New release: Perpetual Web Browser

We’ve got some very exciting news to share: we’ve released the first working version of the Perpetual Web browser!

What is it?

The Perpetual Web is a concept in which public data can live indefinitely, free from censorship and manipulation: a Network of truth. You may already be familiar with the wider principles surrounding the Perpetual Web. If not, take a look at this high-level overview video and Medium post which expands upon the reasons why permanency is such a key foundation for our future. This release is now bringing the first of these features to life and implementing them in the real world.

So what exactly does it allow me to do?

You can do all the things that were previously possible on the previous SAFE Network browser. But you can also do much more.

First, you can fetch websites using NRS-URLs and XOR-URLs (which are both types of URL’s on the Network) and toggle between the site’s version history. This shows you the differences and edits in each version. That means full transparency around any changes and when they were made.

This release also has a neat feature that gives you the option of creating an NRS name (the SAFE Name Resolution System) if it hasn’t yet been registered. If you try to visit a site with an NRS name that doesn’t yet exist, you’ll get the option to register that NRS name (which will then be owned by your account).

Plus, if you have a pre-existing website on the SAFE Network, you can now edit directly from the Browser. By selecting a local folder, it automatically uploads it and republishes it in your name and URL — sweeeet!

Also, as an alternative, sites can also be uploaded and published on an NRS name using the SAFE CLI so once published they can be fetched either with the CLI or with the SAFE Browser. Quick note: it’s not possible yet to edit a website using the Browser if it was uploaded using the CLI — or vice versa. This is a temporary limitation that’ll we’ll be removing soon to enable supporting sharing permissions among apps. This offers users extra flexibility when deciding how to upload files to the Network.

This sounds great — where do I get this from?

Just head over to GitHub and download. Quick reminder: you’ll need a couple of things in place first:

• Make sure you have the SAFE_auth running
• You need to be connected to a shared or local Vault (i.e. this doesn’t work with Alpha 2). Here’s the Guide to get set up with Vaults if you haven’t already.

So now we have the first working parts of the Perpetual Web out in the wild. As an open-source project, we’re always looking for feedback, comments and community contributions so don’t be shy — head over to the Forum and let’s create the SAFE Network together.

New release: Perpetual Web Browser was originally published in safenetwork on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.