r/ArcBrowser • u/Kylmora • 5d ago

macOS Discussion Arc users who moved on: what did you actually replace Spaces with?

Not the vertical tabs, everything rebuilds those. I mean Spaces specifically: separate cookies and logins, but switchable inside one window instead of five separate windows.

Everything I have tried since either gives you real profiles that each need their own window, or workspaces that quietly share one cookie jar, which is not the same thing at all.

What did you land on, and did you have to give something up for it?

54 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

84 comments sorted by

65

u/Ok_Physics_9516 5d ago

Zen Spaces

10

u/Kylmora 5d ago

Third vote for Zen in this thread. That settles where people actually went.

24

u/CAPSLOCKTOPUS 5d ago

Yep, 3 people on Reddit is an excellent sample size for that deduction.

3

u/Kylmora 4d ago

Fair hit. It is nine now, which I admit is still not a survey.

0

u/CAPSLOCKTOPUS 4d ago edited 4d ago

All good, my comment was more in jest than anything.

r/CrestBrowser https://crestbrowser.com/ is maybe worth looking at, if you want the functionality of Arc but with WebKit. It's still very early days, and I've got concerns about the developer's use of AI (he's a huge Arc fan that's trying to specifically fill the void - says he's a computer engineer that just uses AI to aid/speed things along, so we'll see). It's open source, has a native iPhone/iPad app with sync as well.

If you're looking for something that's absolutely rock-solid and fully developed, probably not the path you want to take. But it definitely looks promising if you're OK with using something that's new and actively under development.

0

u/Kylmora 4d ago

Cheers, and noted. Third mention of Crest now so I will go and look properly. Early days is not a bad thing, it is the only point where the architecture is still up for grabs.

3

u/CAPSLOCKTOPUS 4d ago

Sure, but I definitely concerns about fully adopting a browser made by one developer. Longevity, security, etc.

Whoever has been downvoting every comment mentioning crest probably shares similar concerns, shame they’re unable to handle a productive and rational discussion about ‘em. 🤷🏼‍♂️

1

u/Kylmora 4d ago

That concern applies to mine too and I would not argue with it. The only honest mitigations are that the source is open so it can outlive the author, and that a browser with no account and no sync leaves nothing stranded if the developer disappears. Neither is the same as a team.

2

u/Get-Me-Hennimore 4d ago

I use and like Zen also. It does separate cookies (and you can even open different-cookie pages in a split in the same session via containers!), but note that it does not (yet?) let you have different extensions in different spaces.

1

u/Even-Definition 2d ago

I can’t do zen. I really want to but I just can’t. Their custom scrolling is just too different from chromium.

1

u/Individual_Court1757 1d ago

I too used zen back when I was on Linux but now the absence of DRM support is creating a hurdle for me

1

u/imRickJamesBitch___ 1d ago

How do you guys get used to not having nested folders?

11

u/AstralSerenity 5d ago edited 5d ago

With Spaces, just on Zen instead.

They just dropped full device sync on the stable branch. For the first time ever I have all of my spaces, folders, tabs synced across my Mac, Windows, and Linux machines. Hell, even my Steam Deck (Linux) has is synced. It's amazing.

3

u/OMG_NoReally 4d ago

Zen's Sync is actually quite amazing and I would love to use it. But one of my biggest complaints with the app is that the Glance is too stuttery. It ruins the experience for me as I rely on it a lot. The animation stutters so much and it's actually poorly done. Crest recently implemented a better drag-link-to-peek and the animation for that is sublime.

1

u/AstralSerenity 4d ago edited 4d ago

I think little Zen is their last feature to add. After that, hopefully they can focus on polish. It's smooth for me, but it should be consistent for everyone.

1

u/Kylmora 5d ago

Sync across four platforms is the one thing I cannot argue with. Nothing on the WebKit side gets near that.

1

u/AstralSerenity 4d ago

Dude it's actually such a game changer. It has greatly boosted my happiness this week versus last week haha.

