>[!DANGER] > The development team has utilized DMCA Takedowns against forks. > > I will not be including Basilisk in any future browser roundups or lists and I recommend that you avoid it at all costs. Basilisk Browser is a [[MPLv2]] licensed [[Web Browser]], fork of [[Pale Moon]], which is itself a fork of [[Firefox]]. - [Website](https://www.basilisk-browser.org/) - [Source](https://repo.palemoon.org/Basilisk-Dev/Basilisk) > A non-Chromium, non-Firefox desktop web browser developed independently, for users who value stability, control, and long-term compatibility. \- official website (despite the implication, it is a fork of an old version of [[Firefox]] that is now independently developed) # Notability A slightly more modern UI compared to [[Pale Moon]] and potentially better compatibility with modern websites. # Philosophy ## DMCA Takedowns Against Forks As part of the [[Pale Moon]] family, there is a common thread of aggressive actions by the developers to pursue their trademarks, to an extent rivaling Apple and Nintendo. - https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/b3ac5ebf34b80a21a7a066d15730f5e87c6f2a0f/2024/10/2024-10-17-basilisk.md - https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/b3ac5ebf34b80a21a7a066d15730f5e87c6f2a0f/2024/09/2024-09-24-basilisk.md - https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/b3ac5ebf34b80a21a7a066d15730f5e87c6f2a0f/2024/10/2024-10-14-basilisk.md ## Origin Honestly I am fuzzy on where it originally came from. I think it was a fork of [[Pale Moon]] to experiment with new features and it diverged from mainline. Some of its features were merged into [[Pale Moon]], but others were not. Then it was discontinued. Then another dev took over the project.[^2] Built on the same [[Goanna Browser Engine]] as [[Pale Moon]] and shares forums and infrastructure with it as well. ## Redistribution >[!NOTE] > In the time since this quote was obtained ([[2025-03-20]]) it seems that the terms have changed. Because the website is excluded from [[Internet Archive]], this may be the only remaining evidence that it was ever there. Basilisk ~~has~~ once had incredibly draconian redistribution terms. This attempt reflects poorly on the developer's priorities and philosophy. The [[Pale Moon]] redistribution terms are also cumbersome, and aggressively enforced, but do not include anything like this: > Ban on Web Archives: Uploading any official Basilisk-branded binaries, executables, images, or other files to web archive sites, such as archive.org or any other similar services, is strictly prohibited. This measure is to prevent unauthorized distribution and ensure the control and integrity of the officially-branded versions. The current [[2026-03-05]] version of the branding page[^1] appears normal and does not have any particularly egregious terms. # Platform Support - Linux - macOS - Windows - NetBSD # Features ## Features Over Pale Moon - WebRTC ## Differences to Pale Moon The main difference is the UI layer. # Tips See also: [[Pale Moon#Tips]] # References [^1]: https://www.basilisk-browser.org/branding.html [^2]: https://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=29462