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What is zap-browser?

shadowbipnode/zap-browser — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

4TypeScriptAudience · general

In one sentence

An open-source desktop web browser with a built-in Bitcoin wallet supporting Lightning, Liquid, Cashu, and Nostr, plus strong privacy defaults.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Zap Browser))
    What it does
      Chromium browser
      Built in Bitcoin wallet
      Privacy hardened
    Tech stack
      Electron
      TypeScript
      Chromium
    Use cases
      Pay Lightning invoices
      Use Cashu ecash
      Passwordless Nostr login
    Audience
      Bitcoin users
      Privacy focused users
    Security
      AES 256 GCM encryption
      OS keychain storage

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Browse the web with a built-in Bitcoin wallet, no separate extensions needed

USE CASE 2

Pay and receive Lightning invoices directly from the browser

USE CASE 3

Use privacy-preserving Cashu ecash for anonymous digital cash

USE CASE 4

Log into Nostr-compatible sites without a password using the built-in signer

What is it built with?

ElectronTypeScriptChromium

How does it compare?

shadowbipnode/zap-browser0labs-in/vision-linkarviahq/arvia
Stars444
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultymoderatemoderate
Complexity3/53/5
Audiencegeneraldeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

So what is it?

Zap Browser is an open-source desktop web browser built for Bitcoin users. It combines a full Chromium browsing engine with a native Bitcoin wallet, all in one application, no browser extensions or separate wallet apps required. On setup, the browser generates a single 24-word BIP39 seed phrase. From that one seed it derives your Lightning-compatible Nostr keypair, your Liquid wallet, and your Cashu ecash store. Lightning (via NWC, Nostr Wallet Connect) lets you connect an existing Lightning node and pay or receive Bitcoin invoices from within the browser. Cashu ecash is a privacy-preserving digital cash system where tokens are minted from Lightning invoices and transferred with no public transaction record. Nostr is a decentralized identity and social protocol, the browser injects a NIP-07 signer into every page, enabling passwordless login on any Nostr-compatible site. Privacy hardening is on by default. The browser ships with a 106,000+ domain blocklist drawn from EasyList, EasyPrivacy, and uBlock Origins sources, updated automatically every 24 hours, plus 12,000+ cosmetic CSS rules to hide ad containers. WebRTC is blocked to prevent IP address leaks, User-Agent strings rotate each session, and common tracking headers are stripped from outgoing requests. Private keys and the BIP39 seed are encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM and stored in the OS keychain, never written to disk in plaintext. The browser is built with Electron 30 and TypeScript, and currently targets Linux. The full README is longer than what was provided.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me set up Zap Browser and generate my BIP39 seed phrase safely
Prompt 2
Explain the difference between the Lightning, Liquid, and Cashu wallets in this browser
Prompt 3
Show me how the built-in blocklist and privacy hardening features work
Prompt 4
Walk me through connecting an existing Lightning node via NWC

Frequently asked questions

What is zap-browser?

An open-source desktop web browser with a built-in Bitcoin wallet supporting Lightning, Liquid, Cashu, and Nostr, plus strong privacy defaults.

What language is zap-browser written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes Electron, TypeScript, Chromium.

Who is zap-browser for?

Mainly general.

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