First-time setup
The first time you open Acira, a short setup walks you through the choices that matter most. Every step can be skipped. You can change anything later in Settings, and you can run setup again.
Start
The welcome screen says Your browser. Nobody else's. and No AI, no ads, no tracking, no account. A Beta tag shows that this is a beta release. It has three controls:
- Get started goes through the steps below.
- Use defaults finishes setup now with Acira's defaults and opens the browser.
- Skip setup leaves setup. If Acira cannot save that choice, it offers setup again the next time you open it.
Each step shows a counter such as 2 of 7 and a Back button. If you quit part of the way through, Acira picks up where you left off.
The steps
| Step | What you choose | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Bring your work with you. | Import bookmarks and history from another browser on this PC | Nothing is imported until you choose it. Skipped if no other browser is found. |
| Name this profile. | A profile name and a color | The name field shows Personal |
| Choose a look. | Light, Dark or Auto (follows Windows, or macOS on a Mac) | The step shows the current choice |
| Choose a new tab cover. | The picture on a new tab | Paintings |
| Pick a search engine. | The engine for the address bar, and whether to suggest from history | Google, suggestions on |
| Private from the first page. | Blocking, AI-free mode, connection, phishing warnings and usage sharing | See below |
| Open links in Acira. | Make Acira your default browser | Not changed. Skipped if Acira already is the default, or if it cannot be set. |
| Acira is ready. | A summary, then Start browsing |
Import
Setup looks for other browsers on your computer: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Helium, Arc, Firefox and Zen. It lists what it found under Found on this PC, with Choose all and Choose none. For each browser profile you can import into This profile, or into a New profile of its own. If it finds nothing, it says No other browsers found and the step is skipped. If it cannot read them, it says Other browsers couldn't be read and offers Try again or use a bookmarks file.
The other browser stays untouched. Sign-ins do not come across: browsers lock them so other apps cannot read them. After setup, Acira offers to help you sign back in, and to bring your passwords from a file you export. See Bring your data.
Profile
Each profile keeps its own sign-ins and history. Work and home stay apart. The color you pick tints the window of the profiles you add later. See Profiles.
Look
Choose Light, Dark or Auto. Colors and layout come next. You can change this at any time in Settings › Appearance. See Appearance.
New tab cover
Every new tab can open with a picture. The choices are No image, Paintings, Landscapes, Nature, Architecture, Space and Your image. Each card shows an example picture from its collection.
- Paintings are museum paintings that come with Acira. They work offline.
- Landscapes, Nature, Architecture and Space are photos from Wikimedia Commons. One arrives each time you open a new tab. Nothing is fetched during setup.
- Your image is a picture from this computer. It stays on this computer.
- No image gives a clean new tab. You can turn it on again in Settings.
See New tab page. Private windows and Tor use the built-in paintings.
Search
Pick Google (familiar results, fast), DuckDuckGo (keeps no profile of your searches) or Bing (search from Microsoft). The step also has Suggest from history, which suggests bookmarks and pages you visited. It never leaves this device. It is on by default. See Search engines.
Privacy
The step says Ads, trackers and third-party cookies are blocked. and gives you these controls.
| Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Block ads and trackers | On for all sites. Turn it off any time in Settings. See Ads and trackers. | On |
| AI-free mode | Hides AI answers and AI buttons on websites. See AI-free mode. | Off |
| Phishing and malware | Warns you before a dangerous page opens, using public lists checked on this device. If you turn this off, dangerous pages open without a warning. See Dangerous pages and certificates. | On |
| Connection | Acira uses your computer's connection, including any VPN app you run. You can choose Use my VPN app, or Set up a proxy (type, address, port, with a Test proxy button that connects to the proxy only, not to any website). Acira has no VPN of its own. See DNS, proxy and VPN. | Your computer's connection |
| Share anonymous usage | At most one small message a day, with no browsing history, page addresses or accounts. What's sent shows the exact message. Turning it off deletes the random ID kept on this device. See Usage data. | The switch starts on when you reach this step. Turn it off to send nothing. |
Default browser
Choose Set as default so links from email and chat open in Acira. Windows asks you to confirm (macOS asks on a Mac). If Windows sends you to its settings, choose Acira under Web browser and come back, then choose Check again. Acira never changes your default without your confirmation.
Finish
The last screen says Acira is ready. and Everything stays on this computer. It lists what you set: profile, appearance, search, what you imported, protection and default browser. It ends with Change any of this in Settings. Choose Start browsing.
After a full setup, a small panel called Make it yours appears over the browser. It has Light, Dark or Auto, a color, Tabs (Along the top, In a sidebar or Sidebar + address) and View (Full, Compact or Seamless). Changes apply as you pick. All of it is in Settings too. Use defaults and Skip setup do not show it.
If you imported something, a message offers Undo for the import.
A new profile
When you make another profile, a shorter setup called Set up {name}. asks how that profile looks, searches and protects. You can skip anything.
Run setup again
Open Settings › About › Run setup again and choose Run setup again.
Limits
- Setup never asks for a password and never creates an account.
- Windows and macOS decide whether Acira becomes your default browser. Acira can only ask.
- Some steps are skipped when they would do nothing: import when no other browser is found, and default browser when Acira already is the default or cannot be set.
Last updated November 8, 2026