Metadata-Version: 2.4
Name: darkelf-shadow
Version: 7.0.11
Summary: Darkelf Shadow — Cross-platform privacy browser with hardened off-the-record browsing and MiniAI Sentinel
Author: Dr. Kevin Moore
Project-URL: Homepage, https://github.com/Darkelf-Labs/Darkelf-Shadow-CE
Project-URL: Repository, https://github.com/Darkelf-Labs/Darkelf-Shadow-CE
Project-URL: Issues, https://github.com/Darkelf-Labs/Darkelf-Shadow-CE/issues
Project-URL: Releases, https://github.com/Darkelf-Labs/Darkelf-Shadow-CE/releases
Keywords: browser,privacy,security,private-browser,off-the-record,qt,qtwebengine,pyside6,webengine
Classifier: Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable
Classifier: License :: OSI Approved :: GNU Lesser General Public License v3 (LGPLv3)
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
Classifier: Operating System :: MacOS
Classifier: Operating System :: Microsoft :: Windows
Classifier: Operating System :: POSIX :: Linux
Classifier: Topic :: Security
Classifier: Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: Browsers
Requires-Python: >=3.11
Description-Content-Type: text/markdown
License-File: LICENSE
Requires-Dist: PySide6<7,>=6.5
Dynamic: license-file

# 🕶️ Darkelf Shadow --- Community Edition 7.0.11 Stable

[![PyPI
Downloads](https://static.pepy.tech/personalized-badge/darkelf-shadow?period=total&units=INTERNATIONAL_SYSTEM&left_color=BLACK&right_color=GREEN&left_text=downloads)](https://pepy.tech/projects/darkelf-shadow)

**Fully Hardened • Ephemeral • Zero-Trace Browser (Qt WebEngine /
Chromium Core)**

Darkelf Shadow is a defense-in-depth, privacy-hardened web browser
engineered to minimize persistent tracking, reduce attack surface, and
actively defend against modern web threats --- while maintaining an
ephemeral browsing environment.

**Version 7.0.11 Stable** extends the custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2
macOS ARM64 build with native Blink/WebGL identity handling and
additional native macOS WebAuthn integration, while retaining the
responsiveness, compatibility, filtering, canvas, MiniAI, Touch
ID/passkey, and H.264/AVC improvements from the 7.0.x series.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## 📦 Installation

### Python / PyPI

If you already have Python 3.11 or newer:

``` bash
pip install darkelf-shadow
darkelf-shadow
```

### macOS

Darkelf Shadow Community Edition is also distributed as a signed and
notarized macOS application.

The macOS release includes a SHA-256 checksum for independent download
verification.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# ✨ What's New in 7.0.10

### ⚡ Compatibility-Mode Performance Improvements

Darkelf Shadow 7.0.11 improves responsiveness on websites that require
Darkelf's compatibility mode.

Compatibility-mode websites now bypass unnecessary EasyList cosmetic
stylesheet injection. This prevents very large collections of cosmetic
selectors from imposing unnecessary CSS parsing, selector-matching, and
rendering overhead on websites where Darkelf has already deliberately
prioritized compatibility.

This provides:

-   Faster rendering on compatibility-mode websites
-   Reduced cosmetic-filter CSS processing
-   Reduced selector-matching overhead
-   Improved page responsiveness
-   Reduced risk of sluggish or temporarily unresponsive pages
-   Preservation of Darkelf's network-level filtering architecture
-   Scoped compatibility behavior rather than globally weakening
    protection

Network-level request filtering remains separate from this optimization
and continues to protect normal browsing traffic.

### 🪟 Improved Secondary Navigation & Popup Handling

Darkelf Shadow 7.0.11 improves handling of website-created secondary
windows and navigation.

