Kagi Cancels Orion Browser for Windows and Linux, Plans Open-Source Handoff

Windows loses its planned release​

This reverses an established roadmap. Kagi’s November 25, 2025 Orion 1.0 announcement described Windows development as underway, targeting late 2026. Its stated goal included feature parity with the Mac version, synchronized profiles, and cross-platform Orion+ benefits. Those were development ambitions, not delivered Windows capabilities.

For anyone hoping to use Orion across a Windows PC and Apple devices, the practical conclusion is straightforward: do not build a browsing workflow around that earlier roadmap. A community successor could eventually revisit those goals, but that remains a possibility rather than an announced product plan.

Linux still runs, but Kagi updates have ended​

Kagi says the existing Linux beta will continue working, but will receive no further company updates after October 2, 2026. It explicitly advises against using the beta as a main browser. The application continuing to launch should not be mistaken for continued maintenance.

The 30-day promise needs a careful reading​

PiunikaWeb describes a full open-source release within 30 days. Kagi’s actual commitment is narrower: details about the source release within the next 30 days, not an explicit deadline for publishing all the code. The announcement also names no selected steward, license, or repository. Kagi says it has approached open-source organizations but will not remain the core maintainer.

That distinction matters. Making code available and delivering a maintained browser are different milestones; the latter still needs an owner.

Why Kagi is narrowing its focus​

Kagi attributes the retreat to limited team capacity and user-funded development. Orion uses WebKit rather than a Chromium fork, as its earlier product announcement confirms. However, the cancellation notice does not establish a specific WebKit-porting failure as the cause.

The decision may protect Orion’s Apple-platform development, but it leaves PC supporters without the company-led future they expected. Open source offers a possible second act; it does not yet supply a release schedule or maintenance commitment.