Hello HN!<p>Flowtide is a project I have been working on for about 2 months now. It is a customizable new tab page for Firefox or Chrome. By default, it is configured to have a minimal amount of features, but it can be configured to include a clock, to-do list, or even soundscapes.<p>Install: <a href="https://flowtide.app/" rel="nofollow">https://flowtide.app/</a>
GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/thingbomb/flowtide">https://github.com/thingbomb/flowtide</a>
It looks really nice.<p>The first question that pops into my head (being aware that this is a popular category of apps) is: when do people look at blank tabs? Whenever I open a new tab, it's with the intention of entering an address or a search term, and any content would be an unwelcome distraction.<p>I'd be more likely to use something like this if it lived under a regular domain name and I could put it into a pinned tab, personally.
Looks nice, I wish you best of luck! I personally haven't seen my "new tab" page in a very long time. What I'm doing instead: in current tab hit Cmd+L to focus on address bar, type query/address hit Option+Enter to open resulted page in a new tab. Skipping a bunch of clicks and the "new tab" page. Should be Ctrl+L Alt+Enter on Windows.
I already have the minimal number of features in my new tab in Firefox and I didn't even need to install a 3rd party addon: it's called "Blank page", you can find it in the settings.
I've been using Tabby Cat [1] for a few years now and under no circumstance will I replace my cute cats with a productivity tool.<p>[1] <a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/tabby-cat/mefhakmgclhhfbdadeojlkbllmecialg" rel="nofollow">https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/tabby-cat/mefhakmgc...</a>
Neat! Reminds me of Tabliss (<a href="https://github.com/joelshepherd/tabliss">https://github.com/joelshepherd/tabliss</a>) as well.
Will try it out. Some initial feedback<p>- I have a decent amount of bookmarks and bookmark folders, toggling on the bookmarks makes the new tab overwhelmed and other things don't show. Would be nice to just pin a few.<p>- The to do list is hard to see on some background combinations (e.g. black text over dark green trees)<p>- I like the command palette idea, but would be nice to be able to add my own (<a href="https://github.com/thingbomb/flowtide/blob/main/src/components/ui/cmd.jsx">https://github.com/thingbomb/flowtide/blob/main/src/componen...</a>)
I don’t like that Chrome forces you to install an extension to modify the new tab (to such an extent). With Safari, I have it pointed at a local HTML file. That file contains a mini web app with my bookmarks. It has keyboard shortcuts, history and fuzzy search built into it.
Really nice!
I'd really like to see more than one todo list option on the main page, personally, so I can get my entire task list (or at least a large number of tasks) shown to me every time I open a new tab. Would be nice as an option, at least
I've always just used the Bookmarks page with a link to my calendar & tasks as the new tab, in addition to whatever classes/programs/events I need quick access to
As a longtime user of Momentum that switched to Bonjourr about 5 months ago, this looks cool. The search function would be the reason for me to switch to this. Thanks for sharing!
It looks pretty nice, good job!
The bookmarks feature is nice actually, but since I have almost a thousand of them saved in my browser, the page tries to load all of them and I couldn't find anything to remove it only from the new tab page.
I'd strongly suggest you to add a simple feature of custom bookmarks, separated from browser bookmarks.
Aesthetically nice, though for me personally a new tab page is mostly a quick access bookmark page where I can configure the appearance a bit, preferably in text/something already existing like Buku, so I can re-create Firefox profile nearly automatically. The over aspects are near noise confronting to bookmarks.
Also checkout Minim for chrome. Very Minimal and Open Source<p><a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/minim-a-minimal-newtab/kpblgdhkligkbbnbpkigppblggflihgn" rel="nofollow">https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/minim-a-minimal-new...</a>
Looks good.<p>I recently just created my own custom new tab extension. Closed source because it's literally just for me. It does a few nieche things e.g. syncing a todo list that also appears on a e-ink display. I like it. I also like that it's something that's just for me.
