A native browser for Linux desktops. WebKitGTK for the web, GTK4 and libadwaita for the shell, and privacy controls you can review on your own machine. Version 1.2 is available for builders who compile from source.
Strong defaults, transparent behavior, and a stack chosen for Linux rather than ported from elsewhere.
EasyList and EasyPrivacy load on first run. HTTPS-First, DNT, and Global Privacy Control are enabled unless you change them.
The privacy dashboard at cactus://privacy shows session blocks and cosmetic rules applied. Data stays in your local profile.
Bookmarks, history, and preferences live under standard XDG paths. No cloud account or sync service is required.
libadwaita windows, Wayland-friendly workflows, and WebKitGTK for rendering. Built to feel at home on GNOME.
Tabs, bookmarks, history, downloads, and private windows. Daily-driver basics without pretending to be a platform.
Multi-window tabs, bookmark bar, session restore, find-in-page, zoom, and keyboard shortcuts you already know. libadwaita UI that feels at home on modern GNOME.
EasyList and EasyPrivacy, cosmetic filtering, HTTPS-First, DNT, and Global Privacy Control. Allowlist a site when you need an exception.
Config in ~/.config/cactus, data in ~/.local/share/cactus. Plain SQLite and TOML you can inspect and back up.
New in 1.2: a dashboard that shows what protection did this session, on your machine only.
Open cactus://privacy or press Ctrl+Shift+P to see blocked network requests, cosmetic cleanups, and your allowlist. Counts reset when you quit. Nothing is uploaded.
The new tab page links to the same summary so you always know the browser is working for you, not reporting on you.
We wanted a browser that respects the Linux desktop, keeps privacy tools understandable, and stays small enough for contributors to audit.
GTK4 and libadwaita, Wayland-friendly, XDG paths. Not Electron. Not a cross-platform afterthought.
Rust workspace on GitHub under MPL-2.0. Flatpak manifest included. Contributors welcome.
A focused browser: tabs, privacy, and desktop integration. Not a platform play.
We use Cactus on our own machines and ship fixes in the open.
Cactus is maintained by contributors who care about Linux desktops. Report issues or open a pull request on GitHub. Amber on this site is our team accent; green on the icon is the cactus.
Install GTK4, libadwaita, WebKitGTK 6, and SQLite dev packages, then build with stable Rust. Early releases are source-first while we prepare packaged installs.
cargo build --releaseflatpak/org.cactus.Browser.ymlcactus://privacy, settings, history, bookmarks# Clone and build (Debian / Ubuntu deps shown) git clone https://github.com/yohannes-mesay/cactus-browser.git cd cactus-browser sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config \ libgtk-4-dev libadwaita-1-dev \ libwebkitgtk-6.0-dev libsqlite3-dev cargo build --release ./target/release/cactus
Clone the repo, build once, and set it as your daily browser on Linux.