It has been over two months since the exciting release of the current stable version of Linux Mint 20 "Ulyana". During this time it also received several bugfixes, and the Linux Mint team is already working on the development of the next point release v20.1.
Now in the last monthly Blog, Clement Lefebvre, founder of Linux Mint, revealed Web Application Management System, one of the features they are working to implement in the upcoming Linux Mint 20.1.
WebApp Manager - Turn websites into desktop apps
Inspired by one of Peppermint's incredibly fast and sleek operating systems and its SSB (Site Specific Browser) application manager ICE, Linux Mint, based on Ubuntu, also launched a new project - WebApp Manager.
It is a WebApp management system that will allow you to turn your favorite website into a standalone desktop application.
After creating WebApps, you don't have to open your particular websites in browser windows and tabs; instead, you can run them in a headless window with their own browser profile, just like a desktop app.
You can even launch your cum-webapp website right from the app menu and quickly switch to it using the Alt-tab panel or selector.
Similar to desktop apps, you can also pin it to your panel to quickly launch it or access it without searching.
How do I get the WebApp Manager for Linux Mint?
Currently, if you want to try WebApp Manager, you can download its beta version available at here. Although the beta version includes all features, it still does not support full translation for all major languages.
Therefore, you can wait for the stable version which will surely land in Mint 20.1 version with the following features:
- A new icon and a generic name
- A new user interface
- 100% round trip compatibility with ICE
- A split backend for ICE and Web App Manager
- The ability to edit web applications
- Support for icon themes with automatically guessed icons for popular websites
- Improved favicon downloads
- The ability to show or hide the Firefox navigation bar
- Full translation support for all major languages
More upcoming features for Linux Mint 20.1
Recently, we did a Q&A interview with Clem Lefebvre, which will soon be posted on Fossbytes. In the interview, we also asked about the next big improvements his team is working on for Mint 20.1.