-   User-clicked `target="_blank"` links can remain in the current
    Shadow tab.
-   Script-generated popup and popunder navigation is blocked.
-   Reduced unwanted blank or Home tabs caused by secondary-window
    requests.
-   Legitimate user navigation is distinguished from script-created
    secondary navigation.
-   Popup handling no longer requires site-specific exceptions for
    supported cases.

This improves compatibility with websites that use secondary navigation
while retaining protection against unwanted advertising popups and
popunders.

### 🔑 WebAuthn Diagnostic Cleanup

Temporary WebAuthn capability diagnostics used during development have
been removed from normal page loads.

This reduces unnecessary JavaScript capability checks, delayed
diagnostic callbacks, terminal output, and development overhead while
leaving Darkelf's actual WebAuthn/passkey implementation intact.

Touch ID, passkeys, security keys, and the native Qt WebEngine WebAuthn
integration remain part of the supported macOS architecture.

### 🍎 Custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2 for macOS ARM64

The native macOS ARM64 release bundles a custom Darkelf build of Qt
WebEngine 6.11.2.

This platform-specific engine adds:

-   Native macOS WebAuthn integration
-   Touch ID/passkey platform-authenticator support
-   Native Cocoa-window integration for Chromium's macOS WebAuthn
    discovery path
-   Darkelf-specific WebAuthn configuration
-   Native Blink/WebGL identity handling
-   Expanded H.264/AVC media compatibility
-   WebRTC disabled in the custom native macOS engine
-   Dedicated QtWebEngineProcess and QtWebEngineCore signing
-   Apple Hardened Runtime integration
-   Developer ID signing, notarization, stapling, and Gatekeeper
    validation

Windows and Linux continue to use the standard PySide6 / Qt WebEngine
platform distribution while retaining Shadow's off-the-record and
privacy architecture.

### 🔑 Touch ID, Passkeys & WebAuthn

-   Native Touch ID support for compatible WebAuthn/passkey
    authentication on the custom macOS build.
-   Persistent platform configuration required by the macOS
    authenticator while keeping browser-session privacy controls scoped
    appropriately.
-   WebAuthn secret material is generated locally with restricted file
    permissions.
-   Integrated the macOS application with the required keychain access
    group and Developer ID provisioning.
-   Passkey creation and subsequent passkey sign-in have been tested
    with a WebAuthn-enabled service.
-   Bluetooth privacy declarations remain available for compatible
    Bluetooth-enabled security keys and devices.

### 🎬 Expanded macOS Media Compatibility

-   Enabled Qt WebEngine proprietary-codec support in the custom macOS
    engine.
-   Added H.264/AVC playback capability through the custom Qt
    WebEngine/Chromium media configuration.
-   Improved compatibility with web video sources that depend on H.264.
-   Codec support is independent of Darkelf's tracker blocking,
    fingerprint protections, and MiniAI security layers.
-   H.264/AVC and third-party licensing information is documented in the
    packaged third-party notices.

### 🌐 Cross-Platform Distribution

Darkelf Shadow remains cross-platform through Python/PyPI.

-   **macOS ARM64 native DMG:** custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2 with
    macOS-specific WebAuthn/Touch ID integration, native WebGL handling,
    expanded media support, and WebRTC disabled at build time.
-   **Windows / Linux:** standard platform PySide6 / Qt WebEngine with
    Shadow's off-the-record browsing and privacy architecture.
-   **Python/PyPI:** installs the platform PySide6 / Qt WebEngine
    dependency rather than the custom Qt WebEngine framework bundled
    with the native macOS DMG.

The macOS-specific enhancements therefore do not change Shadow's core
cross-platform filtering, MiniAI, fingerprint-protection, and
ephemeral-browsing design.

### ⚡ Declarative Tracker Blocking

Darkelf Shadow's network engine combines its existing
EasyList/uBlock-compatible filtering architecture with a fast
declarative tracker layer.

Frequently encountered tracker and advertising infrastructure can be
rejected through fast hostname matching before falling back to the
larger filter-rule engine.

