BrowserOS/packages/browseros/README.md

BrowserOS Browser (Chromium Fork)

Custom Chromium build with AI agent integration, enhanced privacy patches, and native MCP support.

Based on Chromium 146.0.7680.31 · Built with Python 3.12+ · Licensed under AGPL-3.0

What This Is

This package contains the BrowserOS browser build system — everything needed to fetch Chromium source, apply BrowserOS patches, and produce signed binaries for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The build system is a Python CLI that orchestrates the entire pipeline from source to distributable.

BrowserOS patches add:

• Native AI agent sidebar and new tab integration
• MCP server endpoints baked into the browser
• Enhanced privacy via ungoogled-chromium patches
• Custom branding, icons, and entitlements
• Keychain access group management (macOS)
• Sparkle auto-update framework (macOS)

Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
Disk space	~100 GB for Chromium source + build artifacts
Python	3.12+
macOS	Xcode + Command Line Tools
Linux	build-essential, clang, lld, and Chromium's Linux deps
Windows	Visual Studio 2022, Windows SDK

Directory Structure

packages/browseros/
├── build/                   # Build system (Python CLI)
│   ├── __main__.py          # CLI entry point
│   ├── browseros.py         # Main app definition
│   ├── modules/
│   │   ├── setup/           # Chromium source fetch and setup
│   │   ├── patches/         # Patch application logic
│   │   ├── apply/           # Apply patches to source tree
│   │   ├── extract/         # Extract patches from modified source
│   │   ├── feature/         # Feature flag management
│   │   ├── package/         # Binary packaging
│   │   ├── sign/            # Code signing (macOS, Windows)
│   │   ├── ota/             # Over-the-air update support
│   │   └── resources/       # Resource management
│   ├── config/              # Build configuration
│   └── features.yaml        # Feature flag definitions
│
├── chromium_patches/        # BrowserOS patches applied to Chromium source
│   ├── chrome/browser/      # Browser UI and feature patches
│   ├── components/          # Component patches (e.g., os_crypt)
│   └── ...                  # Organized to mirror Chromium source tree
│
├── chromium_files/          # New files added to Chromium (not patches)
├── series_patches/          # Ordered patch series
├── resources/               # Icons, entitlements, signing resources
│   └── entitlements/        # macOS entitlements (app, helper, GPU, etc.)
│
├── tools/
│   └── bdev                 # Developer tool
│
├── CHROMIUM_VERSION          # Pinned Chromium version (MAJOR.MINOR.BUILD.PATCH)
├── BASE_COMMIT              # Base Chromium commit hash
├── pyproject.toml           # Python project config
└── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies

Build System

The browseros CLI manages the full build lifecycle:

# Install the build system
pip install -e .

# Or use uv
uv pip install -e .

Key commands:

browseros setup          # Fetch and prepare Chromium source
browseros apply          # Apply all patches to Chromium source
browseros build          # Build BrowserOS binary
browseros package        # Package into distributable (DMG, installer, AppImage)
browseros sign           # Code sign the binary (macOS/Windows)

Patch System

BrowserOS applies patches on top of vanilla Chromium. Patches are organized in two directories:

• chromium_patches/ — Individual file patches, organized to mirror the Chromium source tree. Each file here replaces or modifies the corresponding file in Chromium.
• series_patches/ — Ordered patch series applied sequentially.

Adding a New Patch

1. Make your changes in the Chromium source tree
2. Use browseros extract to pull changes back into patch format
3. Place the patch in the appropriate directory mirroring Chromium's structure
4. Test with a full browseros apply && browseros build cycle

Chromium Version Pinning

The exact Chromium version is pinned in CHROMIUM_VERSION:

MAJOR=146
MINOR=0
BUILD=7680
PATCH=31

To update the base Chromium version, update this file and BASE_COMMIT, then resolve any patch conflicts.

Signing (macOS)

macOS builds require code signing for Keychain access, Gatekeeper, and notarization:

• Entitlements are in resources/entitlements/ (app, helper, GPU, renderer, etc.)
• Designated requirements pin to Team ID for Keychain persistence across updates
• The signing module is at build/modules/sign/macos.py

Feature Flags

Feature flags are defined in features.yaml and control which BrowserOS-specific features are compiled into the build. The feature module (build/modules/feature/) manages flag resolution at build time.

Related Resources

• Chromium Build Instructions
• ungoogled-chromium — upstream privacy patches
• BrowserOS Agent Platform — the TypeScript/Go agent system that runs inside the browser