K-Meleon

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K-Meleon is a free and open-source, lightweight web browser for Microsoft Windows. It uses the native Windows API to create its user interface. Early versions of K-Meleon rendered web pages with Gecko, Mozilla's browser layout engine, which Mozilla's browser Firefox and its email client Thunderbird also use. K-Meleon became a popular Windows browser and was available as an optional default browser in Europe via BrowserChoice.eu. K-Meleon continued to use Gecko for several years after Mozilla deprecated embedding it. Current versions of K-Meleon use the Goanna layout engine, a fork of Gecko created for the browser Pale Moon.

K-Meleon began with the goal of being faster and lighter than Mozilla's original Internet suite. Until 2011, K-Meleon embedded Gecko in a stripped-down interface. Throughout its lifespan, K-Meleon has required small amounts of random-access memory (RAM). K-Meleon 76 supports discontinued versions of Windows such as Windows XP and Windows Vista. Mozilla no longer supports these platforms after their Firefox Quantum rewrite.

Customization is another primary design goal. Users can change the toolbars, menus, and keyboard shortcuts from text-based configuration files. K-Meleon supports macros, which are small browser extensions that users can examine, write, or edit in a text editor. K-Meleon's custom configuration files can trigger macros. Reviews describe the customization features as versatile but intimidating to the average user. Due to its adaptability, K-Meleon was recommended for Internet cafés and libraries in the early 2000s.

History

Christophe Thibault started the K-Meleon project in the 2000s,<ref name="Mook2000">Template:Cite news</ref> when many new browsers were launched.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> To open-source their once-dominant Netscape Communicator Internet suite, Netscape founded the Mozilla project.<ref name="Dunsdon2000">Template:Cite news</ref> K-Meleon was one of several browsers to use Mozilla's browser engine Gecko.<ref name="Boswell2002">Template:Cite book</ref> Thibault designed K-Meleon to combine Gecko with native Windows interface elements, an approach that was less resource-intensive and allowed the browser to blend into its environment.<ref name="Blanco2005">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Embedding Gecko

File:KM 0 2 Manual.png

K-Meleon 0.2

Christophe Thibault released K-Meleon 0.1 on August 21, 2000.<ref name = "Foley2000" /> While working at Nullsoft,<ref name="Billet2000">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Thibault said he created the first simple release to attract attention, during a day off.<ref name="Jark2001">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Mook2000"/> For the 0.2 release, he implemented features like context menus and moved development to SourceForge to welcome contributions from open-source developers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Thibault handed the project over to new developers,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including Brian Harris, Sebastian Spaeth, Jeff Doozan, and Ulf Erikson,<ref name="Erikson2000s8">Template:Cite book</ref> who began implementing browser functions through modular Kplugins.<ref>Template:Cite mailing list</ref> The K-Meleon team released new versions with pop-up blocking and cookie management.<ref name="Blasko2001">Template:Cite news</ref> These releases introduced text-based configuration files called configs that allowed users to customize the browser or hide interface elements,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Ventura2002" /> and a macro language to extend the browser.<ref>Template:Cite mailing list</ref><ref name="Shareef2022" /> Early reviews described K-Meleon as small, fast, limited, and visually similar to Internet Explorer.<ref name="Mook2000"/><ref name="Foley2000"/><ref name="Billet2000"/>

K-Meleon was built with open-source code from Mozilla but its narrower focus offered advantages over the Mozilla Application Suite,<ref name="Blasko2001" /> which bundled the browser with applications for email, news, chat, and webpage editing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To create a stand-alone browser, the Galeon project embedded Mozilla's rendering engine. Galeon was released for Linux using GNOME's widget toolkit GTK.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> K-Meleon brought a similar approach to Windows<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> using the operating system's native application programming interface (API) to create a lightweight user interface (UI).<ref name="Blanco2005" /> The K-Meleon developers released a stand-alone web browser for Windows two years before the Firefox alpha release.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mozilla created user interfaces via their cross-platform XML User Interface Language (XUL) layer.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> This technology used Gecko to lay out application interfaces.<ref name="Boswell2002" /> XUL allowed Mozilla to build one application for multiple operating systems but generated graphical controls that did not match the rest of the system.<ref name="Mackey2002">Template:Cite news</ref> K-Meleon was smaller and more closely integrated into the Windows desktop than Mozilla's browser, and could use the native bookmarking system to access Internet Explorer's favorites.<ref name = "Foley2000" >Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn

File:KM 0 7.png

K-Meleon 0.7 with a simple "Hello World" macro, the optional Tango theme, and several NPAPI plugins installed

K-Meleon 0.7 was released with the Mozilla 1.0 engine in October 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite AOL disbanding upstream parent company Netscape in 2003, the development of K-Meleon continued. Mozilla continued work on Gecko, and K-Meleon was updated with service packs and version 0.8.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2005, Ulf Erikson announced version 0.9 would be the final version of K-Meleon he would build. He was the project's developer but stated he was no longer using K-Meleon as his primary browser after moving to Linux.<ref>Template:Cite mailing list</ref> In January 2006, Dorian Boissonnade became the lead developer and began working towards a 1.0 release.<ref>Template:Cite mailing list Quoted by co-developer Hao Jiang: {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Asian2014">Template:Cite news</ref>