This provides:

-   Faster request evaluation
-   Reduced large-rule scanning
-   Improved page responsiveness
-   Lower filtering overhead
-   Strong tracker blocking without sacrificing the existing filter
    engine
-   Indexed fallback evaluation for complex rules

The traditional EasyList/uBlock-style engine remains available for rules
requiring more complex evaluation.

### 🎭 Improved Canvas Protection

Darkelf Shadow retains its randomized canvas protection system with
domain-sensitive noise generation.

Canvas access follows three protection states:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mode                       Behavior
  -------------------------- --------------------------------------------
  🔴 BLOCKED                 Canvas readback is disabled

  🟡 PROTECTED               Readback receives Darkelf's randomized
                             protection

  🟢 TRUSTED                 Native readback is permitted for explicitly
                             trusted compatibility cases
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

This provides stronger protection while allowing sites that legitimately
depend on canvas functionality to remain usable.

### 🧩 Improved Website Compatibility

7.0.11 continues compatibility handling for complex modern web
applications, including:

-   Authentication services
-   Microsoft / Outlook web applications
-   CAPTCHA and human-verification systems
-   Media-heavy websites
-   Dynamic JavaScript applications
-   Embedded authentication flows
-   Websites using secondary-window navigation
-   Sites sensitive to large cosmetic-filter stylesheets

Compatibility exceptions remain deliberately scoped rather than globally
disabling Darkelf's protections.

### 🤖 Human Verification Handling

Darkelf can detect supported human-verification and authentication
workflows and temporarily permit the functionality necessary to complete
them.

This reduces CAPTCHA loops while preserving normal privacy protections
outside the verification flow.

### 🍎 macOS Improvements

-   Updated application metadata for 7.0.11
-   Custom Darkelf Qt WebEngine 6.11.2 framework on macOS ARM64
-   Native Touch ID/passkey WebAuthn integration
-   Native Cocoa-window integration for Chromium's macOS WebAuthn
    discovery path
-   Native Blink/WebGL identity handling
-   Expanded H.264/AVC media compatibility
-   WebRTC disabled in the custom native macOS engine
-   Improved compatibility-mode rendering performance
-   Improved secondary-navigation and popup handling
-   Improved browser URL/document registration
-   High-resolution display support
-   Automatic graphics-switching support
-   Bluetooth privacy declaration for Bluetooth-enabled security keys
    and devices
-   Developer ID signing
-   Apple Hardened Runtime integration
-   Apple notarization and stapling
-   Gatekeeper validation
-   SHA-256 release verification
-   Embedded open-source and third-party licensing notices

Bluetooth access is not automatically granted. macOS remains responsible
for requesting user permission if Bluetooth functionality is actually
requested.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## 🧱 HARDENED BY DESIGN

Darkelf Shadow is architecturally hardened using multiple independent
protection layers.

### 🔥 Zero Persistence Architecture

-   No persistent browsing profile
-   Memory-oriented browsing lifecycle
-   Ephemeral cookies and browser state
-   Automatic cleanup on process exit

### 🛡️ Network-Level Enforcement

-   Deep request interception
-   Pre-render request blocking
-   Third-party classification
-   Declarative tracker blocking
-   Indexed EasyList/uBlock-style filtering
-   Compatibility-aware request handling

### 🧠 Autonomous Threat Detection --- MiniAI

-   On-device behavioral analysis
-   No cloud AI dependency
-   Real-time adaptive defense
-   Local threat scoring

### 🚫 Telemetry-Free Core

-   No Darkelf analytics
-   No Darkelf tracking
-   No hidden Darkelf telemetry service

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 🚀 HARDENED FEATURE SET

## 🔐 Ephemeral Session Engine

Ephemeral handling of:

-   Cookies
-   Cache
-   LocalStorage
-   IndexedDB
-   Session state

Designed to minimize recoverable browsing residue after termination.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## 🧠 MiniAI Sentinel

Darkelf Shadow includes an on-device security analysis and response
layer.

