WebKit 610 + TLS 1.2 [BETA]
What this is
A modern WebKit engine (610.1.15.5, Safari 13.1-era) cross-compiled for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (Intel x86_64), plus a TLS 1.2 backport for the system Security framework so HTTPS sites that modern servers require actually connect.
Versus the Safari that shipped with 10.6, this brings years of engine progress: modern CSS (flexbox/grid), current JavaScript, WOFF2 web fonts, and — critically — TLS 1.2 with AES-GCM, which stock Snow Leopard cannot negotiate at all.
This is a hobbyist preservation/retrocomputing project, not a security product. The TLS work makes more sites reachable, but do not rely on it for banking, passwords, or anything sensitive.
Highlights
Download
Requirements
Mac OS X 10.6.8
Safari 5.0.5
Pacifist 3.0.10
LINKS
STEPS
1. Download both Safari 5.0.5 and Pacifist from the links above.
(It is assumed you are on a higher version of Safari, and we will need to downgrade the UI. If you are on 5.0.5 already, you may skip to step 6)
2. Install and open Pacifist.
3. From within Pacifist, open Safari5.0.5SnowLeopard.dmg
4. Once opened, navigate to Applications and right/ctrl click Safari.app and choose 'Install to Default Location'. (Make sure you do not have Safari open!)
View attachment 2642177
5. You will be prompted for Administrative credentials, after which your Safari UI is downgraded back to 5.0.5.
6. Install the Webkit through its installer from the DMG.
7. Install the TLS through its installer in the DMG.
8. Double click on the WebKit as you would normally open Safari and navigate through the web pages.
What works
Known limitations (please read before reporting)
How to report problems (IMPORTANT)
A report is only actionable if I know which page caused it. For every crash or rendering problem, include:
How to get the crash log
Or in Terminal:
Copy/paste report template. Wrap it in a spoiler as the example below to reduce spam.
What helps most
Roadmap
Thanks for testing — this gets better fast with real crash data. The URL + crash log combo is exactly what I need.
What this is
A modern WebKit engine (610.1.15.5, Safari 13.1-era) cross-compiled for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (Intel x86_64), plus a TLS 1.2 backport for the system Security framework so HTTPS sites that modern servers require actually connect.
Versus the Safari that shipped with 10.6, this brings years of engine progress: modern CSS (flexbox/grid), current JavaScript, WOFF2 web fonts, and — critically — TLS 1.2 with AES-GCM, which stock Snow Leopard cannot negotiate at all.
This is a hobbyist preservation/retrocomputing project, not a security product. The TLS work makes more sites reachable, but do not rely on it for banking, passwords, or anything sensitive.
Highlights
- TLS 1.2 support (RSA, ECDHE, and AES-GCM cipher suites) — connects to modern HTTPS sites that stock 10.6 rejects outright
- Modern CSS layout (flexbox, grid) and current JavaScript
- WOFF2 web fonts
- Self-contained app bundle with its own installer and uninstaller in the DMG
Download
- DMG: WebKit-610.1.15-SnowLeopard-x86_64.dmg
- SHA-256: 4f0d2230262e58f7f4e32c896d57c23b021c9c4122bfe1eb1acba1357a35efb3 (verify with
shasum -a 256 <file>.dmg) - Size: [52.33mb]
Requirements
- OS: Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, Intel 64-bit (x86_64)
- Mac: 64-bit Intel.
- IMPORTANT: only Safari 5.0.5 (the last pure-WebKit1
Safari) can load it — Safari 5.1.x uses WK2 and will NOT use this build. Replace
the stock 10.6 Safari 5.1.10 with Safari 5.0.5 in /Applications first.
WebGL/WebGL2, indexed DB, crypto, and accelerated compositing are enabled;
media features needing AVFoundation (10.7+) and WebGPU/Metal (10.11+) are off.
Install
Mac OS X 10.6.8
Safari 5.0.5
Pacifist 3.0.10
LINKS
STEPS
1. Download both Safari 5.0.5 and Pacifist from the links above.
(It is assumed you are on a higher version of Safari, and we will need to downgrade the UI. If you are on 5.0.5 already, you may skip to step 6)
2. Install and open Pacifist.
3. From within Pacifist, open Safari5.0.5SnowLeopard.dmg
4. Once opened, navigate to Applications and right/ctrl click Safari.app and choose 'Install to Default Location'. (Make sure you do not have Safari open!)
View attachment 2642177
5. You will be prompted for Administrative credentials, after which your Safari UI is downgraded back to 5.0.5.
6. Install the Webkit through its installer from the DMG.
7. Install the TLS through its installer in the DMG.
8. Double click on the WebKit as you would normally open Safari and navigate through the web pages.
What works
- HTTPS sites over TLS 1.2 (including AES-GCM-only servers)
- Modern CSS / JavaScript / WOFF2 fonts
- Many mainstream sites render and are usable
- WebGL Aquarium renders at 27FPS with 500 samples
Known limitations (please read before reporting)
- Not every HTTPS site connects. TLS 1.2 with common cipher suites works, but some servers may negotiate ciphers/curves this backport doesn't yet cover. If a site won't connect, report the URL — that's useful data.
- Known rendering bug — blank text on some sites: on a few sites (notably bbc.co.uk/news) body text doesn't paint even though the page loads and is interactive; some other sites drop images instead. Actively being investigated; it's a 10.6-specific paint issue. Still report the URL so I can build a list.
- Single-process legacy WebKit — a bad page can take down the whole app.
- Not for sensitive browsing; no security guarantees.
How to report problems (IMPORTANT)
A report is only actionable if I know which page caused it. For every crash or rendering problem, include:
- The exact URL (full link, not "a news site").
- What happened: crashed / text missing / images missing / hang / broken layout / won't connect (HTTPS) / other.
- Reproducible? Every time, or just once?
- Your setup: exact 10.6.x, Mac model, RAM.
- The crash log (below), if it crashed.
How to get the crash log
- Open Console (
/Applications/Utilities/Console.app). - Expand ~/Library/Logs → CrashReporter (also check /Library/Logs/CrashReporter and DiagnosticReports).
- Find the newest entry for the browser process (
WebKit/ [the actual process name], named likeWebKit_<date>.crash). - Copy the entire report — the Exception Type, the Crashed Thread backtrace, and the top ~20 frames matter most.
Or in Terminal:
Code:
ls -lt ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/ | headCopy/paste report template. Wrap it in a spoiler as the example below to reduce spam.
URL: https://example.com/the-exact-page
Problem: App crashed on load (or: text missing / images missing / hang / HTTPS won't connect)
Reproducible: Yes — every time
OS: Mac OS X 10.6.8
Mac: MacBook Pro (mid-2010), 4 GB RAM
Notes: Crashed ~2s into rendering
--- crash log ---
Problem: App crashed on load (or: text missing / images missing / hang / HTTPS won't connect)
Reproducible: Yes — every time
OS: Mac OS X 10.6.8
Mac: MacBook Pro (mid-2010), 4 GB RAM
Notes: Crashed ~2s into rendering
--- crash log ---
Code:
[paste the full .crash report here]What helps most
- One report per site. Three sites crashing = three blocks, not one merged log.
- Render bug that doesn't crash? A screenshot + URL is just as useful as a crash log.
- If you can, say whether the same URL works in stock 10.6 Safari or a modern browser elsewhere — tells me if it's content-specific.
- For HTTPS connection failures, the URL alone is enough — no crash log needed.
Roadmap
- Switching to Webkit-612 which might allow full Github rendering.
Thanks for testing — this gets better fast with real crash data. The URL + crash log combo is exactly what I need.
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