Kagi is ending its own development of the Orion browser for Linux and Windows and plans to release the code for both ports as open source. The move leaves the projects' future dependent on outside maintainers while the company directs its small browser team toward Orion on macOS and iOS.
For Linux users, the decision arrives soon after the browser moved beyond its earliest public testing. Orion entered an early alpha on Linux at the start of 2026 and reached beta in August. Kagi says the existing Linux beta will continue to run, but company-provided updates stopped after October 2. It has cautioned users against treating that build as their primary browser, an important warning for software that will no longer receive routine maintenance or security fixes from its original developer.
Kagi intends to publish the Linux and Windows source code and provide more details within 30 days of the announcement. It has also contacted open-source foundations and other organizations about possibly assuming longer-term responsibility. The company does not plan to serve as the main maintainer after publication, however. Continued releases will require a developer community or an organization willing to take ownership of the code.
The decision reflects the cost of maintaining a browser across several operating systems. Orion is funded by Kagi users and built by a limited team. Rather than adopt Chromium, the engine behind most competing browsers, Orion uses WebKit. That choice provides another approach in a market heavily shaped by Chromium, but it also makes cross-platform engineering more demanding for a small company without a large volunteer community.
Kagi's retrenchment does not affect the stated focus on Apple's platforms. Orion began on macOS and iOS, where WebKit is native to the operating-system ecosystem. Concentrating resources there reduces the number of platform-specific builds, integrations and compatibility problems its employees must support. The Linux and Windows work already completed will be handed off rather than kept closed or simply abandoned.
Open-sourcing the ports is only the first step toward a viable continuation. A repository can preserve the work and allow independent contributions, but it does not by itself provide release management, vulnerability response, packaging or user support. Those functions will depend on who adopts the projects and how quickly a contributor base forms. No successor maintainer has been named in the supplied report.
Current Linux beta users therefore face a transition rather than an immediate replacement product. They can still launch the existing software, but its value as a daily browser will diminish without security and compatibility updates. The planned code release could create a path forward, although its practical prospects will become clearer only after Kagi publishes the repositories and potential maintainers decide whether to commit resources.
