Add customizable homepage by Chickaboo · Pull Request #2648 · minbrowser/min

Chickaboo · 2025-10-20T02:38:14Z

Introduces a new customizable new tab page with clock, greeting, and search bar. Adds settings for enabling/disabling the homepage, choosing between default or custom URL, toggling clock and greeting, and selecting time format. Implements new internal protocols for 'min://newtab' and 'min://blank', updates localization, and refines related CSS and JS for the new tab and settings pages.

Updated the new tab page to use the currently selected search engine instead of a hardcoded DuckDuckGo URL. Added the searchEngine utility script to index.html and modified performSearch to construct the search URL dynamically.

PalmerAL · 2025-11-09T20:08:31Z

Thanks for the PR!

I think it makes sense to have a setting to set a custom new tab URL. I'm less convinced that we should have a built-in page. My impression is that there are a lot of potential designs for a new tab page, and people tend to have strong opinions about which design is the best for them; designing something that makes most people happy would require a ton of different customization options and add a lot of complexity.

How would you feel about keeping just the setting to set a custom URL, and putting any specific page designs in an external repository?

Also, it would be good to figure out a better interaction between the NTP and the searchbar. When I open a new tab, I don't actually see the NTP, because the searchbar is covering it:

I think this should probably work like this (what do you think?):

When you open a new tab, the searchbar is active and focused, but if a custom NTP is configured, no suggestions are shown underneath.
The NTP is immediately visible.
If you start typing in the searchbar, we start showing the searchbar suggestions and blur the NTP.

PalmerAL · 2025-11-09T20:11:01Z

Also, I should point out, we already have an option to set a custom image background on the new tab page:

We should ensure any changes are compatible with that.

Chickaboo · 2025-11-10T23:46:45Z

That sounds good to me. I'll remove the new tab page and make it so that in the settings, you can choose either the NTP or a custom URL. A better implemetion of the NTP and the search bar interaction is something I will look into. I think the outline you gave will work well. I'll try to work on this sometime soon, but it might be a week or two.

1. Removed custom homepage 2. Moved new tab custom URL to Additional settings 3. Added the NTP Functionality to the preferences as well as maintaining it on the new tab widget 4. Improved new-tab design and visibility of NTP

This reverts commit 826ddae, reversing changes made to 8021bfb.

This reverts commit 08bf957.

Removed legacy homepage and new tab page code, including blank and custom homepage files and settings. Added new settings for new tab page: blank, custom URL, or background image, with UI and logic updates throughout the app. Updated CSS and JS to support new background image and custom URL options, and removed unused homepage-related code and translations.

Chickaboo · 2025-11-26T19:48:27Z

Everything should be done. I moved the Custom URL into the Additional Settings. There is now a dropdown menu which has three options one for Blank, Custom URL, and NTP. I made sure that both the NTP widget and the preferences functionality are in sync. The changes to the new tab design have been made as well. I think the outline you gave worked great. Let me know if there are any changes or tweaks needed—its looking pretty good to me though. 9b59089

PalmerAL

This looks pretty good! I left some comments on the code, but I think the functionality is working well.

css/newTabPage.css

PalmerAL · 2025-12-07T22:29:25Z

js/browserUI.js

@@ -43,14 +43,28 @@ function addTab (tabId = tabs.add(), options = {}) {
    destroyTab(tabs.getSelected())


I think there should be a case added to this if statement to destroy the current tab if it equals the NTP URL. Currently, if I close all my tabs, I get a single tab with the NTP; then if I create a new private tab, I get two tabs: one with the NTP, and a second with the private tab. I'd expect that the NTP would close when I create the new tab.

It seems the desired functionality is already achieved for the New Tab Picture. Are you asking for this behavior to be applied for the custom URL as well?

2026-01-04.20-04-10.mp4

Thanks for clarifying; I'll get on it!

PalmerAL · 2025-12-07T22:30:56Z

js/browserUI.js


+  // if the tab is a new, blank tab, replace it with the custom new tab page
+  let isCustomUrl = false
+  if (!tabs.get(tabId).url && !tabs.get(tabId).private) {


I think it might be possible for a site to create a popup with no URL (I'm not sure exactly), in which case we shouldn't show the NTP. Perhaps we could solve that by also checking enterEditMode here, and only showing the NTP if it's true.

PalmerAL · 2025-12-07T22:31:21Z

js/browserUI.js

+  // if the tab is a new, blank tab, replace it with the custom new tab page
+  let isCustomUrl = false
+  if (!tabs.get(tabId).url && !tabs.get(tabId).private) {
+    const newTabUrl = settings.get('newTabUrl')


Since this setting isn't a URL, could we rename it to something like newTabType?

