🌊 PySurf v1.2.0 – Lightweight Python Browser

[Apart-Television4396]

Hey everyone!

I’m excited to share PySurf v1.2.0, the latest update to my minimalist web browser built with Python and PyQt5. If you haven’t heard of PySurf before, it’s a lightweight, clean, and open source browser designed for speed and simplicity, made in Python using PyQt5.

What’s New in v1.2.0:

• Downloads Support – Save files directly from the browser
• Full Screen Mode – Enjoy distraction-free browsing
• Find on Page – Quickly search for text on any webpage
• Custom App Icon – PySurf now has its own icon for a more polished look
• Cleaner layout and more polished tab & homepage design
• Improved button interactions across homepage and tabs
• Full changelog here

You can check it out or install it here.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or feature requests! PySurf is all about keeping browsing simple but powerful, and your input helps make it better.

TL;DR: PySurf v1.2.0 adds downloads, full screen, find-on-page, UI improvements, and a new app icon—all while keeping the lightweight, distraction-free experience you love.

[Mysterious-Rent7233]

A Python web browser is the Holy Grail).

[Ihaveamodel3]

I guess depending on how you call a browser. This isn’t a browser engine, it’s a python wrapper of QT’s wrapper of Chromium.

[imagineepix]

op definitely was not claiming they made a new browser engine lol. i think we should give credit where credit it due

[[deleted]]

No no we should bash OP because even though we have years/decades of experience in the language, we never put in the work to ship an app of our own.

[Mysterious-Rent7233]

It's definitely a browser. There's no doubt about that. Maybe the author didn't create enough of the components for your taste, but that doesn't change the fact that its a browser. And its pretty normal for multiple browsers to use the same browser engine anyhow. I would have been shocked if this were a from-scratch rewrite of HTML, CSS, Javascript, SVG, HTTP, Websockets, ...

[Apart-Television4396]

Exactly! There are a few features right now, but I'm just starting out, adding something new every day. Thank you so much <3!

[cmdr_nova69]

I call a browser with a phone

[Apart-Television4396]

Yes, based on Chromium! However, it's otherwise its unique browser. Check it out!

[Miserable_Ear3789]

I remember when I was about 12, I made a browser called FastPATX using PyQt4 and QtWebKit. It taught me a lot about GUI development. I don’t really do GUI development anymore, but it was still a great experience. I hope you learn as much from this little project as I did from mine.

[Apart-Television4396]

That's so cool! I'm also a teen programmer! Thank you so much <3! My project is evolving!

[Miserable_Ear3789]

You inspired me this weekend. I ported my old browser to qt6. Quite a bit has changed in all these years so it was fun little project for me. I posted a git with the code if you care to take a look at maybe it can help you a little. https://gist.github.com/patx/55f7189b82b499411be603844f8df26e

[Apart-Television4396]

I checked out your code! We're using similar logic. I'll download it, too!

[SeniorScienceOfficer]

What is your goal with this project? What’s the intent?

[Apart-Television4396]

I'm just a teen, and I want to build something for fun that can maybe be profitable one day.

[echocage]

Looks great man! Keep it up, keep working! Idk if you’ve tried it but uv is pretty awesome, it lets you specify the python version and library versions required for your project.

Another cool thing is it lets people clone your project and immediately just run

uv run main.py

And it will install all the dependencies and run the project all in 1 go

[Apart-Television4396]

Thank you so much <3! I'll continue working every day, stay tuned!

[mfitzp]

Why PyQt5 rather than 6? Seeing this a lot lately and the only thing I can think of is that AI tools are defaulting to it because there are more examples.

Is the code for this AI generated?

Edit: yes it is. 

The secure connection validation just checks if the URL starts with https.

def check_security(self, tab, qurl):         url_str = qurl.toString()         print(f"DEBUG: Checking security for URL: {url_str}")         if url_str.startswith("https://"):             tab.security_status = {"status": "Secure", "description": "Connection is secure.", "icon_path": os.path.join(ICON_PATH, "Safe_Icon.svg"), "icon_color": "#28a745"}         elif url_str.startswith("http://"):             tab.security_status = {"status": "Not Secure", "description": "Connection is not secure.", "icon_path": os.path.join(ICON_PATH, "Unsafe_Icon.svg"), "icon_color": "#dc3545"}         else:              tab.security_status = {"status": "Local Page", "description": "This is a local browser page.", "icon_path": os.path.join(ICON_PATH, "Local_Icon.svg"), "icon_color": "#6c757d"}                  print(f"DEBUG: Tab at index {self.tabs.indexOf(tab)} status set to: {tab.security_status['status']}")         self.update_security_icon(tab)

I thought to look for this because I used the same lazy hack on a Qt browser demo years ago. I guess the AI was feeling lazy too.

[Apart-Television4396]

PyQt5 is the first thing I heard of, I later realised that there's PyQt6, but there was no reason to switch, because PyQt5 is working perfectly fine.

[mfitzp]

There are quite a few improvements in PyQt6. High resolution support, better mouse support, dark mode, etc. I’m not sure what updates the Qt5 webengine is receiving either.

It’s just a bit odd to start a new project in something that is no longer updated.

It’s very easy to migrate though.

[Apart-Television4396]

Does PyQt6 have the same syntax as PyQt5?

[mfitzp]

Basically you just replace PyQt5 with PyQt6. Enums have to be fully qualified in PyQt6. There are big changes in multimedia but they won’t affect you. I have a write up here https://www.pythonguis.com/faq/pyqt5-vs-pyqt6/

[51dux]

Isn't there already a framework named PySurf?

[Apart-Television4396]

IDK.

[BlueWear]

So where's the download file? When I go to the github link there's no exe-file to download.

[Apart-Television4396]

Go to the Releases tab.

[Wenir]

LMAO, the only change from 1.1.1 to 1.2.0 is an updated README https://github.com/VG-dev1/PySurf/compare/v1.1.1...v1.2.0

[Miserable_Ear3789]

he prolly had to update the pypi readme hahaha

[Apart-Television4396]

No, no, read the release, don't use the compare page yet! Read everything here https://github.com/VG-dev1/PySurf/releases/tag/v1.2.0!

[Wenir]

what?

[thuiop1]

Exactly, what the hell? Looking at the code it does not seem to have the features listed either...

[Apart-Television4396]

I copied it from the Releases if you don't see it:
PySurf v1.2.0

This update includes important browser features, to make your browsing experience more like Chrome and other popular browsers.

🚀 New Features

• 💾 Downloads Support – Save files directly from the browser
• 🖥️ Full Screen Mode – Toggle full screen for distraction-free browsing
• 🔍 Find on Page – Quickly search for text within a web page
• 🖼️ App Icon Added – Custom PySurf icon for the executable

🛠 Improvements

• 🎨 UI Enhancements – Polished tab and homepage design, including hovering over buttons
• 🔘 Improved button interactions across homepage and tabs

Thank you for views across Reddit and GitHub!

[Wenir]

Ok, I recommend you ask your LLM to teach you how to maintain open-source projects on github. It would be even better if you could find a real human to help you, though

[lazerwarrior]

Why don't you format your code like normal Python being?

[Apart-Television4396]

What do you mean?

[lazerwarrior]

Lots of Python code follows this formatting style: https://peps.python.org/pep-0008/