CinderBlock

Content blocking engine for Ember Browser – forked from uBlock Origin.

CinderBlock is Ember’s built-in content blocking engine. It is not an extension – it is a first-class component of Ember, compiled as part of the browser and deeply integrated into the Ember Shell.

What is CinderBlock?

CinderBlock blocks ads, trackers, coin miners, popups, annoyances, malware sites, and more. It inherits uBlock Origin’s core architecture: a highly efficient network request filter, a cosmetic filter engine, a scriptlet injection system, and a full dashboard UI.

CinderBlock is not distributed separately. It ships with Ember and updates with Ember via CPAC. Filter lists are the only thing that update independently, fetched as plaintext from their source URLs on a configurable schedule.

Philosophy

• The user decides what web content is acceptable in their browser
• CinderBlock is a content blocker, not a gatekeeper – the user always has the final say
• Filter matching is fast, efficient, and transparent
• No external service dependencies, no cloud sync, no telemetry
• Ships with curated defaults that work out of the box

Features

Network Request Filtering

Intercepts all HTTP/HTTPS requests made by the browser. Each request is matched against compiled filter lists using a highly efficient trie-based matching algorithm. Blocked requests are cancelled before they reach the network.

Supports all standard filter syntax: URL pattern matching, domain anchors, path filters, query string filters, exception rules, option modifiers, and hosts file format.

Cosmetic Filtering

CSS-based element hiding applied after page load. Removes ad containers, cookie consent banners, newsletter popups, notification permission prompts, chat widgets, floating overlays, and “subscribe to continue reading” overlays.

Supports generic cosmetic filters, domain-specific filters, extended CSS selectors (:has(), :not(), :matches-css()), and procedural cosmetic filters.

Scriptlet Injection

JavaScript snippets injected into page context to neutralize behaviors that CSS cannot reach: anti-adblock detection scripts, tracking calls embedded in page JS, cookie consent wall JS, and fingerprinting scripts.

Dashboard

Full dashboard UI accessible via toolbar button, keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+B, remappable), or ember://cinderblock. Sections include filter lists, custom filters, per-site rules, trusted sites, and advanced settings.

Element Picker

Point-and-click tool to generate cosmetic filter rules for any page element. Preview what will be hidden before committing, edit the generated rule, and save to custom filters.

Network Logger

Real-time log of all network requests made by the current tab. Shows request URL, type, origin domain, block/allow status, and which filter rule matched.

Dynamic Filtering

Per-domain request type matrix for advanced users. Allows fine-grained control such as blocking all third-party scripts globally while allowing them on specific trusted domains.

Default Filter Lists

CinderBlock ships with a curated default set:

List	Category	Default
AdGuard Base	Ads	on
AdGuard Tracking Protection	Tracking	on
AdGuard Annoyances	Cookie banners, popups	on
EasyList	Ads	on
EasyPrivacy	Tracking	on
Peter Lowe’s Ad and Tracking	Ads + Tracking	on
uBlock Origin Filters	Ads	on
uBlock Annoyances	Annoyances	on
Dan Pollock’s hosts	Malware, spam	on
PhishTank	Phishing domains	on
HAGEZI Multi Pro	Ads + Tracking + Malware	on
StevenBlack Adware + Malware	Adware, malware	on
oisd big	Comprehensive	on
StevenBlack Gambling	Gambling domains	off
Adult content	Adult content	off

See Filter Lists for full details.

Related Projects

Project	Role
Ember Browser	The browser that ships CinderBlock
CPAC	Package trust layer for Ember OS
uBlock Origin	Upstream project

Made By

Developer/Maintainer: Sabeeir Sharrma

Made under The Cinder Project – Making a safer internet

License

GPL-3.0 (inherited from uBlock Origin upstream)

Attribution

CinderBlock is based on uBlock Origin by Raymond Hill and contributors. uBlock Origin is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Installation

CinderBlock ships with Ember Browser. You do not need to install it separately.