PalmerAL · 2025-12-07T22:33:06Z

js/navbar/tabEditor.js

+                      (newTabUrlMode === 'customUrl' && currentURL === settings.get('newTabCustomUrl'))
+
+        if (isNTP) {
+          searchbar.el.classList.add('searchbar-hidden')


I think we could just skip calling searchbar.showResults in this case (perhaps calling searchbar.hide instead if that's necessary), and then we no longer need the hidden class.

PalmerAL · 2025-12-07T22:33:58Z

js/newTabPage.js

  blobInstance: null,
  reloadBackground: function () {
+    const newTabUrl = settings.get('newTabUrl')
+    if (newTabUrl === 'blank') {


If the setting has never been modified, settings.get will return undefined, which this also needs to check for (ie since a blank page is the default value, undefined and "blank" should be treated the same way)

PalmerAL · 2025-12-07T22:35:38Z

localization/languages/en-US.json

+    "settingsNewTabUrlBlank": "Blank Page",
+    "settingsNewTabUrlCustomUrl": "Custom URL",
+    "settingsNewTabUrlBackgroundImage": "Background Image",
+    "settingsNewTabUrlUploadImage": "Upload Image",


It would be useful to also add these as the title attributes of the camera and delete buttons on the new tab page.

PalmerAL · 2025-12-07T22:35:50Z

main/menu.js

            sendIPCToWindow(window, 'zoomOut')
          }
        },
-        // Hidden item to enable shortcut on numpad


This seems like an accidental change, can you revert it?

Sets the default #ntp-background scale to 1.03 and removes the scale transform from the blurred state, ensuring a more consistent background appearance.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR introduces a customizable new tab page feature that allows users to choose between a blank page, a custom URL, or a background image for new tabs. The implementation includes new settings UI, background image upload/removal functionality, and visual enhancements with blur effects and searchbar transitions.

Adds new tab page customization with three modes: blank, custom URL, and background image
Implements settings interface with dropdown selection and custom URL input field
Integrates background image picker with automatic file handling and visual blur effects

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 10 out of 10 changed files in this pull request and generated 6 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
pages/settings/settings.js	Adds event handlers for new tab URL dropdown and custom URL input, including auto-prompt for background image selection
pages/settings/index.html	Adds UI elements for new tab page settings with dropdown and text input field
main/menu.js	Removes numpad zoom shortcuts (appears unrelated to the PR's main purpose)
localization/languages/en-US.json	Adds localization strings for new tab page settings options
js/preload/default.js	Adds IPC message handlers for uploading and removing new tab background images
js/newTabPage.js	Refactors background handling to support multiple new tab modes and adds image picker/removal functions
js/navbar/tabEditor.js	Implements searchbar hiding logic for new tab pages and blur effect when typing
js/browserUI.js	Adds logic to set custom URL when creating new tabs and prevents entering edit mode for custom URLs
css/searchbar.css	Adds transition and visibility classes for searchbar hiding animation
css/newTabPage.css	Adds blur effect and scale transform for background images

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

main/menu.js:276

The removal of the numpad zoom shortcuts appears unrelated to the PR's stated purpose of adding a customizable homepage. If this change is intentional, it should be in a separate PR or explained in the description. Otherwise, this may be an accidental deletion.

        {
          label: l('appMenuActualSize'),
          accelerator: 'CmdOrCtrl+0',
          click: function (item, window) {
            sendIPCToWindow(window, 'zoomReset')
          }
        },
        {
          type: 'separator'
        },
        {
          label: l('appMenuFocusMode'),
          accelerator: undefined,
          type: 'checkbox',
          checked: false,
          click: function (item, window) {
            if (isFocusMode) {

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Copilot · 2026-01-05T02:31:58Z

js/newTabPage.js

+      return
+    }
+
+    await fs.promises.copyFile(filePath[0], newTabPage.imagePath)


Missing error handling for the file copy operation. If copying the file fails (e.g., due to permissions, disk space, or invalid file path), the error will be unhandled and may cause unexpected behavior. Consider wrapping this in a try-catch block and handling errors appropriately.

Suggested change

await fs.promises.copyFile(filePath[0], newTabPage.imagePath)

try {

await fs.promises.copyFile(filePath[0], newTabPage.imagePath)

} catch (err) {

console.error('Failed to copy new tab background image:', err)

return

}

Copilot · 2026-01-05T02:31:58Z

js/newTabPage.js

+    newTabPage.reloadBackground()
+  },
+  removeImage: async function () {
+    await fs.promises.unlink(newTabPage.imagePath)


Missing error handling for the file unlink operation. If removing the file fails (e.g., file doesn't exist, permissions issue), the error will be unhandled. Consider wrapping this in a try-catch block to handle errors gracefully.