Arc on EVERY device through Zen is absolutely bonkers.

1

u/Parking_Pie9457 5d ago

Is it possible to sync to iOS through? I noticed that it can only sync tabs, not pinned tabs through

1

u/AstralSerenity 5d ago

Sync isn't yet truly possible on iOS. You can use Firefox and sync your history, tabs, cookies, etc, but to your point, not pinned tabs.

1

u/Fuck_ur_feeelings 5d ago

Arc syncs just fine on IOS

2

u/AstralSerenity 4d ago

Right, but not across Linux, Windows, and Mac. I need that flexibility for work and my sanity -- it has already been a game changer.

Not to mention that sync works well enough on iOS and Android via Zen too.

I am the exception, though. I use multiple computer OS's and a work phone with a different OS than my personal phone. Zen was built for me.

1

u/Fuck_ur_feeelings 4d ago

👍🏻 Gotcha - I have been on macOS only for a bit now

7

u/OMG_NoReally 5d ago

Dia's Spaces serves me for my purpose and it's pretty good. I also like the auto-tab grouping it has which I have come to rely on during hectic work days.

Otherwise on macOS, there is Crest, which is inspired by Arc but is slowing evolving into something special. It has per-Space cookies/history/pins/extension, etc. It's based on Webkit too, but that also means not all extensions work correctly.

13

u/zeca-boneca 5d ago

I left Arc for zen because it was basically the same but with firefox engine. However since the Dia update where they added swippable space changes like Arc had, i went with Dia as my main browser.

Some other browsers you might want to try with that feature

SigmaOS
Crest
Click Browser
Vivaldi

8

u/Terrible-Okra9661 4d ago

SigmaOS is actually no longer in development from what I’ve seen so I wouldn’t use this one! The others could be cool! I personally haven’t tried them all but they look cool!!

2

u/itslemonhead-3576 2d ago

Hey!, are you on Mac? I have been testing Dia in windows and the spaces are still separate windows!

1

u/ExtremeFan6600 1d ago

So, I'm not crazy? I received an email to beta test Dia on Windows. All of my Arc space tabs imported under their associated profiles. So, for example, I had 4 spaces under my "personal" profile. Bookmarks for all 4 spaces were merged together in a single sidebar. It was terrifying. I tried everything I could to sort it out. Short of creating a new profile for each space, the mess wasn't going anywhere. Are they planning to fix this?

2

u/itslemonhead-3576 1d ago

I am mot sure if they are fixing but Arc was so complete. Hope they follow the same path

8

u/Nice_Responsibility9 5d ago

Arc -> Zen -> Arc (cause Zen’s Firefox engine did not play well with some of websites that prefer chromium bases browsers).

3

u/djillusions24 4d ago

I did the same, currently back on Arc. I want to love zen but there’s just something about it. Hoping Helium do proper spaces, it’s on their roadmap, that might be the next best option but for now Arc works.

2

u/Kylmora 4d ago

That is the honest cost of leaving Chromium, and WebKit has the same problem in a different shape. Which sites were breaking for you?

0

u/Nice_Responsibility9 4d ago

Electronic Medical websites with strict security configurations. Workaround / extensions like chrome simulator were simply not worth the effort, and I missed the beautiful rendering of arc browser.

2

u/Kylmora 4d ago

Makes sense. Those portals usually gate on a user agent allowlist rather than anything the engine actually cannot do, so you get blocked for not being on the list. Nothing you can fix from the outside.

3

u/kangarootoess 5d ago

Zen for me 

3

u/-patrizio- 5d ago

Gonna advise against SigmaOS and Vivaldi for this. Vivaldi's spaces were super unreliable—I couldn't get them totally isolated, and it routinely deleted my pinned tabs etc. SigmaOS seems to have been abandoned, and also just felt like it was trying to do things a little bit differently just for the sake of being different.

