Version 0.1.3 · macOS 14+ · free early preview
Monok puts a small, fast browser, your own shell and your files in one Mac window. No address bar, no toolbar: a Magic Bar, panes you split like tmux, a terminal one key away and a native file manager on /.
6.8 MB
app binary
139–162 ms
to the first frame
32 MB
memory at idle
0
telemetry
The tour
Most of a browser's chrome is there just in case. Monok keeps one thin top bar and gives the rest of the window to the work.
Magic Bar
Press ⌘L anywhere and a bar floats over the page: an address, a search, a favorite or a page from your history. One row is selected, Return opens it, Tab picks the search engine. Then it is gone and the page has the window again.
Panes
Every tab is a tree of panes. Put the docs next to the app, a page over a terminal, or four pages side by side. A new pane opens on the wallpaper with the Magic Bar, ready for whatever goes there. Layouts come back with the session.
Terminal
⌃` splits a real terminal under the page: your login shell with your rc files, prompt and tools, 256 colors, IME, search in the scrollback and ⌘-click on links. Type >command in an empty pane and it runs when you press Return, never before. No web page and no JavaScript can ever reach it.
Files
Type / in the Magic Bar and a native file manager opens in the pane, at your home folder. /name finds files and folders by name with Spotlight, /~/path completes a path. Favorites in the sidebar, sort by any column, select with a drag or ⌘-click, drag onto a folder to move, ⌘⌫ to the Trash after a confirmation. Nothing opens until you press Return or click, and no web page can reach it.
Blocking
EasyList and EasyPrivacy are compiled into WebKit's own content blocker, so blocked requests never leave the Mac and pages get lighter. The ⋮ menu counts what it blocked on the page and turns blocking off for one site. The lists update weekly.
Favorites
The sites you open every day sit in one quiet row. ⌘B asks for a name and a folder (type a new one and it exists), drag a favorite to reorder it or drop it on a folder. No extension icons, no buttons you never press.
Yours
Search engine, startup, light or dark, the wallpaper, blocking, and the terminal's shell, font and colors. The internal pages are plain browser:// pages, and they can't reach the terminal either.
Keyboard first
Every shortcut is a menu key, so it works while a page has the keyboard.
Small on purpose
Numbers from version 0.1.0 on an Apple M5 Pro, macOS 26, release build 0.1.0, window at Retina. The script that takes them ships in the repository.
6.8 MB
Apple silicon, stripped. The universal app is 15.7 MB. Target: app under 30 MB.
139 to 162 ms
From launch to the first drawn window, 5 launches. Target: under 300 ms.
32 MB
Physical footprint of the app process, empty window. Target: under 50 MB.
46 MB
The app process. WebKit's own page processes are separate, as in every WebKit browser.
673 MB
Wikipedia, GitHub, Hacker News, MDN and apple.com: the app (42 MB) plus WebKit's processes.
What it is
In 0.1.3
How it works
Pages render with the WebKit that ships with macOS, the same engine as Safari, so sites work and stay fast. Everything around the page, from the Magic Bar to the panes, the terminal and the Files pane, is Monok's own, written in Rust. Our own engine, MonokEngine, is in Settings as a beta: it draws HTML and CSS and, since 0.1.3, runs JavaScript in an early form, so WebKit stays the default.
Not yet
FAQ
Monok is a small, fast web browser for macOS with a native terminal and a native file manager built in: browser, terminal and files in one window. There is no address bar: a Magic Bar opens on Cmd+L. Every tab splits into panes like tmux, and a pane can be a page or a terminal running your own login shell. Ads and trackers are blocked out of the box.
A native file manager that opens in a pane (since 0.1.1). Type / in the Magic Bar to open it at your home folder, /name to find files and folders by name with Spotlight, or /~/path to complete a path. Return on a folder opens it in a Files pane, on a file opens it in its default app. It has a Favorites sidebar, sorting by name, date modified, size or kind, multiple selection, drag onto a folder to move, and Cmd+Delete to move items to the Trash after a confirmation. Since 0.1.2 it also has a grid view, copy and paste (Cmd+V copies, Option+Cmd+V moves), undo and redo (even for the Trash) and a right-click menu. Since 0.1.3 you can drag items onto a folder in the path bar to move them up. Like the terminal, no web page or JavaScript can reach it.
You can try: version 0.1.3 browses real sites every day, restores your session and updates itself through a signed feed. It is still an early preview, so expect rough edges and missing pieces (no extensions yet). It is free while in preview.
Pages render with the WebKit that ships with macOS, the same engine as Safari, behind Monok's own engine interface. Everything around the page (the Magic Bar, tabs, panes, the terminal, blocking, internal pages) is Monok's own, written in Rust. Since 0.1.2, Settings › Web engine can switch web pages to MonokEngine, our own engine written in Rust. It is a beta: it draws HTML and CSS, and since 0.1.3 runs JavaScript (DOM, events, timers, forms, fetch, storage), enough for simple pages and forms. Large web apps still need WebKit, which stays the default.
There isn't one. Press Cmd+L and the Magic Bar floats over the page; an empty pane shows it inline. Type an address, a search or the name of a favorite and press Return.
Measured on version 0.1.0: a 6.8 MB app binary for Apple silicon, the first frame in 139 to 162 ms, and 32 MB of memory for the app at idle. WebKit's page processes come on top, as in every WebKit browser: five real sites came to 673 MB in total, 42 MB of it the app.
Yes, built in and on by default. EasyList and EasyPrivacy are compiled into WebKit content rule lists and updated weekly. The menu shows how many requests were blocked on the page and turns blocking off for a site; Settings turns it off everywhere.
The terminal is native interface, not a web page. No web page, browser:// page or JavaScript can open it, read it or type into it. A >command typed in the Magic Bar runs only when you press Return yourself; nothing from a page, a link or the clipboard is ever run.
No telemetry. It checks one signed file on monok.io for updates, and crash logs stay on your Mac (About lists them). Searches go to the search engine you pick.
Windows and Linux, Extensions, Its own developer tools (WebKit's Web Inspector is not wired up yet), Sync between Macs, Picture in picture and per-site media controls, and A licence key field (the preview is free).
Not yet. Monok is macOS only for now (macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel).
The preview is free.
Monok 0.1.3 for macOS 14 or later. Free while in preview, about 9 MB, signed and notarized.
Download for Mac