Changes

! colspan="6"|Desktop / Plugin <ref group=N name=plugin>Plugin versions of these players require a browser that supports NPAPI/PPAPI.</ref>|-|Adobe Flash Player|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}<ref group=N name=plugin />

|{{✗}} ||{{~}}<ref group=N>Adobe versions discontinued. Harman versions currently maintained for enterprise customers only.</ref> ||{{✓}}|-|[https://github.com/vidkidz/waflash WAFlash]|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://clubpenguinadvanced.github.io/waflash-demo/ Web]|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}

|[https://lightspark.github.iocom/vidkidz/ Lightsparkwaflash WAFlash]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|Webna}}<ref group=N name=plugin>Web version is only available as an NPAPI/PPAPI plugin, and is therefore not OS-agnostic.</ref>|[https://github.com/lightspark/lightspark/releases 0.8.5]|{{✓✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{~}}<small> (WIP)</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://github.com/swf2js/swf2js Download (Free Version only)]<br />Demo sites:<br />[https://swf2js.com/free/index.html Free Version]<br />[https://swf2js0.com/prod/index7.html Production Version8]

|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://docs.leaningtech.com/cheerpx-for-flash/Changelog Version 3334]

====Hybrid====;''Common aspects''Ruffle<small> ([https://ruffle.rs/demo/ web demo])</small>:''Pretty much all of the A Rust-based player that targets both HTML5 players listed here are specifically designed to be and desktop. Notably used as by a bunch of veteran Flash content sites including [https://www.newgrounds.com Newgrounds], [wikipediahttps:Polyfill (programming)|polyfills//homestarrunner.com Homestar Runner]and [https://www.coolmathgames.com CoolMathGames] , and also by webmasters who want the Internet Archive's [https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_flash Flash library]. By 2021, it had progressed to keep their the point where it can run many early Flash games, including the original Flashversion of [https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/59593/format/flash?emulate=flash Alien Hominid]; support for newer AVM2-based sites going despite files is now underway, although still far from complete. Unlike the other HTML5 options, Ruffle can actually be installed as a browser addon, with the forced obsolescence of Adobecaveat that a website's hosted copy will usually override the addon even if the site is running an older build. ====Desktop / NPAPI====[[wikipedia:NPAPI|NPAPI/PPAPI]] is an obsolete browser plugin system for a bunch of different in-browser software platforms that tried to co-exist in the earlier days of the Internet, before basically only being used for Flash Player once Flash became properly dominant. By the mid-2010s, the pluginsystem was increasingly being seen as an ancient relic that modern browsers would be better off without; these players are therefore really not intended for personal useand so, while Adobe was phasing out Flash Player in late 2020, NPAPI was gradually being dropped by all the major browser vendors. It hasn't entirely disappeared (some smaller browser devs still maintain NPAPI in their own forks of stuff like Firefox and Chromium), although but itis ''s usually not impossible.mostly''dead nowadays.

;Adobe Flash Player:The proprietary reference implementation, which Adobe stopped directly supporting in 2020. The web version relies on [[wikipedia:NPAPI|NPAPI/PPAPI]], an obsolete browser plugin system You may also notice that for many years only stuck around specifically because a lot of older Flash Player; as Adobe was phasing player projects specifically fizzled out the plugin, so too was the plugin system gradually being dropped by all the major browser vendorsaround 2009-2010. The discontinued desktop player version is still available for download from the debug downloads section of AdobeThat's websitein huge part because before then, many video hosting sites actually needed some type of SWF element to be able play videos in a browser, and Harman International is also [https://airsdk.harman.com/flashplayer maintaining an extended support version specifically for enterprise users].:;CheerpX for Flash::A payware HTML5 software package which basically just takes the Harman version development of Flash Player and uses CheerpX, open-source alternatives was motivated by people not wanting an x86 emulator in WebAssembly, increasingly large part of the Internet to make it run in modern browsers. No-one hinge on this wiki has had the chance to properly evaluate ita single proprietary software platform, but wealong with Macromedia/Adobe not necessarily seeing Linux support as a top priority. It wasn'd expect reference-level accuracy at t until the cost start of woeful performance. That being said, CheerpX apparently has an alternate mode of operation 2010 that offloads most of the emulation and processing work to an external serverYouTube in particular started pushing really hard for HTML5 media elements, at which point the HTML5 part is effectively just have since become a remote clientstandard feature in modern browsers and single-handedly made Flash Player completely redundant for multimedia playback.

;WAFlashFlash Player:A closed-source C++The proprietary reference player, which Adobe stopped directly supporting at the end of 2020. The plugin version has been delisted from Adobe's website and also has a built-toin kill-HTML5 implementation switch that technically hasnwas flipped in January 2021, so it't been made available to outside users, although there are a few sites where you can s probably not much use iteven in browsers that still support NPAPI. It seems to be However, the discontinued desktop player version is still available for download from the most accurate debug downloads section of the unofficial Flash playersAdobe's website, as of December 2021and Harman International is also [https://airsdk.harman.com/flashplayer maintaining an extended support version specifically for enterprise users].