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 22
• npm >= 11
• Make
• Python 3 (for build scripts)
• Bash

Build Steps

git clone https://github.com/SabeeirSharrma/CinderBlock.git
cd CinderBlock
npm install

Chromium

make chromium

Output: dist/build/uBlock0.chromium/ (unpacked extension)

Firefox

make firefox

Output: dist/build/uBlock0.firefox/ (unpacked extension) and dist/build/uBlock0.firefox.xpi

Both

make all

Loading the Unpacked Extension

Chromium

1. Navigate to chrome://extensions/
2. Enable Developer mode
3. Click Load unpacked
4. Select dist/build/uBlock0.chromium/

Firefox

1. Navigate to about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox
2. Click Load Temporary Add-on…
3. Select dist/build/uBlock0.firefox/manifest.json

For permanent installation on Firefox, use the .xpi file:

# Requires xpinstall.signatures.required = false in about:config
drag dist/build/uBlock0.firefox.xpi into Firefox

Linting

npm run lint

Cleaning

make clean         # remove build output
make cleanassets   # remove cached filter lists

Configuration

CinderBlock reads its initial state from the [blocking] section of ember.toml. Per-site rules, custom filters, and dynamic filtering rules are stored separately in local files.

ember.toml

[blocking]
enabled = true
update_interval_hours = 24

# List overrides (optional -- defaults apply if not specified)
[blocking.lists]
adguard_annoyances = true
stevenblack_gambling = false
adult_content = false

Options

Key	Type	Default	Description
enabled	boolean	true	Enable or disable content blocking globally
update_interval_hours	integer	24	How often filter lists are updated. Set to 0 to disable auto-update

List Overrides

Individual filter lists can be toggled under [blocking.lists]. The key names correspond to the list IDs in assets/assets.json. Only lists that exist in the registry can be overridden.

Key	List	Default
adguard_annoyances	AdGuard Annoyances	true
stevenblack_gambling	StevenBlack Gambling	false
adult_content	Adult content	false

Any list in the registry can be toggled by adding its key under [blocking.lists].

Local Storage

Per-site rules, custom filters, and dynamic filtering rules are stored at:

~/.config/ember/cinderblock/

File	Contents
rules.txt	User-authored custom filter rules (My Filters)
per-site.json	Per-site rule overrides (whitelist, cosmetic filtering toggles)
dynamic.json	Dynamic filtering matrix
trusted.txt	Whitelisted domains

These files are human-readable and version-controllable.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Default Shortcut	Remappable
Open dashboard	Ctrl+Shift+B	Yes, in ember.toml
Element picker	Ctrl+Shift+E	Yes, in ember.toml
Element zapper	Ctrl+Shift+X	Yes, in ember.toml

Ember Shell Integration

CinderBlock integrates with Ember Shell through:

• Toolbar button – native Shell component (replaces extension popup)
• Dashboard – themed to match the active Ember theme
• Config bridge – reads [blocking] from ember.toml on launch
• Update system – filter lists update on the schedule defined in config; CinderBlock itself updates via CPAC with Ember

Reference

Dashboard

The CinderBlock dashboard is the main interface for managing content blocking. Access it via:

• Toolbar button – click the CinderBlock icon in the browser toolbar
• Keyboard shortcut – Ctrl+Shift+B (remappable)
• URL – navigate to ember://cinderblock

Sections

Section	Description
Settings	Global blocking options, appearance, per-site switches, advanced settings
Filter Lists	Enable/disable lists, update individual lists, add custom list URLs
My Filters	User-authored custom filter rules in plaintext
My Rules	Per-site allow/block rules, whitelist management
Trusted Sites	Domains where CinderBlock is fully disabled
Support	Filter list tester, diagnostics
About	Version info, upstream attribution, dependencies

---

Filter Syntax

CinderBlock uses the uBlock Origin / AdGuard filter syntax.

Basic URL Pattern Matching

||ads.example.com^

Blocks all requests to ads.example.com and its subdomains.

Domain-Specific Filters

example.com##.ad-banner

Hides elements matching .ad-banner on example.com only.

Exception Rules

@@||example.com/ads

Allows requests matching the pattern (unblocks them).

Option Modifiers

||ads.example.com^$third-party,script

Blocks third-party script requests to ads.example.com.

Common modifiers: $third-party, $script, $image, $xhr, $stylesheet, $font, $subdocument

Hosts File Format

0.0.0.0 ads.example.com

Supported for lists that use hosts file format (StevenBlack, Dan Pollock, etc.).

Cosmetic Filter Syntax

##.ad-banner                    ## Generic
example.com##.sponsored         ## Domain-specific
example.com##div:has(.popup)    ## Extended CSS

Scriptlet Injection

example.com##+js(set-constant, adBlock, false)
example.com##+js(abort-on-property-read, adblock)

---

Element Picker

Activated via toolbar button or Ctrl+Shift+E.

1. Hover over any element on the page – it will be highlighted
2. Click to generate a cosmetic filter rule
3. Preview what will be hidden
4. Edit the generated rule if needed
5. Save to My Filters

---

Network Logger

Accessible from the dashboard. Shows real-time network requests for the current tab.

