The Web Platform on Linux devices with WebKit: where are we now?

This presentation provides a comprehensive status update on WebKitGTK and WPE, the Open Source ports of the WebKit Web rendering engine that Igalia maintains for Linux devices. These ports are currently being used in millions of devices (e.g. phones, set-top boxes, smart home appliances...), leveraging the flexible architecture of WebKit to provide HW-accelerated graphics and multimedia capabilities with a minimal resource footprint (e.g., memory, binary size).

We will begin by providing some context on what WebKit is and how WebKitGTK and WPE bring the power of the Web Platform to Linux-based devices and distributions. After that, we will summarize the current status of these ports, detailing the latest and most important highlights of the work done in the past year, followed by a description of what the new developments will be focused on during 2026.

The Linux ports have experienced huge changes recently, including a massive refactoring of its graphics pipeline, the development of a new API for embedded devices, dma-buf support for zero-copy buffer sharing, a complete revamp of its QA infrastructure, and even adding support for Android. With all this in mind, this session should be useful for anyone interested in creating Web-based products on Linux devices, understanding the current state of these ports, and seeing where development is headed next.