218 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
218 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
<p align="center">
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<a href="https://nnsprod.com/git/oversu/VulpesOS" lang="en" hreflang="en"><strong>🇬🇧 English</strong></a> · <a href="https://nnsprod.com/git/oversu/VulpesOS/src/branch/main/README.fr.md" lang="fr" hreflang="fr">🇫🇷 Français</a>
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</p>
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<p align="center">
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<img src="docs/media/vulpes-logo.png" width="160" alt="Vulpes OS logo — a white and blue fox">
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</p>
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<h1 align="center">Vulpes OS</h1>
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<p align="center">
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<strong>The spirit of Firefox OS. Powered by a modern Gecko.</strong><br>
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A community continuation of Firefox OS.
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</p>
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<p align="center">
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<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Vulpes-2.7-0755be?style=flat-square" alt="Vulpes 2.7">
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<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Desktop_Gecko-156.0.1-0099cc?style=flat-square" alt="Desktop Gecko 156.0.1">
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<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Status-Preview-f3a712?style=flat-square" alt="Status: Preview">
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<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Platforms-Linux_%C2%B7_Android-334155?style=flat-square" alt="Linux and Android">
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</p>
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<p align="center">
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<a href="https://vulpes-os.org"><strong>🌐 Discover the project</strong></a>
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·
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<a href="#downloads"><strong>📥 Android APK</strong></a>
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·
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<a href="#highlights">Highlights</a>
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·
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<a href="#architecture">Architecture</a>
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·
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<a href="#roadmap">Roadmap</a>
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</p>
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---
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## 🦊 The Web as an application platform
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What if your phone’s interface were built with the same technologies as your websites?
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**Vulpes brings that Firefox OS idea back to life.** The Gaia home screen, settings and applications run on a recent Gecko engine. HTML, CSS and JavaScript remain at the heart of the experience: an interface you can read, understand and modify.
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The project connects two generations: **the original Firefox OS interface and applications**, and **the web engine maintained by Mozilla**. The aim is to let one evolve without having to rewrite the other for every release.
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**One project, two ways to run it: the Linux desktop emulator and the Vulpes OS - Preview Android application (APK).** They share Gaia and Vulpes services, with Gecko integration adapted to each platform.
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> **Publication in progress:** the three Android Previews are prepared for Releases; uploading them requires raising the server’s file size limit. Full sources, the desktop distribution and their installation instructions are being prepared. The screenshots below show the desktop prototype.
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<p align="center">
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<a href="https://nnsprod.com/git/oversu/VulpesOS/media/branch/main/docs/media/vulpes-desktop.png"><img src="docs/media/vulpes-desktop.png" width="300" alt="Actual Vulpes screenshot: the Gaia home screen in English"></a>
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<a href="https://nnsprod.com/git/oversu/VulpesOS/media/branch/main/docs/media/vulpes-gecko.png"><img src="docs/media/vulpes-gecko.png" width="300" alt="Vulpes Settings in English, showing the actual Gecko engine version"></a>
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</p>
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<p align="center"><em>Home screen and device information — actual desktop captures in English. The “Platform Version” field shows the Gecko version reported by the running engine. Click either image to enlarge it.</em></p>
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<a name="downloads"></a>
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## 📥 Android versions
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**Recommended version: Vulpes OS - Preview 2.7-156.0.1**, the latest of the three builds. APKs will be published in [Releases](https://nnsprod.com/git/oversu/VulpesOS/releases), with English/French notes and a `SHA256SUMS.txt` checksum file. **Downloads are awaiting publication.**
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| Version | Changes | Use |
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| :--- | :--- | :--- |
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| 2.7-156.0.1 | Vulpes OS - Preview name and icon; wallpaper fix included | **Recommended Preview** |
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| 2.7-preview.2 | Fixes wallpaper flashing | Archive |
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| 2.7-preview.1 | First Android Preview | Archive — known wallpaper flashing |
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Once published, the APK can be installed by opening the file on Android. Successive versions share the same package ID and signature: installing the newer build over the previous one preserves application data.
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- **Declared minimum: Android 8.0 / API 26.** Validated on an Android 16 / API 36 emulator; other configurations still need testing.
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- **Approximately 592 MiB per APK**, including ARM64, 32-bit ARM and x86_64 architectures.
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- **Development Preview:** it does not replace Android or provide cellular calls/SMS. Android media import remains to be ported.
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- **Linux desktop:** a separate development environment, with no ready-to-install public distribution yet. This simulator runs Gaia; it does not emulate all phone hardware.
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APKs will be attached to Releases, keeping binaries out of Git history. Tags for these historical builds will identify their downloads; they will not yet contain their complete build sources.
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<a name="highlights"></a>
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## ✨ What makes Vulpes interesting
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### 🔄 An engine that can keep evolving
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Moving from Gecko 45 to 52 was the first step. The desktop prototype now uses **Gecko 156.0.1**, with an architecture that separates the interface, services and engine integration.
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An update tool automates downloading a candidate version, checking its checksum and running compatibility tests. Switching versions remains an explicit action, with rollback available. Incompatibilities are detected and documented; they are not repaired automatically.
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### 🧩 Keeping Firefox OS applications alive
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Vulpes adapts the legacy APIs Gaia needs: settings, the application registry, local contacts, storage and communication between applications. This work covers their behavior, permissions and persistent data.
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Tests with archived applications accompany the porting effort. **Compatibility improves one application at a time**: the presence of a legacy API does not yet guarantee that the entire Firefox OS catalog will work.