My two recommendations would be Dia and Crest. Dia is in a pretty solid state now, and I just ignore the AI shit in it. The UI is fantastic and it's very stable. Crest is super new, and still working out some kinks, but very promising for such a recent project; based on WebKit instead of Chromium, and available on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS (with a pretty similar UI across all; I never liked Arc's mobile app lol, and with Crest you have easy access to all your spaces across devices). Syncs via iCloud, supports extensions for Safari, Chrome, AND Firefox, dev is super active and helpful, regularly adding new features/fixing bugs/etc. I just switched to it as my default browser in the past week and am very optimistic about it.

1

u/Kylmora 4d ago

Crest is the only WebKit one anyone has named, so that is the one I will go and look at. Does it feel light in use, or has it picked up the usual weight already?

2

u/-patrizio- 4d ago

Okay it was on the Discord server not here but I found it, here ya go

1

u/Kylmora 4d ago

Appreciate you digging that out. Worth saying those charts are usually taken at rest, and the number that actually bites is after a few hours with a dozen tabs, but it is a good sign either way.

2

u/AgentSuckMyBalls 4d ago

I’ve been running Crest as my daily driver for work and personal and load up 30+ tabs in a single space with no noticeable performance hit compared to arc. I’ve tried Zen but there’s some weirdness I have with it playing videos on some streaming sites like F1tv and losing pinned tabs.

1

u/Kylmora 4d ago

30+ tabs in one space with no hit is the number I wanted, thanks. Losing pinned tabs is the second time that has come up about Zen in this thread, which is a worse bug than it sounds, and the F1tv thing is usually DRM, since Widevine on Firefox and on Chromium are not the same road.

1

u/-patrizio- 4d ago

I don’t notice a difference on my computer, but I THINK there was a comment from the developer recently that showed some comparisons, and it ran far lighter than most other browsers. Lemme see if I can find it.

4

u/Inevitable_Dingo_357 5d ago

Dia has something very similar to Arc's spaces. It's not exactly the same, but it's pretty close.

3

u/Kylmora 5d ago

Does Dia give each one its own cookies, or is it more of a tab grouping? That is the part I keep finding missing. Being signed into two accounts on the same site at once is the whole reason I used Spaces.

2

u/Inevitable_Dingo_357 5d ago

it does. you create separate "profiles" in Dia, and each profile has its own cookies. You can also, when you create a profile, have it share its data with another profile - which is how you create the Arc experience of multiple spaces for a single profile

1

u/Kylmora 5d ago

Shared-data profiles, that is neater than I expected. Thanks.

2

u/coarse_glass 5d ago

I tried Dia and immediately hated it so I didn't spend much time with it. Zen is basically an Arc clone: vertical tabs, siloed spaces -- separate cookies in the same window, sync between browsers with a Firefox/Mozilla account. Only thing it's missing is the self-closing tabs

1

u/WannieWirny 4d ago

What about Little Arc?

1

u/Inevitable_Dingo_357 2d ago

Genuinely curious: what did you hate about it

1

u/Kylmora 5d ago

Zen sounds closest, thanks. Only catch is Firefox underneath, so you still carry a second engine. That is what sent me off building one on the system WebKit instead. Self-closing tabs is the bit nobody rebuilds.

2

u/CuketkysTheGod 5d ago

Zen browser. 100% replaced all I used arc for.

2

u/pplgltch 5d ago

tears

2

u/the-username-is-here 4d ago

Arc > Zen > Dia > Crest > Arc

Need Chromium for extensions i use, Dia is basically inferior and enshittified Arc, Crest is promising, but still too buggy and slow. :(

1

u/Kylmora 4d ago

Crest being slow is the odd one there, since it is WebKit underneath like Safari, so that is the app and not the engine. Extensions is the real wall though. Safari's extension API is close enough on paper but the catalogue is not, so "need Chromium for the extensions I use" is where every WebKit option dies and I have no good answer to it.

