In this page I will try to explain in an extremely basic form the functions of the components of an application for KaiOS / Firefox OS:

• KaiOS is based on Firefox OS, and as such it supports applications in HTML, JavaScript and CSS, such as the current web pages that we are used to using on a daily basis. We can seen in certain respects KaiOS as a browser transformed into an operating system.

• The name "Boot2Gecko" suggests that in fact the engine is Gecko, used in all versions of Firefox prior to 57. When you open the Settings app and look in the "tab" more information, you can see that the platform version is 48.0a2. This confirms the hypothesis that in reality it is a browser, Firefox 48, as also suggested by certain web pages that we explore, identifying ourselves with the Mozilla's browser.

Having said that we can assume that the applications we are using are nothing more than the tabs of the navigation of a normal browser. This also makes us understand that any website can become a webapp. So being able to move a website offline on your device makes it a full-fledged webapp.

• The HTML file is the central nervous system of an application. In it are connected all the elements that are part of that page, or in the main file all the elements that make the application move. The application structure is started through a parameter, launch_path, that requires an HTML file (generally named index.html) contained in the specified path (generally in the main folder) and in which the functions and calls to the individual components of the application are indexed. Using this rule you now know how to start the structure.

• CSS lists the styles and the rendering of the app and its various HTML elements that will be displayed to the final user. Basically is the gui of the application and sometime is not needed for more simple and basic applications (it can be replaced from pictures);

• JavaScript it is practically the musculoskeletal system of the application, and is used to make all the elements move according to the instructions provided inside them. It really is the workforce of the application.

• The Manifest is the heart and lymphatic system of the application. It contains instructions for moving the whole structure of the "web page". Without it, the application has no "life".

The permissions field in the app manifest controls the app's access to various sensitive APIs on the device (sometimes called WebAPIs). The permissions are described in the following tables:

• Web apps: These only have a basic level of permissions, and don't have access to privileged or internal APIs.

• Privileged apps: These have all the permissions of web apps plus more. Hosted apps can't be privileged — they must be packaged apps.

• Internal (certified) apps: These have all the permissions of privileged and web apps plus more. Certified/internal apps can only be installed on a device by Mozilla or a device vendor; not 3rd party developers.

For more information on app types, see Types of packaged apps.

As we have seen, to start an offline app we have to set an HTML file in launch_path. To start an hosted app it's sufficient the manifest.webapp file, in wich you have to replace the launch_path line with a start_url, that requires the link of the website (EXAMPLE1).

1. application.zip file (with the actual WebIDE-compatible KaiOS/FFOS app);

2. update.webapp file (can be empty but must be present);

3. metadata.json file in the following format:

{"version": 1, "manifestURL": "app://[your_app_id]/manifest.webapp"},

Some models are ready to be downloaded and completed by you (you can find the links that refer to video tutorials in the description):