loading . . . **Work on the Linux port of Kagi’s privacy-focusedOrion web browser just hit a new milestone, with the team updating interested users on the progress made in ‘Milestone 2’.**
_“Since the completion of Milestone 1, the team has been focused on building out the browser’s foundational features_. _Milestone 2 marks meaningful progress toward core functionality and prepares us for the next phase of development”_ , Kagi share in a development update.
News of an Orion Linux port was announced earlier this year, and took many folks (myself included) by surprise. One would forgive a company trying to carve out a sustainable, user-first business model for looking to Windows first.
Orion for Linux is being built using GTK4/libadwaita and, like the macOS and iOS versions, runs on the WebKit engine rather than the Blink engine used in most modern browsers. Blink was forked from WebKit and has diverged considerably since (it’s _not_ the same).
## Orion Linux Port: More Progress
In its latest development mailshot send to users who’ve register interested in the Linux build, Kagi reveals that Orion (Milestone 2) has hit performance parity with other WebKitGTK Linux browsers, like GNOME Web, scoring similar on Speedometer 3.0.
The update also covers the “meaningful progress” that has been made in plugin in the essential functionality.
Orion’s development builds now have working tabs (including dragging ’em out) and support for session persistence (restoring your previous set of tabs and their history when you restart the browser). Partial support for tabs in the sidebar1 is also mentioned.
Tab being dragged in Orion Milestone 2 _(Kagi; edited)_
Bookmarks were once the backbone of web browsers, before we started allowing our browsing history to balloon to thousands of pages and relying on browser history search to (usually fail to) find things we’d visited before.
Bookmark support has landed _(Kagi; edited)_
Orion’s Linux port plumbed in basic bookmarking of web pages, along with support for organising them into folders, and accessing bookmarks throughout the browser’s various surface points (dialogs, sidebar and bookmarks bar).
Browsing history is also now tracked and saved across sessions; a backend for application settings is in place (with work on a GUI frontend in progress); and —add-on addicts rejoice— the WebExtension API is baked into Orion’s WebKitGTK build.
Settings frontend is progress _(Kagi; edited)_
Items on the to-do for Orion Milestone 3:
* **Advanced tab management**
* **Completion of the bookmarks system**
* **Core WebExtension infrastructure**
* **Basic extension installation mechanism**
Promising progress.
### When can I download Orion for Linux?
If you’re itching to test Orion for Linux, you’ll have to wait. No public builds are available yet, and when testing versions do arrive, they’ll initially be restricted to paid Orion+ and Kagi subscribers.
If reading this has you itching to try it out, you’ll have to wait. No public builds of Orion’s Linux port are available for testing, and when available, the plan is to only give paid Orion+ and Kagi subscribers first dibs – crushing, but there is a reason for it.
Building a web browser is a challenge, especially when you’re competing agents tech giants. Alpha builds of Orion will be rough, and first impressions count: better to seek feedback from those willing you to succeed, and less likely to be irritated by bugs or breakages.
Once stable, Orion for Linux will be free to download and use, just like the Mac and iOS versions are.
Those versions do offer premium features for subscribers of Orion+, but the features are not critical ones that most folks would notice were missing (i.e., don’t fear you’ll be nickel and dimed into putting your money where your ~~mouth~~ privacy concerns are).
### Kagi’s approach is different
On the whole, Kagi’s business model attracts retorts of _“sorry, did you say it’s a PAID search engine?!”_ , but the weirdness of that gambit is what lets them build their vision for a friendlier, user-focused web — and make software like Orion.
If you’re interested, the kagi.com/stats page has interesting metrics on paid users.
No pressure to bolt on revenue-generating or engagement-baiting features that work against users’ own interests. No data collection. No telemetry. No sponsored junk, partnerships or ties up. No incessant upsells.
A browser made to work for the people funding it – let’s hope the idea catches on, eh?
1. The sidebar in Orion on macOS is multifunctional. It can be used to access tabs (without replacing traditional tabs); save groups of tabs or windows; and be used for vertical tabs (instead of traditional tabs). ↩︎
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/08/orion-browser-linux-milestone-2-webkit-alternative-chromium
