User:Dcallahan/GeckoView
GeckoView is Firefox Quantum's engine, packaged as a reusable Android library.
Mozilla uses GeckoView to power Firefox Reality, Firefox Focus, and more.
GeckoView serves a similar purpose to Android's built-in WebView, but it has its own APIs and is not a drop in replacement.
Why GeckoView?
GeckoView, like Firefox for Android, offers excellent support for web standards. Because GeckoView is a standalone library that you include in your application, you know exactly what capabilities it supports.
Android's built-in WebView is a moving target:
Get Started
Building a browser? Check out Android Components, our collection of ready-to-use supporting libraries!
Configure Gradle
You need to add or edit four stanzas inside your module's build.gradle file.
1. Set the GeckoView version
Like Firefox, GeckoView has three release channels: Stable, Beta, and Nightly. Browse the Maven Repository to see currently available builds.
ext {
geckoviewChannel = "nightly"
geckoviewVersion = "64.0.20180927100037"
}
2. Add Mozilla's Maven repository
repositories {
maven {
url "https://maven.mozilla.org/maven2/"
}
}
3. Configure build flavors
Note: Until we resolve Bug 1485045, you must configure a separate build variant for each CPU architecture.
android {
// ...
// Note: compileOptions is only required for minSdkVersion < 24
compileOptions {
sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
}
flavorDimensions "abi"
productFlavors {
x86 { dimension "abi" }
x86_64 { dimension "abi" }
arm { dimension "abi" }
aarch64 { dimension "abi" }
}
}
4. Add GeckoView Implementations
dependencies {
// ...
x86Implementation "org.mozilla.geckoview:geckoview-${geckoviewChannel}-x86:${geckoviewVersion}"
x86_64Implementation "org.mozilla.geckoview:geckoview-${geckoviewChannel}-x86_64:${geckoviewVersion}"
armImplementation "org.mozilla.geckoview:geckoview-${geckoviewChannel}-armeabi-v7a:${geckoviewVersion}"
aarch64Implementation "org.mozilla.geckoview:geckoview-${geckoviewChannel}-arm64-v8a:${geckoviewVersion}"
}
Add GeckoView to a Layout
Inside a layout .xml file, add the following:
<org.mozilla.geckoview.GeckoView
android:id="@+id/geckoview"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent" />
Initialize GeckoView in an Activity
1. Import the GeckoView classes inside an Activity:
import org.mozilla.geckoview.GeckoRuntime;
import org.mozilla.geckoview.GeckoSession;
import org.mozilla.geckoview.GeckoView;
2. In that activity's onCreate function, add the following:
GeckoView view = findViewById(R.id.geckoview);
GeckoSession session = new GeckoSession();
GeckoRuntime runtime = GeckoRuntime.create(this);
session.open(runtime);
view.setSession(session);
session.loadUri("about:buildconfig"); // Or any other URL...
You're done!
Your application should now load and display a webpage inside of GeckoView.
To learn more about GeckoView's capabilities, review GeckoView's JavaDoc or the reference application.
Getting Help / Contacting Us
If you need help with GeckoView, please let us know by either:
- filing a bug on Firefox for Android's GeckoView component
- Asking us in #mobile on irc.mozilla.org.
Documentation and Examples
APIs
Building / Contributing / Bugs
- See Mobile/Get_Involved and the Mozilla Developer Guide for information on how to contribute to GeckoView
- Bugs are tracked in Bugzilla
- We have a bug dashboard at Mobile/GeckoView/Bugs 🐛
Products / Examples