What Is the Midori Web Browser?

Midori is a web browser for Windows and Linux. Often referred to as "Small and Mighty," Midori is beloved by many in the Linux community. It uses Apple's Webkit rendering engine, although it does not work on macOS or iOS.

What Is Midori?

"Midori" is the Japanese word for green. That name doesn’t actually hold any significance to the web browser, other than the logo is a green cat paw. Name aside, Midori is a minimalist web browser that focuses on being lightweight by reducing the number of features. In other words, it’s simple to use (with a few caveats) and renders websites very quickly.

As you might expect, the feature set for Midori is pretty bare bones. However, that doesn’t mean it lacks the basic features to which users may be accustomed. Midori includes the following features:

• Tabbed browsing
• Bookmarks
• History management
• Built-in ad-blocking
• Private browsing
• Cookie and script management
• Web app support
• Customizable side panels
• User scripts and styles support

When Did the Midori Web Browser Come Out?

Although Midori was originally released in late 2007, it is still considered beta software. To make matters a bit more confusing, the only way to install Midori on many Linux distributions is via a snap package, and that brings a certain level of instability to the application. So the prospect of using Midori carries with it the understanding that some features may not work.

Caveats to Using the Midori Web Browser

Despite coming out in 2007, Midori isn't feature-complete when compared to other browsers in the market.

Midori's limitations become clear when you attempt to use a service like Google Drive. Once you’ve logged into your account, you will be warned that the browser is unsupported and you might experience unexpected behavior. That is not something anyone who depends on Google Drive for productivity wants to see.

The problem can usually be resolved by switching the User Agent string. However, even after changing the User Agent string to Chrome (in Preferences > Network > Identify As) the problem may persist.

Despite these caveats, Midori still has a sizable following. Case in point: It is the default browser for the Bodhi Linux distribution. In fact, the best way to experience Midori is via the Bodhi Linux distribution. With it, you are certain to have a Midori experience that works exactly as expected.

How to Get Midori

How you install Midori depends on your platform. If you’re using a Linux distribution that supports snap packages, you can install Midori using the command:

sudo apt-get install snapd

Then, install the specific snap package with the following command:

sudo snap install midori

Other Linux distributions still have a version of Midori in the default repository. If you’re lucky enough to use a distribution that includes Midori in the default repository, you will have a version of the browser that functions well.

Midori Web Browser for Windows

It is also possible to install Midori on the Windows platform by downloading and running the official installer. The Windows version runs well and all features work the same.

Midori Web Browser for Linux

You can install Midori from the source code. Within that archive, the installation instructions can be found in the HACKING file. The one caveat to the instructions is that it doesn’t include the necessary dependencies that must be installed. A word of warning, installing those dependencies can be tricky.

The Ideal Midori User

Because of the complication of getting a Midori installation that works well, the best users for this particular browser are those who can install from the standard repository (such as Elementary OS), or from a downloadable installer (Windows), or Bodhi Linux. If you’re stuck using snap, know that (until a number of bugs are worked out) Midori will be a problematic browser.

Suffice it to say, the best-matched users for Midori are those who want a lightweight web browser, not burdened by too many features, but don’t mind having to do a bit of work to get it running as expected. The good news is, once you do get Midori running how you want it, you’ll find it well worth the time invested.