Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
Kaba runs web apps the way it runs everything else: in a pane, inside a frame you can save. This page covers what works today and what does not.
Web apps in frames
Section titled “Web apps in frames”Instead of installing a site as a separate window, give it a frame.
- Open the app in a pane.
- Arrange anything you want beside it, such as a terminal or notes.
- Save Frame and give it a name.
The saved frame reopens the app, in that layout, from the desktop’s Frames widget, from Hippocampus, or with /frame <name>. Group related apps into a frame group to open them together.
To keep an app running in the background, add its domain to Always Keep Active under Memory Saver, so its pane is never frozen.
For a distraction-free view, use Toggle Pane Fullscreen, or minimal mode to hide the header.
What the web platform supports
Section titled “What the web platform supports”Kaba is built on Chromium, so modern web apps run without changes.
| Capability | Status |
|---|---|
| Service workers and offline caching | Supported |
| Web app manifests | Read by the page; see Not available yet below |
| Notifications | Supported, asked per site |
| WebGPU, WebGL | Supported |
| WebCodecs, WebTransport | Supported |
| File System Access | Supported, with persistent permissions |
| Web Serial, WebUSB, WebHID, Web Bluetooth | Supported, with a device chooser per request |
| Media Session | Supported; drives the header media controls |
| Document Picture-in-Picture | Supported |
| View Transitions, CSS anchor positioning | Supported |
| Passkeys (WebAuthn) | Supported; Kaba is the provider by default |
Capabilities that touch hardware or your files ask for permission the first time. Review and change decisions from the site panel.
Privacy defaults that affect apps
Section titled “Privacy defaults that affect apps”A few of Kaba’s defaults matter for web apps:
- Third-party cookies are blocked. An app that signs in through another site usually still works. If an embedded part of an app breaks, allow third-party cookies for that site.
- Fingerprint protection can confuse apps that draw to a canvas and read it back. Turn it off for that site if you see visual glitches.
- Lockdown disables JavaScript, so no web app runs under it.
All three are per-site switches in the site panel.
Built-in apps
Section titled “Built-in apps”Kaba’s own apps are web apps served from kaba://: the terminal, file explorer, settings, editor, Hippocampus and Projects. The scheme supports service workers and is treated as a secure origin, and several of the apps ship a web manifest.
Not available yet
Section titled “Not available yet”Kaba 0.146 does not have an Install app action. There is no way to install a site as a standalone window with its own launcher icon, and there is no app list. Use saved frames as described above.
[todo: confirm whether standalone PWA install is planned, and update this page when it ships.]