Column	Description
URL	The request URL
Type	Script, image, XHR, frame, etc.
Origin	The originating domain
Status	Blocked, allowed, or redirected
Filter	Which filter rule matched (if any)

The logger is off by default (performance) and does not persist across sessions.

---

Dynamic Filtering

Per-domain request type matrix for advanced users. Accessible from the dashboard in advanced mode.

Action	Description
Block	Block all requests of this type from this domain
Allow	Allow all requests of this type from this domain
Noop	Use the default filter list behavior

The matrix is color-coded:

• Red – blocked
• Green – allowed
• Gray – default (noop)

---

Per-Site Rules

Scoped to specific domains:

Rule	Effect
Disable CinderBlock	Whitelist – no filtering at all
Disable cosmetic filtering	Elements are not hidden
Disable scriptlet injection	Scriptlets are not injected
Custom filters	Domain-scoped filter rules

---

CLI (Future)

CinderBlock currently has no CLI. All configuration is done through ember.toml and the dashboard.

Future versions may expose CLI commands for headless configuration:

# Not yet implemented
cinderblock status
cinderblock update
cinderblock enable-list easylist

Filter Lists

CinderBlock ships with a curated default filter list set. Users can add custom lists via URL from the dashboard.

Default Lists

Enabled by Default

List	Category	Source
AdGuard Base	Ads	https://filters.adtidy.org/extension/ublock/filters/2.txt
AdGuard Tracking Protection	Tracking	https://filters.adtidy.org/extension/ublock/filters/3.txt
AdGuard Annoyances	Cookie banners, popups	https://filters.adtidy.org/extension/ublock/filters/14.txt
EasyList	Ads	https://easylist.to/easylist/easylist.txt
EasyPrivacy	Tracking	https://easylist.to/easylist/easyprivacy.txt
Peter Lowe’s Ad and Tracking	Ads + Tracking	https://pgl.yoyo.org/adservers/serverlist.php?hostformat=adblockplus
uBlock Origin Filters	Ads	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets/master/filters/filters.txt
uBlock Annoyances	Annoyances	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets/master/filters/annoyances.txt
Dan Pollock’s hosts	Malware, spam	https://someonewhocares.org/hosts/zero/hosts
PhishTank	Phishing domains	https://phishtank.org/phishtank.txt
HAGEZI Multi Pro	Ads + Tracking + Malware	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hagezi/dns-blocklists/main/adblock/pro.txt
StevenBlack Adware + Malware	Adware, malware	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/alternates/adware-malware/hosts
oisd big	Comprehensive	https://big.oisd.nl

Opt-in Lists (Disabled by Default)

List	Category	Source
StevenBlack Gambling	Gambling domains	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/alternates/gambling/hosts
Adult content	Adult content	https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/alternates/porn/hosts

Enable via the dashboard or ember.toml:

[blocking.lists]
stevenblack_gambling = true
adult_content = true

Custom Lists

Users can add any custom filter list via URL from the dashboard (Filter Lists section).

Requirements

• Must be a direct URL to a plaintext file
• Must use uBlock Origin / AdGuard compatible syntax, or hosts file format
• No authentication required (public URL)

Adding a Custom List

1. Open the CinderBlock dashboard
2. Go to Filter Lists
3. Scroll to the import section
4. Paste the URL into the textarea
5. Click Apply changes

Custom lists are stored by URL reference, not by content. They are fetched and compiled on the same update schedule as built-in lists.

List Update Behavior

• Default interval: every 24 hours
• Configurable in ember.toml:

[blocking]
update_interval_hours = 24   # set to 0 to disable auto-update

• Updates are plaintext HTTP GET requests to the list source URL
• No binary downloads, no signed packages, fully transparent
• Lists are compiled into an internal format after fetch
• Manual update available per-list from the dashboard
• CinderBlock itself does not auto-update – it ships with Ember and updates via CPAC

Filter List Registry

The master registry is at assets/assets.json. Each entry specifies:

{
  "list-id": {
    "content": "filters",
    "group": "default",
    "title": "List Name",
    "tags": "ads tracking",
    "contentURL": "https://example.com/list.txt",
    "supportURL": "https://github.com/example"
  }
}

Field	Description
content	Type of content (filters for filter lists)
group	Category group (default, ads, privacy, annoyances, malware, regions, custom)
off	If true, list is disabled by default (opt-in)
title	Display name in the dashboard
tags	Space-separated tags for categorization
contentURL	URL(s) to fetch the list from
cdnURLs	Alternative CDN URLs for redundancy
supportURL	Link to the list maintainer’s page