### 🚨 Intrusion Detection

Detection logic covers patterns associated with:

-   SQL injection
-   Cross-site scripting (XSS)
-   Command injection
-   Path traversal

### 🦠 Detection Capabilities

-   Suspicious request detection
-   Tracker and surveillance detection
-   Fingerprinting monitoring
-   Behavioral anomaly detection
-   Burst/flood analysis

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## ⚡ Automated Response Modes

  Mode            Behavior
  --------------- ---------------------------
  🟢 Standby      Passive monitoring
  🔴 Lockdown     Blocks suspicious traffic
  🚨 Panic Mode   Network shutdown

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## 🌐 Advanced Network Filtering

Darkelf Shadow combines multiple filtering techniques:

-   ✔ EasyList
-   ✔ EasyPrivacy
-   ✔ uBlock-derived filter sources
-   ✔ ABP-compatible rule processing
-   ✔ Declarative tracker blocking
-   ✔ Indexed rule evaluation
-   ✔ Heuristic tracker detection
-   ✔ Known tracker-domain blocking
-   ✔ Third-party request classification
-   ✔ Compatibility-aware exceptions
-   ✔ Compatibility-aware cosmetic filtering

The fast declarative layer handles known tracker infrastructure while
the larger rule engine remains available for complex matching.

Cosmetic filtering is applied separately from network filtering so that
compatibility-mode sites can avoid unnecessary stylesheet overhead
without disabling Darkelf's broader network protection architecture.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## 🔍 Anti-Tracking & URL Sanitization

Darkelf removes common tracking parameters such as:

-   `utm_*`
-   `fbclid`
-   `gclid`
-   Campaign and tracking identifiers

This helps reduce cross-site correlation through URL-based tracking.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## 🔐 HTTPS Enforcement Layer

-   Automatic HTTP → HTTPS upgrade
-   In-memory HTTPS/HSTS-style tracking
-   Downgrade protection

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 🎭 Fingerprint Resistance Layer

Darkelf Shadow includes defenses against several browser-fingerprinting
techniques.

### Canvas

-   Domain-sensitive randomized noise
-   Protected canvas readback
-   Explicit trusted-site compatibility
-   Readback blocking where appropriate

### Additional Protections

-   WebGL protection
-   AudioContext protection
-   Font fingerprint mitigation
-   WebRTC disabled in the custom native macOS Qt WebEngine build;
    platform restrictions apply elsewhere
-   Geolocation restrictions

The objective is to reduce passive fingerprinting without claiming that
any browser can guarantee anonymity or fingerprint uniqueness
prevention.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## 📥 Secure Download Handling

-   Controlled download directory
-   Filename handling protections
-   Optional ephemeral workflows
-   Reduced persistence exposure

------------------------------------------------------------------------

## ⚙️ Chromium / QtWebEngine Hardening

Darkelf disables or restricts unnecessary browser functionality,
including:

-   ❌ Browser synchronization services
-   ❌ Metrics collection
-   ❌ Crash-reporting telemetry
-   ❌ First-run tracking behavior

Privacy-sensitive functionality is additionally controlled through
Darkelf's QtWebEngine configuration and request-interception layers.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 🧩 DEFENSE-IN-DEPTH MODEL

Darkelf Shadow combines:

1.  Request Interception Layer
2.  Declarative Tracker Blocking
3.  EasyList/uBlock-Compatible Filter Engine
4.  Third-Party Classification
5.  MiniAI Behavioral Analysis
6.  Fingerprint Protection
7.  Ephemeral Storage Model
8.  Compatibility and Authentication Handling

Each layer addresses a different portion of the browser's attack and
tracking surface.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 🧪 THREAT INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES

MiniAI provides:

-   📊 Threat scoring
-   📈 Real-time event monitoring
-   🧠 Domain risk caching
-   📋 Threat reporting
-   🔄 Adaptive escalation logic

All MiniAI analysis is performed locally.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# ⚡ PERFORMANCE

Version 7.0.11 preserves the optimized network-filtering and
compatibility architecture while adding native WebGL handling and
expanded macOS WebAuthn integration to the custom Qt WebEngine 6.11.2
build.

