Cairn v1.2.0 — Liquid Glass, Smarter New Tabs, and Local To-Dos

Cairn v1.2.0 is here.

This release gives Cairn a completely refreshed look while making the new-tab experience more useful for everyday work.

The biggest change is the new Liquid Glass theme, but there are also new productivity tools, improved search behavior, cleaner navigation, and several quality-of-life improvements.

And as always, Cairn remains local-first — your saved library stays on your device.

A new Liquid Glass experience

Cairn now ships with a new Liquid Glass theme as the default experience.

Inspired by Apple's modern glass-like interface style, it combines soft translucent surfaces, subtle depth, blurred layers, and a calm cinematic background.

The design is applied across:

• the Cairn popup
• the new-tab dashboard
• your library

The goal wasn't simply to add more visual effects.

We wanted Cairn to feel calmer, more polished, and more like a personal workspace you enjoy opening every day.

Prefer another style?

All existing themes are still available:

• Light
• Dark
• Midnight
• Sepia
• Nord
• Forest
• Rosé

You can switch between them whenever you want.

Your new tab now has a local to-do list

The new-tab dashboard introduced in Cairn v1.1.0 is becoming a bigger part of the Cairn experience.

With v1.2.0, it now includes a lightweight To-do widget.

Add something you need to do, check it off when you're finished, and clear completed tasks when you no longer need them.

There is no account or external productivity service involved.

Your tasks are stored locally alongside the rest of your Cairn experience.

Like other new-tab modules, the to-do widget can also be arranged to fit your preferred layout.

A new tab built around your workflow

Cairn's new tab is designed to be more than an empty search page.

It can act as a lightweight home for your browsing and personal knowledge workflow.

Alongside the new to-do list, you can use modules such as:

• Recently Saved
• Rediscover
• Pinned Collections
• Inbox
• Quick Links
• Scratchpad
• Clock
• Weather

Rediscover can bring older saved items back into view, while Inbox gives you a place for things you saved but haven't organized yet.

Instead of opening a new tab and immediately losing focus, Cairn gives you a quick view of the things that matter to you.

Search now respects your browser

Web search from Cairn's new tab now uses the default search engine configured in your browser.

Cairn no longer assumes which search provider you want to use.

If you've chosen a particular search engine in Chrome or Firefox, Cairn respects that choice and sends the search through your browser.

More importantly, Cairn never sees your search query.

Small improvements that make Cairn feel better

v1.2.0 also includes several smaller interface improvements.

The new-tab header and footer are now pinned while scrolling, keeping important shortcuts and controls within reach.

The About view has also been redesigned as a cleaner bottom sheet instead of taking over the entire interface.

And when you select What's New, Cairn now takes you directly to the release notes for the version you're currently using.

Small changes, but together they make the extension feel faster and more focused.

Local-first is still at the center

The visual experience has changed, but Cairn's approach to your data hasn't.

Your saved:

• webpages
• selected text
• notes
• highlights
• collections
• tags
• reading progress
• to-do items

continue to live locally in your browser.

The new to-do widget is local too.

And searches started from the new tab are handled by your browser's own search provider rather than being sent through Cairn.

No account is required to build and use your personal library.

What is Cairn?

If you're new to Cairn, it's a local-first personal library for the web.

Instead of letting useful articles, tutorials, videos, links, images, ideas, and highlighted passages disappear inside bookmarks or dozens of open tabs, Cairn gives you a structured place to keep them.

You can save content from the web, organize it using collections and tags, search across your library, read saved articles in a distraction-free reader, highlight important passages, and rediscover things you've previously saved.

Think of it as a private second brain that lives directly inside your browser.

What's next?

Cairn has moved quickly from its first public release to a much more complete personal browsing workspace.

v1.0 established the local-first library.

v1.1 introduced the new-tab dashboard.

And now v1.2 brings a redesigned visual system and more everyday productivity tools into that experience.

There's still plenty more we want to explore.

For now, we're excited to get Cairn v1.2.0 into your hands.

Try Cairn →