The landing page looks awesome. Congratulations on the nice design.<p>I suspect you are being hammered with requests now. Because in both Brave and Chrome, there is about a .5 second delay until the new tab page appears. Until then, there is just a black screen.
BWNT new tab is my favorite:<p><a href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/bwnt-new-tab/doiinciigjmmlnbehjjjkeoamihggkba" rel="nofollow">https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/bwnt-new-tab/doiinc...</a>
This is great, giving it a try!<p>A few first impressions:<p>- The dark overlay when customising the screen makes it hard to see the visual adjustments- And<p>- Can the clock default to system (12 or 24 hours)?<p>- Can I add the pinned tabs I had on the default home screen somehow?
I really dislike that you can no longer create a home page that opens on a new tab in firefox. You can still do that on mobile browsers, for example kiwi browser. I have a homepage [0] with large links for resources I frequently visit and I really miss having this as my home page on my computer.<p>[0] <a href="http://splet.4a.si/dir/home.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://splet.4a.si/dir/home.shtml</a>
I love these things. I have a custom NTP for my Chrome and FF profiles. It's my productivity hack.<p>I put all my super frequent bookmarks there, big buttons are easy to click, keyboard shortcut.<p>Doesn't sync tho :(
I have rarely used new tab since I started using arc.
It is most practical for new tabs on chrome to have portals for websites that are frequently visited by myself.<p>Neat landing page anyway.
Feedback: more screenshots please. I am on phone but even if I open the extension store link, it has only those 3 screenshots.<p>Looking at those 3 images, I have absolutely no clue how it is a customizable new tab page? What does the to do list looks like? Can I have custom widgets? Can it do custom css?
Looks great!<p>Once upon a time, when you opened a new browser window (tabs were not a thing yet), you got something called the homepage. Some adware you installed changed that, and that caused pushback - it was generally agreed that the homepage belonged to the user and they could set it however they liked.<p>These days, the new tab page has taken over most of the role of the homepage, to the point that when my browser starts I see the new tab page. I actually had to check what my homepage is set at because I never see it (it's about:blank apparently).<p>Browser manufacturers mostly agree that the new tab page belongs to them, not the user. I tried Brave a while back and it wouldn't let me change the thing in the first place (I think that's fixed now). Would you like some sponsored links carefully curated for you? News from a source we have an advertising agreement with? (In this country, if you try and adjust your "news source" in anything Microsoft-owned, there's only one option and it's a right-wing tabloid.) The default new tab page is basically an ad, and you can't just change it you need someone to write an _extension_ for that. Good luck if you're not a developer.<p>People writing ad-free new tab extensions for the rest of us are performing tikkun olam. May the Lord bless you.
It looks nice and works well.<p>Unrelated, but I think we all need to migrate to a new word instead of "minimal" for such things. Perhaps just "simple." I get what we all mean as applied to this project, but it isn't what minimal typically means in English. A minimal new tab experience would be a blank tab.
Nice project, but I've been using the "Earth View from Google Earth" extension for Chrome for more than 10 years I think and I find it really difficult to part ways with it no matter how many features the new extension in the block has, maybe someday someone will add that feature to a new extension and I will be able to replace it.
> Flowtide is a beautiful, smart New Tab page for your browser.<p>Than, please, add a screenshot to the repository.<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42201300">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42201300</a>
The new tab, the web's equivalent of a blank page. Staring at a blank page is sometimes associated with maddening frustration, but in most cases it's actually the possibility of something new that captures us.<p>White label this and sell it to luxury brands. Sell it to Crane Stationary, Leuchtturm1917. Here's your potential customer list: <a href="https://thepleasureofwriting.com/pages/shop-paper-by-brand" rel="nofollow">https://thepleasureofwriting.com/pages/shop-paper-by-brand</a><p>Use a warm off-white, not unlike YC's background, and render the brand logo in a subdued grey at the bottom of the tab/page. Make it a link to a landing page on their site: "You love new possibilities. Crane stands ready to serve your imagination."