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pauljoda/Crest

An open source browser for Mac, iPhone, and iPad that isolates work, personal, and private sessions into separate Spaces.

Open-source alternative to:ArcSafariGoogle Chrome

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Last commit
13 hours ago

What is it?

Crest is a SwiftUI browser for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Its central idea is Spaces: each one gets its own cookies, website data, history, tabs, credentials, settings, and sync identity, so a work login never leaks into a personal session.

On Mac, pages open in ungoogled-chromium by default, with Chrome Web Store extensions supported, or in WebKit, which adds Reader, page translation, built-in content blocking, and FairPlay video. Mac switches to WebKit automatically when a page needs protected video. iPhone and iPad use WebKit. The sidebar offers pins, saved tabs, nested folders, and Split View groups of two to four live pages.

Crest also includes Crest Studio for customizing each Space's crest and sidebar, Peek for previewing links, Private Spaces with temporary storage, Keychain-backed passwords, and optional iCloud sync for spaces, tabs, history, and archive. The core browser logic is written in C# and compiled with NativeAOT, and the project is MPL-2.0 licensed.

Key features

  • 01Isolated Spaces with separate cookies, history, tabs, and credentials.
  • 02Chromium or WebKit engines on Mac, with WebKit on iPhone and iPad.
  • 03Split View groups of two to four live pages.
  • 04Peek previews links above the current page.
  • 05Private Spaces with temporary storage and device authentication.
  • 06Optional iCloud sync for tabs, history, and spaces.

Use cases

  • Keeping work and personal logins separated on one Mac.
  • Opening links from other apps in a chosen Space's signed-in session.
  • Browsing privately with temporary storage that relocks when leaving the app.
  • Using Chrome Web Store extensions in a Chromium-based browser on Mac.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install Crest on Mac via Homebrew

    brew install --cask crest-browser
  2. 2

    Or download the signed, notarized app from the latest GitHub release

Things to know

  • Mac version requires Apple silicon and macOS 26.1 or later.
  • iPhone and iPad versions require iOS or iPadOS 26.1 or later.
  • Building from source requires Xcode, XcodeGen and the .NET SDK.

In collections

Open-source Mac appsPrivacy & local-first tools

Topics

#browser#privacy#swiftui#webkit#chromium#macos#ios#sync#ipados#open-source

FAQ

What is Crest?
An open source browser for Mac, iPhone, and iPad that isolates work, personal, and private sessions into separate Spaces. Crest is a SwiftUI browser for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Its central idea is Spaces: each one gets its own cookies, website data, history, tabs, credentials, settings, and sync identity, so a work login never leaks into a personal session.
Is Crest free to use? What license does it have?
Crest is open source under the MPL-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is Crest still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to Crest was on Oct 24, 2026.
What can I use Crest for?
Keeping work and personal logins separated on one Mac. Opening links from other apps in a chosen Space's signed-in session. Browsing privately with temporary storage that relocks when leaving the app. Using Chrome Web Store extensions in a Chromium-based browser on Mac.
How do I install Crest?
Install Crest on Mac via Homebrew: brew install --cask crest-browser Or download the signed, notarized app from the latest GitHub release
Where can I get Crest?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/pauljoda/Crest

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