A GTK4 Firefox with Libwaita is the next step into the right direction

[LatinCanuck]

BACKGROUND

• GNOME is the most popular Desktop Environment for Linux.
• GTK4 is the toolkit used by GNOME to create graphical applications and widgets.
• Libwaita is a GTK4 library that helps developers create responsive and mobile friendly applications.

Firefox with a GTK4 Theme among other apps.

 CURRENT SITUATION

Right now, you can install Firefox and load a CSS theme to make it look like a native GNOME App.
Source: https://github.com/rafaelmardojai/firefox-gnome-theme

While it looks really nice, it would be nicer to have a native GTK4 Firefox Browser with responsive design because there's also a GNOME-based phone environment called PHOSH.

SOLUTION

I propose a new browser called: Firefox-GTK. A collaborative project between Mozilla and the GNOME Foundation. It would be the same Firefox we love and enjoy, but tailored for the GNOME Desktop. If Firefox and GNOME Web had a baby, it would be Firefox-GTK.

WIIFM

•  A more aesthetic Firefox Browser for GNOME users (GNOME is the default DE for Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, RHEL, EndlessOS, SUSE, among others).
  
• Firefox will take full advantage of GTK4 with a fully responsive application that could adapt to any screen, with better touchscreen and touchpad gestures.
• Better Integration with the desktop and other GTK4 Applications, and other GNOME APIs

CONCLUSION

I am 100% positive that GNOME will become a real contender against Apple and Google in the mobile space. When Mozilla released Firefox OS, the timing wasn't right. But now we have powerful PWAs, and Mozilla doesn't have to reinvent the wheel. We already have a plethora of Linux Operating Systems that work on phones (mostly the PinePhone), We have a Graphical Environment for phones called PHOSH, We have Powerfull PWAs, and many native GNOME Apps. All we need is a powerful web browser to create the perfect privacy-focused ecosystem.

A preview of what PHOSH is capable of right now.

Note: There's already a request on Bugzilla about porting Firefox to GTK. Report # 1701123. Furthermore, This topic is also mainstream on Reddit.

[Jon]

Thanks for submitting an idea to the Mozilla Connect community! Your idea is now open to votes (aka kudos) and comments.

[Anonymous]

Even if we use Firefox, we are not safe if it is running on dodgy OSes. Firefox needs to make a decision to focus on trusted OSes.

[LatinCanuck]

@AnonymousWhat do you mean by Dodgy OSes? Fedora is the Bleeding Edge of Linux, RHEL, powers most banks, Ubuntu, is the backbone of the Web and it's even used at the International Space Station.

[Anonymous]

@LatinCanuck My words were not enough. Dodgy OS means big tech stuff.

[messi]

@AnonymousMozilla should make a decision based on the amount of users. @LatinCanuck 's arguments are pretty solid

[Jon]

Hey all,

Here with an exciting update…

Your idea has quickly received a great deal of votes (kudos) and support here in the Mozilla Connect community, so we are upgrading the status to “Trending idea.” This means it’s now one step closer to reaching our internal teams for review—learn more about The Idea Journey.

Please keep the conversation going (the more details, the better) and stay tuned for updates 😃

-The Community Team

[War1971]

Yeah, Firefox would look very native like all other GNOME apps (And It should). The recent implementation of Libwaita with GTK applications are look very polish and modern 👌. So, Firefox would look gorgeous if Libwaita gets implemented on Firefox.

[wachodurango]

Pretty please with sugar on the top

[LatinCanuck]

Thank you for the upgrade @Jon. It means a lot for me 🙂 Mozilla's success means success for the entire FOSS Community.

[ComputerBuster]

This sounds incredible. Libadwaita apps look modern, clean, and consistent with the rest of the Gnome 42+ ecosystem. I think this would be a fantastic effort. You could also distribute Firefox-GTK as a Flatpak, so it will work on any distro.

[billyswong]

I disagree.

GNOME style is not everyone's taste. It is strongly loved by some and strongly hated by some other. Over-integration to less mature GTK4 may bring compatibility issue to older OSes. Firefox shouldn't join the DE war.

[CyborgZeta]

As a Plasma user, I don't want Firefox playing favorites with DEs. Particularly not if it comes at the cost of integration for those that don't use GNOME.

[Anonymous]

I am currently using Zorin OS, but I find Gnome lacks functionality for its high resource consumption. Therefore I think it's possible that other desktop environments will rise to prominence in a Linux-based OS. As @billyswong says, I don't think Firefox should side with any particular desktop environment.

[box_of_brains]

firefox has a wider userbase than just linux users.

for a browser it is probably more important to have a cohesive experience across devices and os.

browsers these days are basically an os in themselves. i think it is perfectly justified for them to have their entirely own design.

its userbase being as small as it is, firefox should cosy up more to the mainstream, right?

[NotteShock]

GTK4, yes!

But Libadwaita, no. Firefox isn't a GNOME app and GNOME being popular doesn't mean that it has to use libadwaita. If you guys want to do it, make one with libadwaita for GNOME and one with KF5/Kirigami for KDE Plasma and GTK3 for the rest of the DEs 😆