feat(search): Tor-network default search engine + chore(release): v3.8.3

New-tab search now has a separate default for when the onion toggle is on:
Ahmia (default), Torch, Haystak, OnionLand, Excavator. Auto-switches on
torEnabled via storage.onChanged; clearnet default (NeoSearch) unchanged.
Editable in Settings on both the extension options page and the web app.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: ralyodio

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "manifest_version": 3,
   "name": "TronBrowser",
-  "version": "3.8.2",
+  "version": "3.8.3",
   "description": "TronBrowser — privacy-first, AI-native. Branded new tab, private search, CoinPay login, and a bring-your-own-keys AI sidebar.",
   "icons": {
     "16": "icons/icon-16.png",

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/newtab.js

@@ -20,25 +20,64 @@ const SEARCH_ENGINES = {
   altpower: { name: 'Altpower', url: 'https://altpower.app/#open-source&gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=', suffix: '&gsc.sort=' },
   oxiverse: { name: 'Oxiverse', url: 'https://search.oxiverse.com/?q=', suffix: '&tab=web' },
 };
+// Tor-network search engines — used automatically when the 🧅 toggle is on
+// (torEnabled in chrome.storage.local, set by background.js). Ahmia is the
+// default: ahmia.fi is a stable clearnet domain reachable over the Tor SOCKS
+// proxy that still indexes/returns .onion results, so it keeps working even
+// when the onion-only mirrors rotate their addresses. The .onion URLs below
+// resolve inside the SOCKS proxy (Chromium does DNS at the proxy for .onion).
+// NOTE: onion addresses drift over time — verify against each engine's current
+// mirror if a result page stops loading.
+const TOR_SEARCH_ENGINES = {
+  ahmia: { name: 'Ahmia', url: 'https://ahmia.fi/search/?q=' },
+  torch: { name: 'Torch', url: 'http://torchdeedp3i2jigzjdmfpn5ttjhthh5wbmda2rr3jvqjg5p77c54dqd.onion/search?query=' },
+  haystak: { name: 'Haystak', url: 'http://haystak5njsmn2hqkewecpaxetahtwhsbsa64jom2k22z5afxhnpxfid.onion/?q=' },
+  onionland: { name: 'OnionLand', url: 'http://3bbad7fauom4d6sgppalyqddsqbf5u5p56b5k5uk2zxsy3d6ey2jobad.onion/search?q=' },
+  excavator: { name: 'Excavator', url: 'http://2fd6cemt4gmccflhm6imvdfvli3nf7zn6rfrwpsy7uhxrgbypvwf5fad.onion/?q=' },
+};
 let searchMode = 'web';
 let searchEngine = 'neosearch';
+let torSearchEngine = 'ahmia';
+let torEnabled = false;
+
+// Resolve the engine to use right now: the Tor default while the onion toggle
+// is on, otherwise the clearnet default.
+function activeEngine() {
+  if (torEnabled) return TOR_SEARCH_ENGINES[torSearchEngine] || TOR_SEARCH_ENGINES.ahmia;
+  return SEARCH_ENGINES[searchEngine] || SEARCH_ENGINES.neosearch;
+}
 
 function setMode(mode) {
   searchMode = mode;
   el('mode-web').classList.toggle('active', mode === 'web');
   el('mode-ai').classList.toggle('active', mode === 'ai');
   el('mode-web').setAttribute('aria-selected', mode === 'web');
   el('mode-ai').setAttribute('aria-selected', mode === 'ai');
-  const eng = SEARCH_ENGINES[searchEngine] || SEARCH_ENGINES.neosearch;
+  const eng = activeEngine();
   el('q').placeholder = mode === 'ai' ? 'Ask AI anything…' : `Search ${eng.name}…`;
   el('q').focus();
 }
 el('mode-web').addEventListener('click', () => setMode('web'));
 el('mode-ai').addEventListener('click', () => setMode('ai'));
 
-// Load the chosen web search engine (default NeoSearch).
-chrome.storage.local.get('searchEngine').then(({ searchEngine: se }) => {
-  if (se && SEARCH_ENGINES[se]) searchEngine = se;
+// Load the chosen clearnet + Tor search engines and current onion-toggle state.
+chrome.storage.local.get(['searchEngine', 'torSearchEngine', 'torEnabled']).then((v) => {
+  if (v.searchEngine && SEARCH_ENGINES[v.searchEngine]) searchEngine = v.searchEngine;
+  if (v.torSearchEngine && TOR_SEARCH_ENGINES[v.torSearchEngine]) torSearchEngine = v.torSearchEngine;
+  torEnabled = !!v.torEnabled;
+  if (searchMode === 'web') setMode('web');
+});
+
+// Keep the active engine in sync if the 🧅 toggle flips while the tab is open.
+chrome.storage.onChanged.addListener((changes, area) => {
+  if (area !== 'local') return;
+  if ('torEnabled' in changes) torEnabled = !!changes.torEnabled.newValue;
+  if ('torSearchEngine' in changes && TOR_SEARCH_ENGINES[changes.torSearchEngine.newValue]) {
+    torSearchEngine = changes.torSearchEngine.newValue;
+  }
+  if ('searchEngine' in changes && SEARCH_ENGINES[changes.searchEngine.newValue]) {
+    searchEngine = changes.searchEngine.newValue;
+  }
   if (searchMode === 'web') setMode('web');
 });
 
