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→How Gecko Loads a GMP
== How Gecko Loads a GMP ==
Gecko scans known locations either on disk or in the Windows registry for GMPs. * Windows** 'Path' entry for child entries of registry entry 'Software\\MozillaPlugins' under 'ROOT_KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE'* OS X** <code>~/Library/Internet Plugins/</code>** <code>/Library/Internet Plugins/</code>* Linux** <code>/usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/</code> It maintains a list of known GMPs, and when an API is requested by a consumer it scans the list for a GMP that can provide the API.
Gecko will then spin up a child process for the GMP. GMPs can only be loaded out-of-process, there is no in-process option. Furthermore, child processes may be sandboxed, so GMPs cannot depend on being able to do things outside of the sandbox (like write to disk).
