Ladybird (web browser)

Ladybird is an open-source web browser developed by the Ladybird Browser Initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on development of the browser.^[1][2] It is licensed under the BSD 2-Clause License.^[3] An alpha release is planned in 2026,^[4] beta release is expected in 2027 and a stable release for general public in 2028.^[5] Originally a component of SerenityOS, it is now being developed as a standalone project.^[6]

Ladybird

Ladybird, showing the main page of Wikipedia
Original author(s)	Andreas Kling
Developer(s)	Ladybird Browser Initiative
Repository	github.com/LadybirdBrowser/ladybird
Written in	C++
Engine	LibWeb
Operating system	Linux, macOS, and other Unix-like operating systems.
Available in	1 languages
List of languages English
Type	Web browser
License	BSD 2-Clause License
Website	ladybird.org

Features

Ladybird uses a new browser engine called LibWeb that is being created from scratch by the development team. Unlike SerenityOS, it will also use other open source libraries for development.^[3] An ad blocking feature is planned.^[7] Unlike most new web browsers, Ladybird does not rely on Chromium or Firefox and uses its own rendering engine and JavaScript engine.^[8]

History

The project was initially developed by the SerenityOS community using its internal software libraries implementing specific features (with self-descriptive names prefixed with “Lib”, e.g. LibWeb, LibHTTP, LibJS, or LibWasm).

Ladybird was announced by Andreas Kling, the maintainer and founder of the SerenityOS project, in September 2022.^[9]

On June 30, 2024, Kling announced that he would be stepping back from the main project to focus solely on building the Ladybird browser.^[10][6] In July 2024 the Ladybird Browser Initiative announced that it was being funded by Chris Wanstrath, the co-founder of GitHub.^[7] Ladybird began receiving sponsorships to fund its development including from large companies such as Shopify and Proton VPN.^[8]

As of March 2025, it ranked fourth highest on the Web Platform Tests, a suite of tests used by browser developers, below Chrome, Safari and Firefox.^[8] It also had the second most conformant JavaScript Engine after Firefox's SpiderMonkey.^[8]