Search: Lightweight 2.9MB Open-Source Mac Browser Built on WebKit with 0.3s Launch
Search is an open-source Mac browser leveraging macOS WebKit to deliver a 2.9MB footprint, 51MB startup RAM, 0.3s cold boot, Chrome extension support, and ad bl
Drice Roland, a developer at Paris-based design studio Office Commun, officially unveiled the browser on September 23, 2026. Dubbed 'Search', the native macOS application leverages the operating system's built-in WebKit rendering engine to reduce disk installation size to 2.9MB while cutting cold boot times to roughly 0.3 seconds.
Image credit: @driceroland / Office Commun
2.9MB Disk Footprint and 51MB Memory: Zero-Bloat WebKit Architecture
According to comparative measurements released by developer studio Office Commun, mainstream browser installations frequently range from hundreds of megabytes to well over a gigabyte (Chrome at 1,429MB, Dia at 1,321MB, and Safari at 36MB). In contrast, Search avoids bundling an independent rendering engine, directly calling the macOS system-level WebKit framework to keep its disk footprint at 2.9MB (approximately 3MB).
Initial runtime benchmarks and memory efficiency highlight a similar disparity:
- Cold launch in 320ms: Opening the browser from a cold start with no pages loaded takes 320ms (roughly 0.32 seconds) to render the first window, outperforming Chrome (526ms) and Safari (730ms).
- 51MB initial process memory: Before opening a single page, the combined memory consumption across all Search processes totals 51MB. This compares favorably against Safari's 203MB (approximately four times higher) and Chrome's 663MB (nearly 13 times higher).
This dramatic footprint reduction stems directly from relying on macOS's existing system libraries rather than bundling duplicate browser engines.
Chrome Web Store Extension Support and Network-Layer Ad Blocking
Despite relying on WebKit under the hood, Search bridges everyday convenience by supporting extensions downloaded directly from the Chrome Web Store.
- Direct Chrome Web Store installation: Users can browse and install extensions directly from the Chrome Web Store. In testing across widely used extensions, developer Drice Roland confirmed that approximately 70% of popular tested extensions—including uBlock Origin Lite, Bitwarden, Dark Reader, and Grammarly—already work out of the box, with ongoing engineering targeting the remaining catalog.
- Network-layer ad blocking: Search blocks advertisements in the network layer before they load, eliminating additional blocker scripts and visual counter overhead.
- Permanent element hiding (⌘⇧H): With the shortcut ⌘⇧H, users can click any unwanted element or distracting banner on a webpage to remove it permanently across subsequent visits to that site.
Platform Requirements, Compatibility, and Account Model
Search requires no user account registration or paid subscription, providing full functionality for free without a sign-up process. The application focuses on core browsing essentials, offering tabs, an address bar, history, passwords, and downloads with minimal interface overhead.
Key technical parameters and deployment considerations include:
- Hardware and OS requirements: Search requires Apple Silicon (M-series processors) running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. Intel-based Macs and alternative operating systems such as Windows and Linux are not supported.
- Engine architecture and web standards: Because Search is built on the macOS built-in WebKit engine rather than an internal Chromium fork, rendering behavior and webpage appearance match Apple Safari.
- Open-source availability: The entire codebase is hosted publicly on GitHub (driceroland/Search), allowing users and developers to inspect the source, build from scratch, or contribute fixes.