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 engine1, Reynard supports Firefox add-ons, including more capable ad-blocking extensions, along with privacy features such as Enhanced Tracking Protection and DNS over HTTPS.
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 build2, and a jailbroken build3, 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 |
Note
Although jailbroken builds are available, using Reynard on a jailbroken device is not recommended. Tweaks and other system modifications may affect the browser's performance, stability, or functionality, and support for resulting issues may be limited. On any jailbroken device, disable tweak injection for Reynard and its extensions using tools such as Choicy.
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 is not supported.
- Other sideloading methods may be incompatible with Reynard, and no support will be provided for issues arising from them.
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 |
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Reynard also works great on the latest version of iOS!
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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-browserDownload Gecko and apply patches.
./tools/development/update-gecko.sh
./tools/development/apply-patches.shBuild dependencies and the Gecko engine.
./tools/development/build-idevice.sh
./tools/development/build-gecko.shTo run Reynard, open Reynard.xcodeproj in Xcode and build/run it from there.
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.
- LiveContainer: app extension handling and NSExtension usage.
- StikDebug and idevice: pairing-based JIT enablement support.
- TrollStore: spawning a binary as root and JIT enablement.
- Amethyst-iOS, dolphin-ios, DukeX, and MeloNX: Various utility functions, numerous private API usage, and JIT memory handling.
- WebKit: Private API references for deeper iOS integration, such as sandboxing, hardware keyboard support, and lifecycle events.
- Pre-existing work on bringing Gecko to iOS using BrowserEngineKit: most of the difficult engine integration.
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0, except for the patches directory containing the modifications to the Firefox Gecko engine and therefore is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0.
Footnotes
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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. ↩
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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. ↩
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The jailbroken build provides automatic JIT enablement and better performance. ↩