;RuffleLightspark:A Rust implementation C++ player that mainly targets HTML5, but is also available as a 's designed specifically to provide drop-in FLOSS replacements for both the desktop player. Notably sponsored or recommended by a bunch and NPAPI versions of veteran Flash content sites including Newgrounds, Homestar Runner and CoolMathGamesPlayer. It's progressed claims to have 83% of the point where it can run many early Flash gamesoverall SWF spec covered, including the original Flash version as of [https://wwwAugust 2022, but development has been fairly slow since 2015 when it became a mostly one-person effort.newgrounds.com/portal/view/59593/format/flash?emulate=flash Alien Hominid]. Notably, unlike Lightspark historically focused on more recent versions of the other HTML5 optionsSWF spec that weren't supported by Gnash, Ruffle hence why Lightspark could (and still can be installed ) use Gnash as a browser addon, although sometimes a website will still load its own hosted copy even an automatic fallback if the addon version is more recentboth are installed simultaneously.

;AwayFLGNU Gnash:An HTML5 implementation developed by A desktop-only C++ player that went inactive in 2017, with the Away Foundationmost recent stable release dating back to 2012. Sometimes works better than RuffleProbably not much reason to use it over newer versions of Lightspark, depending on the specific Flash file you're trying which seem to runhave mostly (if not entirely) superseded Gnash for compatibility.

;LightsparkGameSWF:A An ''extremely'' old C++ implementation thatplayer, definitely one of the first serious efforts to reverse-engineer Flash Player into an open-source package. Inactive since 2009, though it did lay the foundations for Gnash. ;swfdec:Another very early effort to create an non-proprietary replacement for Flash Player. Actually pretty advanced for 2008-09, but it hasn's t been active since. ====HTML5====Pretty much all of the players listed here are specifically designed specifically to provide dropbe used as [[wikipedia:Polyfill (programming)|polyfills]] by webmasters who want to keep their Flash-based sites going despite the forced obsolescence of Adobe's in FLOSS replacements -browser Flash plugin. They are therefore largely not intended for personal use, although it's usually not impossible and some of them even have official demo pages that you can use to load whatever SWF file you want. ;CheerpX for both Flash:A proprietary software package designed to make the desktop and NPAPI versions Harman version of Flash Playerusable in modern browsers by running it inside CheerpX, a payware x86 emulator in WebAssembly. Says No-one on this wiki has had the chance to properly evaluate it , but we'd expect reference-level accuracy at the cost of woeful performance. That being said, CheerpX apparently has 79% an alternate mode of operation that offloads most of the APIs covered as emulation and processing work to a server app, at which point the in-browser part is effectively just a streaming client. ;AwayFL<small> ([https://exponenta.games/games/AFL/ web demo])</small>:Developed by the Away Foundation, this is arguably the most direct alternative to Ruffle, which it's roughly even with in terms of compatibility although there are still a bunch of January 2022SWFs that'll work fine in one but not the other.

;swf2jsWAFlash<small> ([https://clubpenguinadvanced.github.io/waflash-demo/ web demo])</small>:An openinactive, closed-core HTML5 implementation that uses a dynamic recompiler. The sourceC++-to-WebAssembly player that technically hasn't been made available "Free" version supports limited featuresto outside users, such as AS1, AS2 and ZLIB compression, whereas although there are a few sites where you can use it. It was considered the most accurate of the payware "Production" version is better suited to newer unofficial Flash files using such features players as AS3 and LZMA compression. Uses more "traditional" JavaScript rather than WebAssemblyof late 2021, so performance is less than idealalthough other still-active projects have caught up significantly.

;GNU Gnashswf2js<small> (web demos: [https://swf2js.com/free/index.html free], [https://swf2js.com/prod/index.html production])</small>:A desktopAn open-only C++ implementation core player that went inactive in 2017uses a dynamic recompiler. The source-available "Free" version supports limited features, such as AS1, with AS2 and ZLIB compression, whereas the most recent stable release dating back payware "Production" version is better suited to 2012. It focuses on older versions of newer Flash that Lightspark was historically less focused on supporting properly, hence why Lightspark could (files using such features as AS3 and still can) use Gnash as an automatic fallback if both are installed simultaneouslyLZMA compression. HoweverBuilt on more traditional JavaScript code, newer versions of Lightspark have all but completely superseded Gnash and there's not so it pretty much reason to use it at all anymore.:;GameSWF::The original basis for Gnash. An ''extremely'' old C++ implementation, definitely one of always performs worse than the first serious efforts to reverseWebAssembly-engineer Flash Player into an open-source package. It hasn't been updated at all since 2009based options, sometimes noticeably so.

:A relatively very early HTML5 implementation. Developed player, developed rather actively under Mozilla sponsorship between 2012 and 2016, but ultimately abandoned before it could reach a usable beta state.