Sideraven: install from GitHub and migrate your bookmarks
TL;DR
- Time to complete: 20 minutes
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- You will need: an Android tablet, a USB cable (or a file manager app),
adbfrom Android platform-tools, a desktop browser to export bookmarks as an HTML file, and theDweep4269/sideravenrepository on GitHub.
Sideraven is a fork of Iceraven (an Android browser) with one headline feature: a vertical sidebar of tabs for tablet screens, styled after Zen Browser. The project is published on GitHub and is not affiliated with Zen Browser or Mozilla. Because it is a side-loaded app, the install path is GitHub → APK → adb, and bookmarks travel as a plain HTML file, not through a store account.
Requirements and setup
What to do: Collect everything below before touching the tablet, so the install step is one continuous run instead of five restarts.
- Android tablet. Sideraven is built around a tablet layout (the vertical tab sidebar is the point of the fork). Keep a phone out of the primary test — check the repository README for the minimum Android version, since the announcement post does not state one.
- Free storage. Enough for the APK plus the installed app. The release asset size is listed on the GitHub Releases page — read it there instead of guessing.
- USB debugging enabled. On the tablet: Settings → About tablet → tap Build number seven times → back → Developer options → enable USB debugging.
adbon your computer. Install Android platform-tools;adbis the command-line bridge that installs packages and copies files to the device.- Git (optional). Only needed if you build from source instead of downloading a prebuilt APK.
bookmarks.html. An export of your current bookmarks. This is the transport format for Step 3.- A note on trust. The project is a community fork on GitHub with no Mozilla or Zen Browser involvement; install it on a secondary tablet or a device you can wipe.
Checklist before Step 1:
- [ ] Tablet boots and USB debugging is on
- [ ]
adbruns in a terminal on the computer - [ ] Bookmarks exported to
bookmarks.htmlon the computer - [ ] README of
Dweep4269/sideravenopened in a browser tab - [ ] Free space confirmed against the release asset size
Example: the platform-tools folder contains adb.exe (Windows) or adb (macOS/Linux); running adb version in that folder prints the version banner, which confirms the binary works before any device is plugged in.
If you have no spare tablet, you can rehearse the whole flow on a desktop Android environment first — see How to Run Android Apps and Games on PC: Emulators, Waydroid, and Cloud Services.
Why: every failure in the next two steps is caused by a missing precondition — a locked bootloader-side setting, a missing binary, or a bookmark file that was never exported. Verifying them up front isolates the real problem later.
How to check: plug in the tablet and run:
adb devicesExpected output — one line with your serial number and the word device:
List of devices attached
R58M12ABCDE deviceIf the word is unauthorized, unlock the tablet and tap Allow on the USB debugging prompt.
Step 1. Get the Sideraven build from GitHub
What to do: Clone the repository and identify which artifact you are going to install.
git clone https://github.com/Dweep4269/sideraven.git
cd sideraven
git log -1 --onelineExpected output: a single commit line (hash plus message), which proves the clone is complete and not an empty directory.
Then open the repository's Releases page in a browser and look for an .apk asset. The announcement post confirms only that the project is published on GitHub — it does not confirm a prebuilt binary or a version number, so check the documentation/README for the current release tag. If no APK is attached, build from source in Step 2.
Example: if the Releases page lists an asset named like sideraven-<tag>.apk, download it and rename it to sideraven.apk in the working directory — a stable filename keeps the install command identical every time you retry.
Why: a fork that targets tablet UI is usually distributed as raw APKs rather than through Google Play, so the GitHub release (or your own build) is the only source. Cloning first also gives you the README, which is where the Android version floor and build flags live.
How to check: list the directory contents:
lsYou should see the project's source tree (app/, build.gradle, README*, and so on). An empty folder or a .git-only directory means the clone failed — re-run it with a stable connection.
Step 2. Install the APK on the tablet
What to do: Sideload the package with adb, then grant install permission if the tablet asks for it.
adb install -r sideraven.apkExpected output:
Performing Streamed Install
Success-r means "replace if already installed", so re-running the same command after a new download is safe. If adb is not on your PATH, call it by full path, e.g. ~/platform-tools/adb install -r sideraven.apk.
Building from source instead (standard Android Gradle flow — confirm the exact task and output path in the repository README, since the post does not document them):
./gradlew assembleDebug
adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apkExample: the first install on a clean tablet typically produces Success in one line; on a tablet where an older Sideraven build already exists, the same command returns Success again because -r replaces it.
Why: adb install pushes the APK into the device's package manager directly, bypassing the "unknown sources" dialog that a file-manager install would trigger. That makes the result deterministic and scriptable — you get a machine-readable Success or a specific error code.
How to check: confirm the package is registered on the device:
adb shell pm list packages | grep -i sideravenExpected output: one line such as package:<application-id>. The application ID is defined in the repository's Gradle config — use the string that actually appears, and note it, because Step 3 and the troubleshooting section reference it.
Step 3. Verify the tablet layout and migrate bookmarks
What to do: Launch Sideraven, confirm the vertical tab sidebar renders, then move bookmarks across as an HTML file.
