Created by Mozilla Research in 2012, the Servo project was the first major Rust codebase other than the compiler itself, and has since been a hallmark for experimental web engine design. Major components of Servo have been incorporated into the Firefox web browser, and several of its parsers and other lower-level libraries have become foundational to the Rust ecosystem.

As a promising, modern, and open web engine for building applications and immersive experiences using web technologies, stewardship of Servo moved from Mozilla Research to the Linux Foundation in 2020. In 2023, Servo experienced renewed activity led by Igalia, a Linux Foundation Europe member that now has a team of engineers working on the project. Today we are pleased to announce that the Servo project has officially joined Linux Foundation Europe.

“By joining Linux Foundation Europe, Servo is looking to increase its visibility within the strong grassroots European community, grow in market penetration, and thus its funding potential to ensure long term sustainability”, said Manuel Rego, chair of the Servo Technical Steering Committee. “We want to build a stronger community around the project, with more organisations and contributors participating in Servo’s development, and we strongly believe being a part of Linux Foundation Europe, within the broader Linux Foundation federation, will help make that possible.”

“I am excited to welcome our fourth project in less than a year to Linux Foundation Europe” said Gabriele Columbro, General Manager of Linux Foundation Europe. “With almost 24,000 Github stars, not only Servo represents one of the most popular projects in the Rust ecosystem so critical to the design and implementation of memory safe software, but could provide further alternatives in the world of browser engines, at a time where critical EU regulations like the DMA and DSA are set to redefine the very online consumer experience in Europe.”

What is Servo?

Servo is a web rendering engine, a piece of software that processes web pages together with other resources like images and stylesheets, producing output that users can view and interact with. Rendering engines are a major component of web browsers, but other applications can also benefit from using web technologies for their user interfaces. With robust support for WebGL and WebGPU, Servo can handle a wide range of interactive or immersive applications.

Written in Rust and built for the future, Servo takes full advantage of the memory safety and concurrency features of the Rust programming language, which means faster and more energy-efficient rendering with fewer vulnerabilities. “Servo is very well known and loved in the Rust community, and we’re excited to be part of this new chapter in its development”, said Delan Azabani, an Igalia engineer working on Servo.

Today, Servo is cross-platform, supporting Windows, macOS, and Linux. The team is now working on Android support, and is actively seeking new platforms and embedded devices to port Servo to in the future.

What can Servo do for you?

Servo can be used to build embedded applications with web technologies, such as kiosk interfaces and digital signage. At present, Servo is especially suited to applications that use WebGL or WebGPU, as well as CSS-based applications where the developer has control over how components are implemented. Servo’s layout engine can similarly be used as the basis for Rust-based native UI frameworks.

You can see examples of what Servo can do by visiting demo.servo.org.

Learn more about Servo

This year, Servo has had a strong presence at several events in the web browser space and Rust ecosystem. Servo team members have participated in RustNL, Web Engines Hackfest, and Embedded Open Source Summit. We recommend watching the Web Engines Hackfest talk by Igalia’s Delan Azabani if you want to know more about the project.

This month, you can find Servo at several events, including W3C TPAC and GOSIM 2023. Servo will also be represented at the Linux Foundation events in Bilbao (Spain), the Linux Foundation Europe Member Summit and Open Source Summit Europe, where Servo team members will present new project updates. If you are attending any of these events or have any other questions about the project, be sure to reach out to us at info@servo.org.

Join the project

Servo is developed on GitHub. We welcome external contributors, and we’re always happy to help new people join the project. If your organisation is interested in Servo and would like to contribute to the project, please contact us at join@servo.org.

For more details or to stay up to date with the latest updates on the project, go to servo.org.