt and WebKit were a powerful combination capable of building a modern, competitive web browser. It inspired many other projects and was a direct precursor to browsers like QupZilla (now Falkon).
Niche Popularity: It gained a dedicated following among Linux users, particularly in the KDE community, and among developers who appreciated its simplicity, speed, and cross-platform nature.
Phase 3: Stagnation and the Rise of Chromium (2010-2012)
The Maintenance Burden: As the sole main developer, Benjamin C. Meyer found it increasingly difficult to maintain Arora. Keeping pace with the rapid development of both Qt and WebKit, and fixing bugs, became a time-consuming challenge.
The Chromium Juggernaut: Google Chrome, released in 2008, quickly gained massive popularity and developer momentum. Chrome was also cross-platform and used WebKit (later Blink), but it was backed by Google’s vast resources. The entire web ecosystem began to shift, and the bar for a “competitive browser” was raised impossibly high for a one-person project.
The Final Version (2012): The last official release of Arora was version 0.11.2 in 2012. After this, the project was officially discontinued.
Phase 4: Legacy and Influence
The Official End: Benjamin C. Meyer officially announced the end of Arora’s development. He stated that the goals of the project had been met: it had successfully demonstrated the viability of Qt and WebKit for building browsers, and the landscape had changed too much to justify continued work.
Spiritual Successors: Arora’s code and philosophy did not die. The project directly inspired and served as a foundational reference for other Qt-based browsers, most notably QupZilla, which was later adopted by the KDE community and renamed Falkon. Falkon is essentially the spiritual successor to Arora, carrying the torch of a lightweight, Qt-based browser into the modern era (though it now uses the Chromium-based QtWebEngine).
A Victim of Its Own Success: In a way, Arora was a casualty of the very trend it helped pioneer. The move towards WebKit (and later Blink) was so successful that it consolidated around a single, massively resourced project (Chromium), making it impossible for small independent browsers to compete on the engine front.
Summary: Legacy and Current Status
Arora’s history, while short, is significant in the evolution of open-source browsers.
The Pioneer: It was a pioneering proof-of-concept for lightweight, cross-platform browsers using the Qt-WebKit stack.
The Inspiration: It directly inspired the next generation of Qt-based browsers, leaving a clear lineage to the modern Falkon browser.
A Snapshot in Time: It represents a specific moment in the late 2000s when the browser market was opening up, and small, innovative projects could still make a meaningful impact.
Present Day: The Arora browser is discontinued and no longer maintained. It is a piece of software history. Its code remains available for reference, but it is not secure or compatible with the modern web. Its legacy lives on in Falkon and the broader ecosystem of Qt-based applications.
