[opensourcedex]

reynard-browser is a free, open source browsers & extensions project written in Swift and released under GPL-3.0. It has 1,673 GitHub stars, 128 forks and 10 open issues, and was last pushed 11 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #58 of 65 tracked projects in Browsers & Extensions, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 12 stars over the last 3 tracked days.

What is reynard-browser?

What it is

Reynard Browser is an experimental Gecko-based web browser for iOS 13 and later, written in Swift under GPL-3.0. It lives in the iOS browser ecosystem, where Safari and other App Store browsers must use Apple's WebKit engine. Reynard instead uses Gecko, the engine that powers Firefox on desktop and Android, giving iOS users a different browser stack.

The problem it solves is that WebKit is bundled with iOS, so older devices that no longer receive updates remain stuck with an older engine. That can make modern websites break or render incorrectly. Reynard supplies an alternative up-to-date engine through the browser itself, and it supports Firefox add-ons, ad-blocking extensions, Enhanced Tracking Protection, and DNS over HTTPS.

Key capabilities

  • Uses the Gecko browser engine on iOS instead of Apple's WebKit engine.
  • Supports Firefox add-ons, including more capable ad-blocking extensions.
  • Includes Enhanced Tracking Protection and DNS over HTTPS.
  • Provides AltStore, SideStore, TrollStore, TrollStore Lite, and jailbroken builds.
  • Gives TrollStore and jailbroken builds automatic JIT enablement and better performance.
  • Enables automatic app updates in the TrollStore build when URL Scheme Enabled is turned on.
  • Can be built from source with Xcode, Python 3, Rust, Cargo, and provided scripts.

Who uses it and how

  • iOS 17.4 and later users sideload Reynard.ipa through AltStore or SideStore, selecting Keep App Extensions.
  • Users on iOS 14 through iOS 16.6.1 and iOS 17.0 install Reynard-TrollStore.tipa with TrollStore.
  • Jailbroken users install Reynard-Jailbroken.ipa with Filza File Manager and AppSync Unified on iOS 13.
  • Safari and Reynard are compared on older devices, including github.com, chatgpt.com, and apple.com.
  • Developers clone the repository, update and patch Gecko, build dependencies, build the engine, and run Reynard.xcodeproj in Xcode.

Getting started

The latest builds are downloaded from GitHub Releases, using AltStore or SideStore, TrollStore, TrollStore Lite, or jailbroken methods depending on iOS version. Source builds require Xcode, Python 3, Rust, Cargo, recursive cloning, and the provided Gecko and dependency scripts.

When to use it — and when not to

Reynard is useful for testing a Gecko-based browser on iOS, especially on older devices where WebKit is outdated. It is experimental, with expected bugs and missing features, and support is limited for jailbroken environments, unsupported sideloading methods, LiveContainer, distribution-certificate signing, and build errors. Choose it for alternative engine access and Firefox add-on compatibility; avoid it when stability or supported installation is required.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Reynard Browser

Reynard is a Gecko-based web browser for iOS 13+.

Unlike other browsers on iOS that are forced to use Apple's WebKit engine (including Safari and all third-party browsers), Reynard uses Gecko. This is the same engine that powers the Firefox browser on desktop and Android devices.

Besides providing an alternative, up-to-date browser engine[^1], Reynard supports Firefox add-ons, including more capable ad-blocking extensions, along with privacy features such as Enhanced Tracking Protection and DNS over HTTPS.

[^1]: This is particularly useful on older iOS versions. Because WebKit is bundled with the OS, devices that no longer receive iOS updates are also stuck with an older browser engine, which can cause modern websites to break or render incorrectly.

Installation

The latest builds are available for download on the Releases page. Please note that this project is still in an early experimental state, so expect bugs and missing features.

For common questions and troubleshooting, see the FAQ.

Reynard is available as a standard build, a TrollStore build[^2], and a jailbroken build[^3], depending on your iOS version and installation method:

Method iOS version Build
AltStore or SideStore iOS 17.4+ Reynard.ipa
TrollStore iOS 14 - 16.6.1, 17.0 Reynard-TrollStore.tipa
TrollStore Jailbroken iOS 14 Reynard-Jailbroken.ipa
TrollStore Lite Jailbroken iOS 16.7 - 16.7.16, 17.0.1+ Reynard-TrollStore.tipa
Filza File Manager + AppSync Unified Jailbroken iOS 13 Reynard-Jailbroken.ipa

[^2]: The TrollStore build provides automatic JIT enablement, better performance, and automatic app updates. For automatic app updates, make sure URL Scheme Enabled is turned on in TrollStore. [^3]: The jailbroken build provides automatic JIT enablement and better performance.

[!NOTE] Although jailbroken builds are available, using Reynard in a jailbroken environment is not recommended. Tweaks and other system modifications may affect the browser's performance, stability, or functionality, and issues resulting from them may receive limited support.

For AltStore or SideStore installations:

Make sure to select Keep App Extensions during installation, as Reynard will not work without them.

You can also click here to add the AltSource for Reynard to AltStore or SideStore.

[!IMPORTANT]

  • LiveContainer is not supported due to its own limitations.
  • Sideloading using a distribution certificate for signing are not supported.⁠
  • Other sideloading methods may be incompatible with Reynard, and no support will be provided for issues arising from them.

Preview

iOS 14 (iPhone 6S Plus, 14.1)

These sites are known to break or render incorrectly on iOS 14. The screenshots below compare how they load in Safari versus Reynard.

github.com chatgpt.com apple.com
Safari Reynard Safari Reynard Safari Reynard






iOS 15 (iPhone 7, 15.8.6)



iOS 26 (iPhone 13 mini, 26.1)

Reynard also works great on the latest version of iOS!



Building

[!WARNING] Build instructions are included below for reference. Please be aware that I do not provide support for issues or errors encountered during the build process.

To build the project, you'll need Xcode, Python 3, and Rust & Cargo.

Clone the repository.

git clone --recursive https://github.com/minh-ton/reynard-browser
cd reynard-browser

Download Gecko and apply patches.

./tools/development/update-gecko.sh
./tools/development/apply-patches.sh

Build dependencies and the Gecko engine.

./tools/development/build-idevice.sh
./tools/development/build-gecko.sh

To run Reynard, open Reynard.xcodeproj in Xcode and build/run it from there.

Development

This project initially started out of curiosity. I wanted to see if I could get Gecko to run without the BrowserEngineKit framework, so it could be further modified to support iOS versions as far back as possible. I got it working, and since then, I’ve been focusing on developing engine patches for better integration with iOS, fixing bugs, and turning Reynard into a full, usable browser.

If you’ve come across this repository and find it interesting, I’d love to get help or collaborate on it. I’m learning as I go here and don’t have much prior experience with iOS app development or with Gecko itself, so any contributions, feedback, or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

You can also help translate Reynard into more languages, or support the time I spend working on the project through the links below.

<a href="https://crowdin.com/proj

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is reynard-browser free to use?

reynard-browser is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does reynard-browser do?

An experimental Gecko-based web browser for iOS 13+.

What is reynard-browser written in?

reynard-browser is primarily written in Swift. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/minh-ton/reynard-browser, and it has 1,673 GitHub stars.