K-Meleon 1.0 was released in July 2006 and made the browser fully translatable.Template:Efn It stored localizations in separate library-and-config files within existing K-Meleon installations. Parts of the browser could be translated in a text editor.<ref name="Kohler2007menus">Template:Cite book</ref> K-Meleon 1.0 maintained support for its existing system of text-based configuration files and introduced a new graphical interface to change preferences from within the browser.<ref>Template:Cite news (Refer to the visual tour of the "Advanced Preferences" panel.)</ref><ref name="Asian2014" />

Version 1.1 expanded the macro system. Earlier versions placed all of the macros into a single config file. Initial releases came with fewer than 50 lines of macro code and instructions for end users to create their own macros.<ref name="Kohler2007news">Template:Cite book</ref> Later versions came with over 1,000 lines of macro code, and the macros users wrote and shared online. In response, K-Meleon developers separated macros into modules.<ref name="FileInfo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Kohler2007news" /> Version 1.5 introduced a true tabbed interface.<ref name="Asian2014" />Template:Efn

In Europe, version 1.5 was an optional default Windows browser through Microsoft's browser ballot. Due to accusations of abusing its market position to promote Internet Explorer, Microsoft introduced a browser ballot in the European Economic Area (EEA).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By 2010, it offered Windows users a choice of the 12 most popular web browsers, including K-Meleon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

7x releases

In 2011, Mozilla ended support for embedding the Gecko layout engine; because K-Meleon had previously relied on this API, the browser's future became uncertain.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn In 2013, after years without an official, stable release, the K-Meleon group began developing version 74.<ref name="Asian2014" /> While Mozilla had ended support for embedding of Gecko, it maintained a technology called XULRunner.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> XULRunner was a stand-alone implementation of the Gecko engine designed to launch applications.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> K-Meleon 74 used XULRunner instead of Mozilla's deprecated embedding software.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Asian2014" /> Outside the new engine, version 74 brought small improvements, including better CPU use and minor bug fixes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

K-Meleon 75 included a spelling checker, form auto-completion, and a new skin system.<ref name="Razvan2014">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Boissonnade751">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Boissonnade began work on version 76 but suffered a hard disk drive failure during beta testing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Goanna branch

File:K-MeleonThemeComparison.png

Two screenshots of K-Meleon 76 with the same K-Meleon theme but different system themes

Active development on K-Meleon takes place using Goanna,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a fork of Gecko created for the browser Pale Moon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> With Firefox Quantum, Mozilla rewrote large parts of its browser engine.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017, Roy Tam forked K-Meleon 76 to run on Goanna.<ref name="Roytam2017">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The project's former lead developer Boissonnade wrote; "Thanks for taking care of that little lizard [after I] left it".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> K-Meleon on Goanna remains compatible with deprecated versions of Windows and can run with smaller amounts of RAM than those required by mainstream web browsers.<ref name="Shareef2022">Template:Cite news</ref> K-Meleon has lower memory requirements than other low-resource browsers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

K-Meleon is updated on a rolling release schedule.<ref name="Roytam2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By default, the browser is a multi-lingual portable application that can directly run from the host computer or removable media.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is also included in the PortableApps.com repository.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By 2023, K-Meleon was not compatible with major web apps and social media sites.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of October 2024, the final planned release is version 76.5.5.<ref name="Roytam-2024"/>

Customization

Customization of K-Meleon's interface is possible using text-format configuration files called configs.<ref name="Ventura2002" /> The menus, keyboard shortcuts, and more can all be customized via K-Meleon's configuration files.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> These configs can call upon macros,<ref name="Doozan2001a" /> a type of extension that can be opened in a text editor.<ref name="FileInfo" />

A simple "Hello, World!" program could be written in K-Meleon's macro language that would pop up a small window with the message "Hello world!".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

<syntaxhighlight lang="apache"> HelloWorld{

       alert("Hello world!");

} </syntaxhighlight>

To trigger the macro, a keyboard accelerator could be created by adding the code below to the accelerator config, causing the macro to launch if the Ctrl, Alt, and H keys are pressed at the same time.<ref name="Doozan2001a">Template:Cite document Doozan described the accelerator syntax to add a macro command as "Sample Usage: in accel.cfg KEY = macros(example)" with "example" being the name of an individual macro sections enclosed in brackets.</ref>

<syntaxhighlight lang="clojurescript"> CTRL ALT H = macros(HelloWorld) </syntaxhighlight>

Custom toolbars offer more options, but the syntax is similar. The example below would create a new toolbar with a button to trigger a macro.<ref name="Doozan2001">Template:Cite document Doozan documents the formatting as "ToolBar Name { Button Name { command id (required) } }" with many optional parameters including size, "Tool Bar(16,16){ = NAME OF TOOLBAR* (WIDTH, HEIGHT), DEFAULT=(16,16)", and bitmap "image file[s]" for various states.</ref>