-   ⚙️ PySide6 + Qt WebEngine
-   🚀 Chromium rendering core
-   ⚡ Fast declarative hostname matching
-   🔎 Indexed filter-rule evaluation
-   🎨 Compatibility-aware cosmetic filtering
-   🧠 In-memory operation
-   💾 Reduced persistent disk activity
-   🚀 Fast startup and clean shutdown

The declarative layer allows many known tracker requests to be decided
without unnecessarily traversing the complete filter-rule set.

Compatibility-mode sites can additionally bypass unnecessary large
cosmetic-filter stylesheets, reducing CSS processing and rendering
overhead while leaving Darkelf's network architecture intact.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 🔒 SECURITY POSTURE SUMMARY

  Category                       Status
  ------------------------------ ------------------------------------
  Persistent Browser Profile     ❌ None
  Darkelf Telemetry              ❌ None
  Tracking Resistance            ✅ Active
  Declarative Tracker Blocking   ✅ Active
  EasyList/uBlock Filtering      ✅ Active
  Fingerprint Defense            ✅ Active
  Canvas Protection              ✅ BLOCKED / PROTECTED / TRUSTED
  Native macOS WebGL Handling    ✅ Custom Qt WebEngine build
  Native macOS WebAuthn          ✅ Touch ID / platform integration
  Native macOS WebRTC            ❌ Disabled at build time
  Threat Detection               ✅ Real-time
  Network Control                ✅ Enforced
  Session Model                  ✅ Ephemeral

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# ⚠️ OPERATIONAL SECURITY NOTES

For stronger system-level protection, Darkelf Shadow can be combined
with:

-   🔐 Full-disk encryption (FileVault / LUKS)
-   🔥 OS-level firewall rules
-   🧱 Sandboxed runtime environments
-   🌐 Trusted VPN or network isolation
-   🔑 Hardware security keys where appropriate

Darkelf Shadow is one component of a broader security model and does not
guarantee anonymity.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 🔒 Security & Verification

The macOS release includes a SHA-256 checksum.

### Verify on macOS

``` bash
shasum -a 256 -c Darkelf-Shadow-7.0.11.dmg.sha256
```

A successful verification should report:

``` text
Darkelf-Shadow-7.0.11.dmg: OK
```

The macOS application and DMG release workflow uses Developer ID
signing, Apple notarization, and stapling for Gatekeeper verification.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 📜 LICENSE

Licensed under **LGPL-3.0-or-later**

The native macOS application also includes Darkelf and third-party
notices under:

`Darkelf Shadow.app/Contents/Resources/licenses/`

Qt, Qt WebEngine, Chromium, FFmpeg, and other bundled components remain
subject to their respective licenses. H.264/AVC intellectual-property
considerations are documented separately in the third-party notices.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# ⚠️ DISCLAIMER

This software is provided **"AS IS"** without warranty.

Darkelf Shadow:

-   Does not guarantee anonymity
-   Does not guarantee protection against every tracking technique
-   Does not replace operating-system security
-   Does not replace good operational-security practices
-   Is intended for privacy-conscious and advanced users

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 👤 AUTHOR

**Dr. Kevin Moore (2025--2026)** **Darkelf Project --- Shadow Edition**

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 🤝 Special Thanks

Thank you to:

-   **Mecha Comet Team**
-   **Tim Burns**

for their support and contributions to the Darkelf project.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Darkelf Shadow Community Edition 7.0.11 Stable** *Ephemeral by design.
Hardened in depth. Privacy without persistence.*

