Ladybird Browser: June Update Brings Downloads, History, and Linux Sandboxing

ladybird browser open-source linux security

The independent open-source browser Ladybird published its June monthly update. The browser, still in active development and working toward its first alpha release, now ships several features users expect from a modern browser.

File Downloads and History Finally Arrive

Two of the biggest additions: Ladybird can now save files locally. The update adds a toolbar download indicator, a popover showing active downloads with progress, an about page, download cancellation support, and a confirmation prompt when quitting during active downloads.

Browsing history is here too. A new about page lists local browsing history, supports searching, and allows deleting individual entries. Right-clicking or long-pressing the back and forward buttons opens a native history menu with saved page titles and favicons.

DevTools and Media Playback

Developers get a new Storage tab in DevTools for inspecting and modifying cookies, localStorage, sessionStorage, and IndexedDB databases. CSS rule inspection now shows individual declarations behind computed values, including overridden and invalid rules with working jump-to-source links.

On the media side, Ladybird now supports playback speed changes. Audio is time-stretched so pitch stays stable when speeding up or slowing down.

Default Linux Sandboxing

The most security-relevant change: sandboxing is now enabled by default. Helper processes on Linux run inside real security sandboxes using seccomp and Landlock. macOS uses Seatbelt profiles.

Additionally, GPU access has moved into the sandboxed compositor process. WebContent processes no longer need direct GPU access, improving isolation between web content and graphics operations.

JavaScript and WebAssembly

The LibJS engine now uses its optimized assembly interpreter across all platforms. JavaScript strings moved to UTF-16 internally, matching the language specification and reducing conversion overhead. WebAssembly GC support and parts of the exception-handling proposal also landed in LibWasm.

To try Ladybird, check out the source on GitHub. The browser remains open source, though public code contributions are now limited to maintainers.