The modern web is basically three Chromium browsers in a trench coat. Whether you use Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Vivaldi, you’re using the same engine. Even Firefox is struggling to keep up. It’s a monopoly, and monopolies are bad for tech, bad for privacy, and honestly just boring.

That’s why I’ve been obsessed with Ladybird.

What is it?

Ladybird is a brand new, from-scratch browser engine. No Google code. No Apple code. No Mozilla code. It started as a tiny project for the SerenityOS ecosystem, but now it’s a cross-platform beast aiming to be a real third (or fourth) contender.

The project is split into several “Lib” components: LibWeb (the engine), LibJS (the JavaScript engine), and LibGfx (graphics). Because it’s written in modern C++, it avoids a lot of the legacy “garbage” code that haunts Chromium and Firefox.

Building it on Arch (~btw)

I decided to build it from source on my main machine. It’s written in C++ and it’s fast. Not just “marketing fast,” but “actually respects my hardware” fast.

It’s still in early alpha, so don’t expect to run your bank’s website or Netflix on it yet. Most complex JS-heavy sites like Discord or YouTube will struggle. But for reading technical documentation or browsing lightweight blogs (like this one!), it’s fantastic. It doesn’t have the “bloat” of a hundred background telemetry processes or “AI assistants” pinned to the sidebar.

Why it Matters for Us

For those of us on low-power hardware, browsers are the biggest enemy. Chrome eats RAM like it’s a buffet. A single tab can easily consume 500MB. Ladybird is building a modern engine with a focus on simplicity and correctness.

If we don’t support projects like this, we are headed for a future where one company (Google) decides what is allowed on the web. They’ll disable adblockers at the engine level (Manifest V3 was just the start), and we’ll have no choice. Ladybird is our “insurance policy” against a total corporate takeover of the web.

It’s a massive undertaking. Writing a browser from scratch in 2026 is like trying to build a rocket in your garage. But the progress they’ve made is incredible. I’m keeping it installed and checking the updates every week. Support independent engines our digital freedom depends on it. Plus, it’s just cool to see a browser boot up in less than a second on my Arch install.