@@ -52,7 +91,7 @@ el('search').addEventListener('submit', async (e) => {
     chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'open-sidepanel' });
     el('q').value = '';
   } else {
-    const eng = SEARCH_ENGINES[searchEngine] || SEARCH_ENGINES.neosearch;
+    const eng = activeEngine();
     location.href = eng.url + encodeURIComponent(q) + (eng.suffix || '');
   }
 });

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/options.html

@@ -108,14 +108,23 @@ <h2>Search</h2>
   <p class="hint">Default search engine for the new-tab search box. NeoSearch is the
   private default; Xprivo, DuckDuckGo, and others are available as alternatives. (The omnibox default
   is set separately in <code>chrome://settings/search</code>.)</p>
-  <label for="searchEngine">New-tab search engine</label>
+  <label for="searchEngine">New-tab search engine (clearnet)</label>
   <select id="searchEngine">
     <option value="neosearch">NeoSearch (private, default)</option>
     <option value="xprivo">Xprivo (private)</option>
     <option value="ddg">DuckDuckGo</option>
     <option value="altpower">Altpower</option>
     <option value="oxiverse">Oxiverse</option>
   </select>
+  <label for="torSearchEngine">New-tab search engine (Tor 🧅)</label>
+  <select id="torSearchEngine">
+    <option value="ahmia">Ahmia (indexes .onion, default)</option>
+    <option value="torch">Torch (.onion)</option>
+    <option value="haystak">Haystak (.onion)</option>
+    <option value="onionland">OnionLand (.onion)</option>
+    <option value="excavator">Excavator (.onion)</option>
+  </select>
+  <p class="hint">Used automatically on new tabs while the onion toggle is on.</p>
   <div><button id="saveSearch">Save search</button><span id="savedSearch" class="saved"></span></div>
 
   <h2>Markets &amp; Sports</h2>

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/settings-sections.js

@@ -39,10 +39,11 @@ async function persist() { await ctx.store.set({ feeds }); renderFeeds(); }
  */
 export async function mountSettingsSections({ store, el, flash }) {
   ctx = { store, el, flash };
-  const cur = await store.get(['feeds', 'tickers', 'leagues', 'searchEngine']);
+  const cur = await store.get(['feeds', 'tickers', 'leagues', 'searchEngine', 'torSearchEngine']);
 
   // Populate current values (on every mount, e.g. after a cloud pull).
   if (el('searchEngine')) el('searchEngine').value = cur.searchEngine || 'neosearch';
+  if (el('torSearchEngine')) el('torSearchEngine').value = cur.torSearchEngine || 'ahmia';
   if (el('tickers')) el('tickers').value = cur.tickers ?? '';
   if (el('leagues')) el('leagues').value = cur.leagues ?? '';
   feeds = Array.isArray(cur.feeds) && cur.feeds.length ? cur.feeds.slice() : DEFAULT_FEEDS.slice();
@@ -52,7 +53,9 @@ export async function mountSettingsSections({ store, el, flash }) {
   wired = true;
 
   el('saveSearch')?.addEventListener('click', async () => {
-    await ctx.store.set({ searchEngine: el('searchEngine').value });
+    const patch = { searchEngine: el('searchEngine').value };
+    if (el('torSearchEngine')) patch.torSearchEngine = el('torSearchEngine').value;
+    await ctx.store.set(patch);
     ctx.flash('savedSearch', 'saved ✓');
   });
   el('saveMarkets')?.addEventListener('click', async () => {

apps/desktop/extensions/ai-sidebar/settings-store.js

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ const CLOUD_BASE = 'https://tronbrowser.dev';
 
 // Keys that sync. NOTE: plaintext API keys (aiConfig/aiProviders) are NEVER
 // synced — only the E2E-encrypted vault (aiVault) plus non-sensitive prefs.
-const KEYS = ['aiVault', 'aiDefault', 'aiModel', 'feeds', 'coinpayConfig', 'tickers', 'leagues', 'searchEngine'];
+const KEYS = ['aiVault', 'aiDefault', 'aiModel', 'feeds', 'coinpayConfig', 'tickers', 'leagues', 'searchEngine', 'torSearchEngine'];
 
 async function endpoint() {
   const { syncConfig } = await chrome.storage.local.get('syncConfig');

apps/desktop/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@tronbrowser/desktop",
-  "version": "3.8.2",
+  "version": "3.8.3",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Desktop shell for the TronBrowser Chromium fork",
   "type": "module",

apps/docs/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@tronbrowser/docs",
-  "version": "3.8.2",
+  "version": "3.8.3",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Documentation site",
   "type": "module",

apps/extensions/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@tronbrowser/extensions",
-  "version": "3.8.2",
+  "version": "3.8.3",
   "private": true,
   "description": "TronBrowser extension store — pay $1, list your MV3 extension (tronbrowser.dev/store)",
   "type": "module",

apps/mobile/app.json

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     "slug": "tronbrowserdev",
     "owner": "profullstack",
     "scheme": "tronbrowser",
-    "version": "3.8.2",
+    "version": "3.8.3",
     "orientation": "portrait",
     "userInterfaceStyle": "dark",
     "platforms": [

apps/mobile/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@tronbrowser/mobile",
-  "version": "3.8.2",
+  "version": "3.8.3",
   "private": true,
   "description": "TronBrowser mobile companion (Expo / React Native) — browser · AI chat · agents",
   "main": "index.js",