Starfish project

A begginer-friendly Gemini browser.

Install Starfish from elementary AppCenter...

...find its source code on GitHub...

...or check out its screenshots right here on Gemini!

🎯️ Project goals

Primary goal of the Starfish browser is to make Gemini approachable to users of elementary OS. To this end I've strived to not only implement Gemini spec but also present content in an attractive and easy to navigate way. Starfish is designed with elementary OS style guide in mind and is based on the GTK toolkit. This ensures that users feel at home using it and that it respects their OS level preferences.

🏳️ Project non-goals

I don't want to compete or offer feature parity with existing GUI or CLI Gemini clients. For now I'm not interested in implementing other protocols such as Gopher. I'm cautious not to overcomplicate the user interface with plethora of options. That's not to say that I'm against adding features, just that I'll keep ease of use a priority.

♊️ Why Gemini browser?

Because I like the small scale atmosphere of the Geminispace and I like elementary OS' design aesthetic and general approach to user experience. I don't think there's currently an app that combines the two. Many design goals, such as valuing user agency and privacy, are shared between elementary SO and the Gemini spec. That's why I believe that elementary users might appreciate Gemini. I also think there's room for an opinionated, medium size GUI client for Gemini.

📑️ Devlog

I'll post updates, small tutorials and whatever else I think up along the way on my regular gemlog. Just in case you only care about the Starfish posts, here's a list of those:

2021-05-10 Devlog 01: Meson project

2021-05-20 Devlog 02: Progress so far

2021-06-12 Devlog 03: it's on GitHub

2021-06-20 Devlog 04: Re: Small request to Geminauts

2021-07-28 Devlog 05: Cumulative update

2021-12-03 Devlog 06: The launch

🌟️ What's up with that name?

A sea creature that it is, starfish invokes old-school idea of surfing the net. On the other hand it includes a reference to space which permeates a lot of Gemini terminology. Plus, I just like the way it sounds.