Deta Surf: Reclaim Your Digital World
In a digital age where we're constantly juggling countless tabs, files, and applications, it's easy to feel scattered and overwhelmed. We spend valuable time just getting into position to do work instead of actually doing it.
Deta Surf is a new browser that tackles this problem head-on — designed to put you back at the center of your digital life.
Currently in an invite-only alpha phase, Deta Surf is more than just a typical web browser. It's an all-in-one tool that functions as a browser, file manager, and AI assistant. Developed in Berlin, Surf is described as handcrafted software.
The core idea: your digital life — your “stuff” — is scattered across the web and your local machine. Deta Surf aims to bring it all together.
Bringing Your "Stuff" Together
Surf’s central concept is “Stuff”: a unified space where you collect all the fragments of your digital world.
You can:
- Save websites as tabs
- Drag in files from your machine
- Add YouTube videos, PDFs, images
- Take super-powered screenshots
It’s all multimedia. All searchable. All in one place.
“It’s a game changer for collecting wisdom, research, and notes,” said Limhi, a life guide and former law graduate. Surf makes it easy to trust the system to bring back what you need later.
Organizing with Contexts
Contexts are like smart, focused environments. Each one can represent a project, a topic, or a part of your life: work, study, recipes, programming.
Inside a Context:
- Tabs open like a traditional browser
- You can pin longer-term items
- There’s even a desktop-style layout
You can switch between contexts, and Surf remembers exactly where you left off.
Even cooler? You can create “Smart Contexts” by just typing something like “linear algebra” or “ramen recipes” — and Surf will auto-organize related items from your Stuff.
AI That Actually Makes Sense
Surf includes AI, but not in a gimmicky way. It’s tightly integrated and context-aware.
— Deta (@detahq) November 13, 2024
What You See is What You Chat
You can:
- Select an area on your screen
- Draw a rectangle around content
- Ask a question about it
The AI will respond using the context — whether it’s a YouTube video, a webpage, or a cluster of tabs. It can even process entire transcripts, documents, or collections.
Ask Based on Real Sources
You can choose where the AI pulls info from:
- Current tab
- All open tabs
- A folder in “My Stuff”
- A specific Context
The AI gives citations, so you can jump back to the original source. Supported LLMs include:
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet (default)
- GPT-4o
- Gemini Flash
(Some models may not support vision yet.)
Spatial Browsing & Local-First Data
Surf combines the nostalgia of desktop interfaces with the freedom of modern web apps.
Every context has a "desktop" where you can visually lay out:
- Tabs
- Files
- Notes
- Images
- Other contexts
It’s intuitive, and you can even set custom backgrounds to personalize each workspace.
Local First. Cloud Second.
Surf is built on strong privacy foundations. Your data lives on your device:
- Files
- Local database
- AI embeddings
- Even the local LLM
Cloud syncing is optional and may become a premium feature later, similar to Obsidian.
Who's Using Surf?
Early users include:
- Students
- Engineers
- Designers
- Researchers
Many use it for knowledge work, collecting insights, and staying focused across deep, complex projects.
Alpha Stage & What’s Coming Next
Deta Surf is still early — invite-only and actively developed. That means:
- There will be bugs
- It’s not yet a full Chrome replacement
- Everything’s free (for now)
Eventually, paid tiers may cover cloud storage and sync, but the local-first core will remain free and private.
Try It Out
If you're tired of being digitally scattered — and excited by a browser that works with your context, understands your screen, and respects your data — Surf is worth watching.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this breakdown, follow me here or on X (@saadmanrafat_) and Saadman.dev for more posts on tools, AI, and developer workflows.
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