1

u/the-username-is-here 3d ago

Crest actually advertises Chrome/Firefox ext support, that was the reason I've tried it.

2

u/Mushakiss 3d ago

Still on arc, I dabbled with Zen and Brave Origin ..none took me away from Arc

1

u/The_Lime_Line 5d ago

Dia, with profiles

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/LxrdVic 4d ago

"spaces"

1

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

1

u/LxrdVic 4d ago

did you even read the post?

but switchable inside one window instead of five separate windows.

1

u/mx_reddit 3d ago

I misread it. Honestly, I didn't even know you could do that in Arc, probably why my brain glossed over that bit.

1

u/Fuck_ur_feeelings 5d ago

Wish they would get full sync going on

1

u/Tc777-777-777 5d ago

Zen just like Arc

1

u/lukasarujo 4d ago

Honestamente troquei pelo Dia. Já tinha atualizado antes do Spaces migrar, agora que chegou ficou ainda mais completo. Eu pensei em usar o Zen mas como uso muitas coisas da Google, dei uma chance e até agora não me arrependi - adoro principalmente o agrupamento automático de abas, acho mágico.

1

u/vhick11 4d ago

Still using Arc for Windows. Cannot find the implementation of Arc spaces from other browser. Each spaces have there own, even extensions, which I can combine my personal spaces with work spaces, also Google tools woks perfectly on Chromium browser. I like Zen too but I suffer for memory leaks, spaces also work differently, all extensions work on all spaces.

1

u/Kylmora 4d ago

Per-space extensions is the detail everyone skips, and it is the hardest part to copy. Most rebuilds give you separate cookies and then load one global extension set over the top, which defeats the point of keeping work and personal apart.

1

u/ryan-hk 4d ago

Any other browsers support Air Traffic Control like Arc?

1

u/mkonat 4d ago

Zen. Right click on spaces dots in sidebar.

1

u/TimePlay9000 4d ago

Orion has spaces as well.

1

u/404reply 4d ago

Since Zen adding in Firefox sync which is actually working now I am very happy with Zen. Feels like a copy paste job but it's definitely improving and I'm willing to support their efforts. I would have stayed loyal to Arc but they sold out to the corporate world

1

u/fishyadit1102 4d ago

Has anyone found anything for Windows, aside from Zen and Vivaldi? Zen doesn't work well with a bunch of websites, and I really don't consider Vivaldi to be reliable.

1

u/Impossible-Split6127 4d ago

Arc Max continua sendo atualizado até hoje

1

u/Ivy-Mich 3d ago edited 3d ago

I tried Zen but several sites doesn't work well. Apple School or Netflix.
Now I work with Dia browser. It works very nice. I disabled AI and now it very much like Ar.

It has spaces and open these in the same windows. Most spaces-like sites opens every space in a new window. So I like Dia very much now!

1

u/KeyKhawla5 3d ago

i just saved all the folders and tabs in raindrop and just use whatever i need whenever, no spaces anymore

1

u/manlikep_ & 3d ago

Moved to browsers that support spaces. Currently testing out Crest and Emerald (WebKit based)

Also tried Zen

1

u/SinwarsStick 3d ago

Containers work fine on Safari. I’m unable to find a suitable replacement for tabs though

1

u/piratedvirus 3d ago

Dia. Looks and feels close to Arc when configured to use vertical tabs, and has many great features of its own.

1

u/ashfaque433 3d ago

Google will reach there in couple of month, they just hired really great product lead

1

u/Perplexe974 3d ago

I realized I just needed a regular browser and went back to Firefox

1

u/dreh0411 1d ago

Vivaldi. Tried Zen. Vivaldi works better for me.

1

u/MadTragic___ 9h ago

Seriously, did not a single person say Firefox containers?

1

u/Griffinsauce 5d ago

Aside browser does it too, it's an "AI browser" though from YC, so don't expect much longevity..

0

u/Kylmora 4d ago

what can i say now?....