<syntaxhighlight lang="Apache"> NewToolbar{

  !NewButton{

macros(HelloWorld)

  }

} </syntaxhighlight>

This combination of configs and macro modules provides control over much of the browser.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It also creates a learning curve for customization that is not present in most browsers. A CNET review criticized K-Meleon because it "requires some knowledge of computer code to get the most out of it".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Popular browsers use systems like WebExtensions, where there is a separation between users and extension developers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Because of its flexibility, K-Meleon was useful for environments in which the browser needed to be customized for public use, such as libraries and Internet cafés.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It allowed administrators to hide some features from patrons.<ref name="Jesdanun2002">Template:Cite news</ref> For example, a library could hide interface elements like the address bar or limit the computer's access to an online resource like the library catalog.<ref name="Ventura2002">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Legacy Windows versions

K-Meleon supports a range of legacy software and hardware.<ref name="Shareef2022"/> Version 76 supports Windows XP (2001) and Windows Vista (2006).<ref name="Haller2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Windows XP and its Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 variant have been unsupported since 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Efn The latest major browser releases to support these operating systems are Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 (2014),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Google Chrome 49.0.2623.112 (2016),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Mozilla Firefox 52.9.0 (2018).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Web browsers cannot access secure websites if they do not support Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2018, most major web sites use TLS encryption via HTTPS.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn Early versions of K-Meleon for Windows 2000 and Windows 9X receive occasional updates for TLS certificates.<ref name="Shareef2022" /> K-Meleon 74 can access secure websites on Windows 2000 using an old version of the Goanna engine combined with up-to-date ciphers.<ref name="Roytam2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> K-Meleon 1.5 can run on Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Occasional TLS updates allow version 1.5 to access secure websites.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Release history

K-Meleon, which was first released in 2000, has been under development for over 20 years and is still maintained. The most-recent version K-Meleon 76 is updated on a rolling release schedule. All versions of K-Meleon are written for Microsoft Windows operating systems.Template:Efn

Complete K-Meleon release history

Version	Initial Release	Latest Update	Gecko Version	Notes
0.1	Aug 21, 2000	Aug 21, 2000	M17	<ref name="Mook2000" />
0.2	Nov 26, 2000	Jan 29, 2001	M18	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
0.3	Feb 13, 2001	Feb 13, 2001	0.8	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
0.4	May 11, 2001	May 11, 2001	0.9	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
0.5	Sep 27, 2001	Sep 27, 2001	0.9.4	citation	CitationClass=web }}, Or alternate archived file link: K-Meleon 0.5 Release Notes</ref>
0.6	Oct 30, 2001	Oct 30, 2001	0.9.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
0.7	Oct 31, 2002	Feb 12, 2003	1.2b	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
0.8	Nov 10, 2003	Dec 23, 2003	1.5	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
0.9	Jan 18, 2005	Apr 25, 2006	1.7.13	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1.0	Jul 15, 2006	Sep 22, 2006	1.8.0.7	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1.1	May 22, 2007	Jul 18, 2008	1.8.1.17	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1.5	Aug 8, 2008	Dec 9, 2022	1.8.1.24	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Roytam2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1.6	Nov 14, 2010	Dec 12, 2010	1.9.1.20	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
74.0	Sep 8, 2014	Aug 14, 2021	24.7	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Roytam2021" />
75.0	Nov 25, 2014	Jun 24, 2015	31.5	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
75.1	Sep 19, 2015	Dec 14, 2022	31.8	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
76.0 RC	May 2, 2016	Dec 20, 2016	38.8	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
76.G	Nov 28, 2017	Dec 15, 2018	Goanna 3.x	Template:NoteTag<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
76.2.G	Jan 10, 2019	Aug 22, 2020	Goanna 3.4.6	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
76.3.G	Aug 29, 2020	Feb 5, 2021	Goanna 3.4.6	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
76.4.G	Feb 12, 2021	Apr 7, 2023	Goanna 3.4.6	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
76.5.G	Dec 1, 2024	Oct 10, 2024	Goanna 3.6.0	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Notes General references for this table include K-Meleon file releases,<ref>For versions 0.2–75.1: {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation					CitationClass=web }}</ref> release notes,<ref>For versions 0.2–0.8.2: {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} (Individual version release notes available under the respective [Notes] link.)</ref> changelogs,<ref name="Boissonnade751" /> and the Announcements forum.<ref>For versions 1.1–76: {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Comparison of feed aggregators
• Comparison of lightweight web browsers
• Comparison of web browsers
• List of feed aggregators
• List of web browsers

External links

• Unified XUL Platform MDN Backup – Archive of pre-Quantum Mozilla documentation applicable to the Goanna engine and UXP applications
• Roy Tam's repositories on GitHub – Refer to developer Roy Tam's repositories for the latest version of the browser shell and browser engine source code
• Template:Official website