First, export from your current browser to bookmarks.html (in most desktop browsers: Bookmarks manager → Export bookmarks to HTML). Then push the file and verify it landed:
adb push bookmarks.html /sdcard/Download/bookmarks.html
adb shell ls -l /sdcard/Download/bookmarks.htmlExpected output for the second command: one -rw-rw---- line with a non-zero byte size.
In Sideraven: open the browser menu → Bookmarks → Manage bookmarks → the overflow menu (⋮) → Import from file, then pick /sdcard/Download/bookmarks.html. Menu labels follow the upstream Firefox/Iceraven family, but the fork may rename entries — check the documentation if an item is missing.
Example: after import, open the bookmarks list; entries from the HTML export appear as a folder named after the source profile (e.g. Bookmarks Menu) with your individual links inside, and the count matches the number of <A HREF=...> records in the file. Count them on the computer with:
grep -c "<A HREF" bookmarks.htmlWhy: an HTML bookmark export is a plain, browser-agnostic file — it survives the move to a fork because the importer parses standard Netscape-format bookmark markup. Pushing it via adb avoids cloud sync, which the fork may not support at all.
How to check: rotate the tablet to landscape and open several tabs. Success looks like this:
| Check | Command / action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| App launches | tap the Sideraven icon | browser window, no crash dialog |
| Sidebar renders | open 3+ tabs | vertical tab strip visible, not a top tab row |
| Bookmarks present | menu → Bookmarks | imported folder with your links |
| File integrity | `adb shell ls -l /sdcard/Download/bookmarks.html` | non-zero size |
Rendering issues on a tablet are easier to triage next to a known-good Android app set — see Best AI apps for Android in 2026 for comparison baselines.
Troubleshooting
Problem. adb sees no device at all
- Error:
adb: no devices/emulators found - Cause: USB debugging is off, the cable is charge-only, or the authorization prompt was dismissed on the tablet.
- Solution: re-enable USB debugging, reconnect, and accept the RSA fingerprint dialog. Then:
adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb devicesProblem. Install is rejected with a signature mismatch
- Error:
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Package ... signatures do not match previously installed version; ignoring!] - Cause: a Sideraven build signed with a different key (for example, your own
assembleDebugoutput) is already installed under the same application ID. - Solution: uninstall the old package, then reinstall:
adb uninstall <application-id>
adb install -r sideraven.apkUninstalling removes that app's local profile data — export bookmarks to HTML first if the old build holds anything you need.
Problem. Bookmark file push is refused
- Error:
adb: error: failed to copy 'bookmarks.html' to '/sdcard/Download/bookmarks.html': remote Permission denied - Cause: the target directory does not exist on that device image, or the path was mistyped.
- Solution: confirm the directory, then retry:
adb shell ls /sdcard/
adb push bookmarks.html /sdcard/Download/bookmarks.html If Download is absent, push to /sdcard/ and select the file from that path in the import dialog.
Summary and next steps
You now have Sideraven side-loaded from the Dweep4269/sideraven repository and your bookmarks imported from an HTML export. Next, pin the app in the tablet's dock and re-check the tab sidebar after any new build you pull from GitHub, since forks change menu layouts frequently.
FAQ
Is Sideraven the same thing as Zen Browser?
No. Sideraven borrows Zen Browser's vertical-tabs idea for its tablet sidebar, but it is an independent fork of Iceraven and is not affiliated with Zen Browser or Mozilla.
Can I install Sideraven from Google Play?
The announcement describes it as a GitHub project only. Check the repository README for the current distribution channel before assuming any store listing exists.
Does it work on a phone, or only on tablets?
The fork is explicitly aimed at Android tablets, with the vertical sidebar as the highlight. Phone behaviour is not documented in the source post — check the documentation.
How do I move bookmarks if my old browser cannot export HTML?
Every mainstream desktop browser has a "Export bookmarks to HTML" entry in its bookmark manager; export there, then use adb push plus the in-app Import from file flow from Step 3.
🤖 AI summary
- Updated: 2026-10-31
- Topics: Sideraven, IceRaven, браузер, вкладки, Android, Firefox
- Summary: Step-by-step install of the IceRaven fork with vertical tabs: build from GitHub, move your bookmarks and settings, fix common errors.
- Key facts:
- TL;DR Time to complete: 20 minutes Difficulty: Intermediate You will need: an Android tablet, a USB cable (or a file manager app), adb from Android platform-tools, a desktop browser to export bookmarks as an HTML file, and the Dweep4269/sideraven repository on GitHub.
- Sideraven is a fork of Iceraven (an Android browser) with one headline feature: a vertical sidebar of tabs for tablet screens, styled after Zen Browser .
- The project is published on GitHub and is not affiliated with Zen Browser or Mozilla .
- Because it is a side-loaded app, the install path is GitHub → APK → adb , and bookmarks travel as a plain HTML file, not through a store account.
- Requirements and setup Illustration: Requirements and setup What to do: Collect everything below before touching the tablet, so the install step is one continuous run instead of five restarts.
- Sideraven is built around a tablet layout (the vertical tab sidebar is the point of the fork).