richard7987/zen-browser-freebsd-port

This project is a FreeBSD port for Zen Browser, a Firefox based browser focused on privacy and productivity. FreeBSD does not run Linux software natively, so this port works by running Zen Browser through FreeBSD's Linux compatibility layer, and it automates the extra setup needed to make that work properly, including audio, video, and DRM support that would not function out of the box. Specifically, the port installs stub libraries needed by the browser's bundled FFmpeg for codecs like AAC audio and H264 video, so sites like Spotify and the free tier of Crunchyroll work correctly. It also installs libnotify from Rocky Linux 9 so the browser can send desktop notifications through DBus, and it includes a wrapper script that automatically detects the Widevine DRM component, and configures PulseAudio, the GTK theme, and the DBus session. To use it, a person needs FreeBSD 13.0 or later, with the Linux compatibility layer enabled first through two commands in the system configuration. After that, the port is installed by cloning the repository into the system's ports tree and running a standard FreeBSD ports install command. Widevine, which is required for services like Netflix and Crunchyroll's premium tier, is auto detected from a few common install locations, or a user can copy it over from an existing Firefox or Chrome installation. The README also lists a small block of browser preferences a user should add to their profile after first launch, covering sandbox and DRM related settings. Web notifications route through DBus to whatever notification daemon the user runs. The README notes some limitations: only the Rocky Linux 9 compatibility layer is supported, hardware video acceleration is not available since FreeBSD falls back to software rendering, and a security sandbox warning inside the browser is expected and can be hidden. Once installed, Zen Browser is available as a command line program and as a desktop application entry. The port files themselves are released under the BSD 2-Clause license, while Zen Browser itself uses the Mozilla Public License 2.0.