WebKit Browser Engine

WebKit is an open-source web browser engine that powers Safari on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, as well as applications like Mail, App Store, and many embedded browsers across platforms. Originally derived from KHTML by Apple in 2001, WebKit has been developed by Apple, Google (until the Blink fork in 2013), Igalia, Sony, and the open-source community. Key features include: web standards support (full support for HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript ES2024, WebAssembly, WebGPU, WebRTC, WebAnimations, Service Workers, and Progressive Web Apps), rendering engine (high-performance layout and rendering engine supporting CSS Grid, Flexbox, Container Queries, and modern CSS features with subpixel precision text rendering), JavaScript engine (JavaScriptCore SquirrelFish Extreme with JIT compilation, tiered optimization from interpreter to FTL JIT, and the B3 low-level JIT backend), Web Inspector (built-in developer tools with DOM tree inspection, JavaScript console and debugger, network timeline, CSS editing, JavaScript and rendering performance profiling, and responsive design mode), WebKit2 (multi-process architecture separating web content rendering from the application process for improved stability and security with sandboxed web processes), WebAuthn support (FIDO2 and Web Authentication API for passwordless authentication), Service Worker and PWA (full Progressive Web App support including offline caching, push notifications, and installable web apps), accessibility (comprehensive ARIA support, VoiceOver integration on macOS and iOS, and WCAG 2.1 compliance), content extensions (content blocking rules via Safari Web Extensions and content blocker API), and platform embedding (used by Safari, Mail, App Store, Steam In-Game Browser, PlayStation browser, Nintendo Switch browser, and embedded browsers in many applications).