Download MacSurf
Free, one click, no account. MacSurf 2.3 supports Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X 10.6. Expand the StuffIt archive and double-click MacSurf — no installer, proxy, or second computer required.
Keep MacSurf going
MacSurf is a full-time, one-person project. If it brought your old Mac back to the web, supporting the project helps keep development moving. Supporters get access to weekly Beta-Box builds ahead of stable releases. The stable download below remains free for everyone, with no account required.
MacSurf 2.3
"OPEN TABS"MacSurf 2.3 is the largest release since 2.0. It introduces real native tabbed browsing, with independent page, history, scroll, rendering, and JavaScript state inside one Mac window. Underneath the new tab bar is a major browser-engine update: stronger dynamic-page reconstruction, a much larger JavaScript browser API surface, improved CSS Grid and sizing, native WebP, expanded SVG support, gzip networking, rebuilt Downloads, Preferences, Bookmarks and History, tighter HTTPS behavior, and extensive lifecycle and stability work. Full release notes ↗
On a Classic Mac right now? GitHub still does not render well enough to use as the download source — this page links directly to the MacSurf builds. A plain-HTTP edition is also available for older machines.
Download MacSurf23.sit for the traditional Classic Mac
archive, or MacSurf23.zip if ZIP is more convenient for
your setup.
For the StuffIt version, expand MacSurf23.sit with
StuffIt Expander. If it does not expand automatically, drag
the archive onto StuffIt Expander or use the Finder's available
decompression command.
Double-click MacSurf to launch. There is no installer and nothing else is required.
What's new in 2.3?
MacSurf now behaves much more like a complete modern browser while continuing to run locally on PowerPC-era Macs.
- Tabbed browsing: independent URL, title, history, scroll position, content, rendering state, timers, and JavaScript environment for each tab.
- Modern JavaScript APIs: ES modules, Headers, Request, Response, AbortController, MutationObserver, ResizeObserver, improved IntersectionObserver, stronger selectors and DOM APIs, persistent localStorage, sendBeacon, and more.
- Dynamic-page stability: major reconstruction and lifecycle work prevents stale JavaScript, layout, iframe, image, and content state from surviving into the wrong document or tab.
-
CSS:
stronger Grid and Flexbox,
calc(),min(),max(),clamp(), min/max/fit-content sizing, viewport sizing, improved custom properties, background clipping and origin, and numerous layout fixes. - Images and SVG: native WebP support, including animation machinery, plus significantly expanded inline and external SVG rendering.
- Downloads: progress, speed, ETA, cancel, open, Reveal in Finder, Clear Finished, and configurable download location.
- Networking and security: gzip responses, better caching and revalidation, fail-closed certificate handling, protection against scripted HTTPS-to-HTTP downgrade redirects, safer referrers, and TLS hardening.
- Native Mac interface: improved Preferences, Bookmarks, History, menus, controls, spacing, typography, and auxiliary-window behavior.
Supported systems
MacSurf 2.3 spans the Carbon era from Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
- PowerPC Macs: MacSurf runs directly.
- Intel Macs: the PowerPC build runs through Rosetta where available.
- Primary target: Mac OS 9 remains the most heavily tested environment on original hardware.
- Memory: 128 MB minimum, 256 MB recommended, and 384 MB for the heaviest JavaScript sites.
Other builds
Older stable builds are kept around for comparison and for machines where a previous version is useful. Full history, tags, and source are also available on GitHub.
| Version | Notes | Size | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0.5 | "HACKADAY" — major rendering, CSS, JavaScript, tracker-blocking, and typing-latency polish release | 1.2 MB | MacSurf205.sit ↓ notes ↗ |
| 2.0 | The original 2.0 release, before the 2.0.5 polish batch | 1.2 MB | MacSurf2.sit ↓ notes ↗ |
| 1.68.2 | macQJS — QuickJS engine migration, refined | 1.1 MB | MacSurf1682.sit ↓ notes ↗ |
| 1.68.1 | macQJS — QuickJS engine migration | 1.1 MB | MacSurf1681.sit ↓ notes ↗ |
| 1.68 | macQJS — first QuickJS release, replacing Duktape | 1.1 MB | MacSurf168.sit ↓ notes ↗ |
Looking for something older — 1.4, 1.3, 1.0, or the early v0.x line? Every tagged release is on GitHub ↗ , source included.