Broccolini: Open-source web browser for consoles proof-of-concept

Sarah2025

dose it work when its ready and is it free?

VGMoose

Not at all! But maybe one day

For Discord, it would need at least cookies, POST requests, javascript, and websockets. Here's the compatibility status as of right now:

What Works

renders HTML and CSS!
inertia scrolling and touch-based navigation
async image downloading
history and bookmarks
tabs and tab image previews
private browsing mode
restore previous tabs on re-launch
full qwerty on-screen keyboard
support for a few different font families
base64 data uris and SVGs work

To Do:

pinch to zoom! and pan left/right
add cursor to be controlled with the joystick
fix images drawing on top of everything
detailed history and managing bookmarks
store and use cookies, local storage, etc
handle POSTs and other non-GET requests
- handle different error codes
video and audio embed support
simple javascript within pages
improve HTML/CSS compatibility
- form input elements
- iframes and frames
probably many more things

VGMoose

@sflynn2025 It would be free! But, it's not clear if Nintendo for example would allow such a program on the eShop.

Andyboi

@VGMoose It is pretty clear, they like reducing as much freedom as possible.

VGMoose

One has to wonder, with the Switch 2 including a builtin mouse cursor, if they have any plans to invest more in their own browser on the new system.

The petition to them got 28k signatures and is one of the top 10 most-signed on Change.org to Nintendo (actually, it's the 10th), but the browser has still not received any major new updates.

But! They still might take that feedback into account for their new console, and we'll see in a few months. Either way though, in terms of Broccolini and project goals, if the compatibility ever gets good enough, I'd at least try and submit it.

Sarah2025

@VGMoose

i hope it will be there on the eshop

Kam

wow that's great! looking at the screenshot, are we going to be able to have multiple tabs open at once?

VGMoose

Yes! There's a tab switcher with animations, and each tab preserves back/forward history. This was an early design goal because I've found tab management to always be a pain point for on-console browsers.

Recorded a 1 minute video of how the browser behaves right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lm6_RgElE

When a tab is backgrounded, it takes a screenshot of the current page, and then uses that as a thumbnail for the tab switcher view. Then, when you switch back into a tab, that screenshot is replaced with the actual page again.

The clock in the URL bar also becomes a forward button after you go back, re-using that toolbar space.

Kam

@VGMoose said in Broccolini: Open-source web browser for consoles proof-of-concept:

When a tab is backgrounded, it takes a screenshot of the current page, and then uses that as a thumbnail for the tab switcher view. Then, when you switch back into a tab, that screenshot is replaced with the actual page again.

THATS SO COOL!!!! I'm so excited to see the finished project :)))

dafunkymonke

Do you know if it has gamepad detection like the built in browser? Also D-Pad Snap to Object like what tab does on a computer?

VGMoose

Both of these are planned, but not implemented yet. The input methods are: touch screen (or usb mouse), gamepad (or usb keyboard), and simulated joystick cursor (like how the Switch browser does it).

VGMoose

@VGMoose said in Broccolini: Open-source web browser for consoles proof-of-concept:

Recorded a 1 minute video of how the browser behaves right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lm6_RgElE

Here's a GIF version of that video, if your device doesn't support video playback (may take like 10 seconds to load): http://vgmoose.bdns.dev/vidtest.gif