Pale Moon

ApplicationMoonchild Productions

Also called palemoon, pale moon browser

Moonchild ProductionsBrowsers

An independent Goanna browser that left the Firefox rapid train. On Windows the process is palemoon.exe.

What you need to know

Pale Moon is Goanna. It is not Firefox.

Moonchild Productions ships palemoon.exe on Goanna. Stock Firefox is firefox.exe. Basilisk is a different XUL browser from the same team.

What is it?: Web browser
Still current?: Yes, see Current status
Official download?: Use the vendor link in this article

Feex says

If palemoon.exe is running, I would not apply a Firefox Rapid Release fix. This is Goanna, not mozilla.org Firefox.

What is Pale Moon?

Pale Moon is Moonchild Productions' independent desktop browser on the Goanna engine. The Windows executable is palemoon.exe.

If you have never used it

If you want a browser that is not Firefox Rapid Release, this is Pale Moon. It uses the Goanna engine, not current Gecko. Download it from palemoon.org. The process is palemoon.exe. Firefox extensions from today often will not install. Basilisk is a sibling from the same team, not this exe.

What is it used for?

Goanna browsing

Pages render in Goanna. Compatibility is not identical to current Firefox or Chrome.

Older XUL-style extensions

Pale Moon keeps a XUL-style add-on world. A current Firefox WebExtension may not apply.

A non-rapid-release Firefox cousin

You opted out of Mozilla's four-week train. That is the product pitch.

Who is it for?

People who still want Pale Moon add-ons
Users who left Firefox Rapid Release on purpose
Anyone who assumed palemoon.exe was firefox.exe

Current status

Pale Moon (2009) is a current web browser from Moonchild Productions. The vendor still points Windows users at https://www.palemoon.org/.

How old is it?

Pale Moon started in 2009 as a Firefox fork and later moved to Goanna. It dropped the Firefox rapid train on purpose. Current Pale Moon is not Firefox 1.0 and not a Chromium skin.

Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

Current Windows build

System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

Minimum

Minimum system requirements
Operating system	A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per the vendor
RAM	Enough for Windows plus this app. Heavy projects want more.

Resource profile

CPU demand: Follows what you open inside the app
RAM demand: Follows documents, tabs, or libraries

Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

Installed processes
palemoon.exe	Main Windows executable

Startup components

Pale Moon can restore the last session. It is not a Windows service.

File locations

Common Pale Moon locations
Typical install	C:\Program Files\Pale Moon\

File formats

HTMLPDFPNGJPEG

Common problems

Modern sites expect current Gecko or Chromium

Some banks and SPAs break. That can be engine age, not a dead NIC.

People install Firefox add-ons blindly

Current AMO WebExtensions often fail here. Use Pale Moon add-on sources the project names.

Getting unstuck

Confirm palemoon.exe under Pale Moon

firefox.exe is Firefox. basilisk.exe is Basilisk. This folder should say Pale Moon.

Use palemoon.org/support

Release notes and add-on rules live with Moonchild. Mozilla Support will mislead you.

Install only from palemoon.org

A Pale Moon plus toolbar pack is junk.

Alternatives

Firefox if you want current Gecko. Basilisk if you want the other Moonchild XUL browser. Chrome if you need Chromium site compatibility.

Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

Official contacts
Download	www.palemoon.org/ Official installer or vendor page
Help	www.palemoon.org/support.shtml Vendor support
Official site	www.palemoon.org/ Start here, not a random exe host

Related hardware

A modest CPU is enough. Broken sites are often engine compatibility, not missing RAM.

Technical details

Vendor version numbers change. This article does not pin a build.

Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. How we research.

Pale Moon official site · Vendor product page
Pale Moon help · Vendor support
Foxhole process map · First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

Was this article useful?

A yes or no is enough. Pick a reason if you want, or add a short note.