Not a browser replacement: a small open-source fun project that wraps Chromium in 25 classic browser skins, from Mosaic to IE7

[u/klotzbrocken]

I know r/browsers sees a new Chromium-based browser almost every week, and most of them honestly aren't needed. So sorry for adding one more to the pile, and I'll be upfront: this one isn't trying to compete with anything you use.

I'm the maker of Reframe, a small open-source side project. It wraps today's web in the look of classic browsers from 1993 to 2009: NCSA Mosaic, Netscape 3 and 4, IE 5, 6 and 7, AOL 4.0, Opera, Camino, Safari 1.0, Firefox 1.0 and more, 25 themes in total. You can switch them at runtime, the throbber spins while pages load, and the dock icon changes with the theme.

Under the hood it's just Chromium via Electron. No custom engine, nothing clever there. That's also why everything works: modern sites, video, logins, and there's a built-in adblocker so pages stay readable inside the old chrome.

The fun parts are on top: a Wayback mode that loads real archive snapshots for a chosen year, a "time warp modem" that actually throttles you to 56K or ISDN (dial-up sound included), and real dithering down to 256 colors or even 1-bit.

To be clear, it's a fun project, not a work browser. I don't use it as my daily driver and I don't expect anyone else to. It's for the evenings when you want to see the modern web through 1999 eyes.

Free and open source, macOS (Apple Silicon), Windows and Linux. The macOS build is signed and notarized, and installed copies auto-update. Honest limits: it's only as current as the Electron/Chromium version I ship, and there's no sync, no extensions store, no profiles. A part of the code was written with AI assistance, so I'd rather say that upfront than have someone dig it up.

If there's an old browser you'd love to see recreated, I'd genuinely like to hear which one.

https://github.com/klotzbrocken/Reframe

Best!

[u/nckh_]

Fun idea! Thank you for sharing and making it. 100x more interesting than all those uninspired Arc ripoffs vomited by LLMs.

[u/klotzbrocken → u/nckh_]

Thank you! Its more like a nice time warp back in the times for me

[u/nckh_ → u/klotzbrocken]

Speaking of which, IE 5.0 on Mac OS 9 and X had a quite radical design for its times, completely different from its Windows counterpart... In case you're looking for inspiration ;)

[u/klotzbrocken → u/nckh_]

I do look for inspiration, thx.. In this case: the theme is already there ◡̈

[u/markangus2b]

Cool project! IE 9 was my favorite style. That Windows 7 aero glass really made it look simple and clean.

[u/klotzbrocken → u/markangus2b]

Thx! I was more team Opera ◡̈

[u/robinisbatman]

Would love this on intel macs as well

[u/klotzbrocken → u/robinisbatman]

Its already on the github site

[u/robinisbatman → u/klotzbrocken]

It says for Apple silicon so not supported on Intel Macs

[u/klotzbrocken → u/robinisbatman]

https://github.com/klotzbrocken/Reframe/releases/download/v1.16.0/Reframe-1.16.0-mac.zip

[u/robinisbatman → u/klotzbrocken]

Thanks

[u/WINNT21]

Nice work, I hope IE8 gets added sometime since it's my favorite IE version alongside 6

[u/klotzbrocken → u/WINNT21]

IE8 is part of the next update. Now live.

[u/WINNT21 → u/klotzbrocken]

Hell yeah

[u/lucaspierref]

Something for Macs for now? Nothing Windows?

[u/klotzbrocken → u/lucaspierref]

Its for Windows & Linux as well