Suggested change

await fs.promises.unlink(newTabPage.imagePath)

try {

await fs.promises.unlink(newTabPage.imagePath)

} catch (err) {

// Ignore if the file does not exist; log and abort for other errors.

if (err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {

// File is already gone; continue to update settings/UI.

} else {

console.error('Failed to remove new tab background image:', err)

return

}

}

Copilot · 2026-01-05T02:31:58Z

js/navbar/tabEditor.js

+                      (newTabUrlMode === 'customUrl' && currentURL === settings.get('newTabCustomUrl'))
+


The NTP (New Tab Page) detection logic is incomplete. It only checks for 'backgroundImage' and 'customUrl' modes, but doesn't account for the 'blank' mode. When newTabUrl is set to 'blank' and currentURL is empty, this should also be considered an NTP scenario. The current logic may show the searchbar when it should be hidden in blank mode.

Suggested change

(newTabUrlMode === 'customUrl' && currentURL === settings.get('newTabCustomUrl'))

(newTabUrlMode === 'customUrl' && currentURL === settings.get('newTabCustomUrl')) ||

(newTabUrlMode === 'blank' && currentURL === '')

Copilot · 2026-01-05T02:31:59Z

pages/settings/index.html

+          type="text"
+          id="new-tab-custom-url-input"
+          style="margin-left: 0.5em; min-width: 325px"
+          hidden


The custom URL input field lacks input validation. Users can enter any text, including invalid URLs, which may cause issues when the browser tries to navigate to them. Consider adding validation to ensure the input is a valid URL, or at least provide user feedback when an invalid URL is entered.

Suggested change

type="text"

id="new-tab-custom-url-input"

style="margin-left: 0.5em; min-width: 325px"

hidden

type="url"

id="new-tab-custom-url-input"

style="margin-left: 0.5em; min-width: 325px"

hidden

placeholder="https://example.com"

Copilot · 2026-01-05T02:31:59Z

pages/settings/settings.js

+
+newTabUrlDropdown.addEventListener('change', function () {
+  settings.set('newTabUrl', this.value)
+  newTabCustomUrlInput.hidden = true


The statement newTabCustomUrlInput.hidden = true is unnecessary here. When the dropdown value changes, the code already handles the visibility of the custom URL input field in the subsequent conditional (lines 271-276). This line sets it to hidden unconditionally, only to potentially set it to false again immediately after, which is redundant.

Suggested change

newTabCustomUrlInput.hidden = true

Chickaboo added 2 commits October 19, 2025 21:30

Use selected search engine for new tab searches

8021bfb

Updated the new tab page to use the currently selected search engine instead of a hardcoded DuckDuckGo URL. Added the searchEngine utility script to index.html and modified performSearch to construct the search URL dynamically.

Chickaboo mentioned this pull request Oct 20, 2025

Requesting for a new feature and reporting bug #2164

Open

Chickaboo added 5 commits November 22, 2025 20:25

Merge branch 'minbrowser:master' into homepage

826ddae

Updates

08bf957

1. Removed custom homepage 2. Moved new tab custom URL to Additional settings 3. Added the NTP Functionality to the preferences as well as maintaining it on the new tab widget 4. Improved new-tab design and visibility of NTP

Revert "Merge branch 'minbrowser:master' into homepage"

b8ef6ea

This reverts commit 826ddae, reversing changes made to 8021bfb.

Revert "Updates"

b2a1484

This reverts commit 08bf957.

PalmerAL reviewed Dec 7, 2025

View reviewed changes

Adjust ntp background scale for default and blur states

f0194a7

Sets the default #ntp-background scale to 1.03 and removes the scale transform from the blurred state, ensuring a more consistent background appearance.

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings January 5, 2026 02:28

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Chickaboo January 5, 2026 02:28 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jan 5, 2026

View reviewed changes

		@@ -43,14 +43,28 @@ function addTab (tabId = tabs.add(), options = {}) {
		destroyTab(tabs.getSelected())

-    await fs.promises.unlink(newTabPage.imagePath)
+    try {
+      await fs.promises.unlink(newTabPage.imagePath)
+    } catch (err) {
+      // Ignore if the file does not exist; log and abort for other errors.
+      if (err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
+        // File is already gone; continue to update settings/UI.
+      } else {
+        console.error('Failed to remove new tab background image:', err)
+        return
+      }
+    }

		(newTabUrlMode === 'customUrl' && currentURL === settings.get('newTabCustomUrl'))

-                      (newTabUrlMode === 'customUrl' && currentURL === settings.get('newTabCustomUrl'))
+                      (newTabUrlMode === 'customUrl' && currentURL === settings.get('newTabCustomUrl')) ||
+                      (newTabUrlMode === 'blank' && currentURL === '')

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Chickaboo commented Oct 20, 2025

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PalmerAL commented Nov 9, 2025

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Pull request overview

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