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### 🛠️ Edit the interface without rebuilding Gecko
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Much of the interface can be developed directly in HTML, CSS and JavaScript files. Served resources and overrides can be edited and reloaded without recompiling the engine.
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Some applications still use bundles produced by the old Gaia build system. Editing them means checking which file is actually loaded: not every file in the historical sources is directly connected to the running interface yet.
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### 📱 Two ways to explore the project
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- **On Linux:** a phone-sized window with Gaia, multitasking and a browser using separate Gecko views.
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- **On Android:** **Vulpes OS – Preview**, a GeckoView application for exploring the experience without replacing your phone’s operating system.
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The Android Preview is a testing environment. It is not a ROM and does not replace Android’s telephony features.
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## 🧪 Prototype status
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| Feature | Linux desktop | Android Preview |
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| :--- | :--- | :--- |
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| Gaia home screen and application launching | ✅ Working | ✅ Available |
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| Persistent settings and translated interface | ✅ Tested workflows | ✅ Integrated; further mobile validation needed |
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| Web browsing | ✅ Separate Gecko views | ✅ Separate GeckoView sessions |
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| Contacts | ✅ Local to the profile | ✅ Local to Vulpes |
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| SMS | 🧪 Interface and local drafts | 🧪 Local interface |
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| Gallery and music | ✅ Import and playback tested | 🚧 Android media import still to be ported |
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| Alarms | ✅ Creation, delivery and persistence tested | 🧪 Tied to the Vulpes process lifetime |
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| Cellular calls and SMS | 🚧 Not integrated | 🚧 Not integrated |
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| Installation as a phone operating system | 🚧 Future work | 🚧 The APK does not replace Android |
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**Reference versions — September 2026**
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| Component | Version |
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| :--- | :--- |
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| Community product | Vulpes OS 2.7 |
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| Desktop engine | Gecko 156.0.1 |
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| Android application | Preview 2.7-156.0.1 |
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| GeckoView dependency | `156.0.20260921121718` |
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| Declared Android minimum | Android 8.0 · API 26 |
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The APK, engine and product have separate version numbers. The final `.1` in the Preview version identifies its revision; GeckoView reports **156.0** here. The declared Android minimum does not mean every device has been tested.
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<a name="architecture"></a>
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## ⚙️ Under the hood
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```text
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Gaia + web applications
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HTML · CSS · JS
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│
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Legacy moz* API compatibility
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Versioned Vulpes contracts
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│
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Settings · Applications · Contacts · Storage
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Local messages · Alarms
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│
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┌─────────────┴─────────────┐
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│ │
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Desktop host Android host
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Privileged window GeckoView + bridge
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and separate web views WebExtension/native
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│ │
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Firefox / Gecko GeckoView
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│ │
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Linux Android
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```
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### A clear boundary between applications and the system
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Applications use services whose permissions are checked by the host. External web pages use separate browsing contexts and do not receive Vulpes’s privileged APIs.
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The current desktop port uses the **official Firefox binary**, with a Vulpes host and adapters, without native engine patches. Some interfaces used by this host remain internal to Gecko, making tests essential whenever the engine version changes.
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### Updates checked before activation
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```text
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Download → Verify checksum → Test engine interfaces
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↓
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Keep old engine ← Activate ← Test Gaia and persistence
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```
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Test profiles are separate from user data. The tool keeps the previous engine and its profile to allow rollback. This pipeline currently covers the desktop; Android updates follow the APK build cycle.
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### A tested development base
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Automated checks cover, among other things:
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- booting the actual Gaia interface and loading application icons;
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- languages, settings and persistence across restarts;
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- contacts, the dial pad and the SMS composer;
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- imported media, alarms and web browsing;
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- rejecting access when the origin or permissions do not match.
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An export of the files planned for publication also booted and passed the desktop tests without the old development directories. Android asset packaging and APK compilation have been verified. This is not exhaustive validation of Firefox OS or every Android phone.
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<a name="roadmap"></a>
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## 🗺️ What’s next
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- **Publish a self-contained base:** source code, licenses, documentation and startup instructions.
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- **Strengthen compatibility:** continue testing historical applications and improving everyday workflows.
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- **Improve the Android Preview:** media access, platform integration and feedback from real devices.
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- **Reduce Gecko update maintenance:** keep service contracts stable and limit engine-specific adaptations.
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- **Explore a full mobile port:** hardware, modem, drivers and system integration once the foundation is ready.
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## 🤝 Get involved
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Useful reports include **the device or Linux distribution, the version in use, steps to reproduce the issue and the expected result**. A screenshot and a log excerpt without personal data help a lot.
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The project also welcomes work on JavaScript, CSS, Gecko/GeckoView integration, testing, translation and documentation. Contribution guidelines will accompany the source release.
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## 📜 Origins and licenses
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Vulpes builds on the work of Mozilla and the contributors to **Boot to Gecko / Firefox OS**, including Gaia.
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The license selected for new Vulpes files is the **Mozilla Public License 2.0 (`MPL-2.0`)**. Gaia and other inherited components retain their own licenses, including **Apache 2.0** for the Gaia base, along with their attribution notices. License texts and component details will accompany the source release.
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---
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<p align="center">
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<strong>VULPES</strong><br>
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Firefox OS Community Project<br><br>
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<a href="https://vulpes-os.org">vulpes-os.org</a>
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</p>
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<p align="center">
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<sub>Vulpes is an independent community project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mozilla.</sub>
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</p>
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