Playback

To serve the ever-changing needs of the archiving community and of users, IIPC members and the wider web archiving community are working together to support open-source versions of software used to  ‘play back’ archived websites in the user’s browser. Key replay tools used by IIPC members include OpenWayback (OWB), Python Wayback (pywb) and SolrWayback. While OWB used to be the main playback tool used by IIPC Members, it is gradually being replaced by pywb, with some web archives using it alongside pywb and SolrWayback.

pywb

Pywb, developed by Webrecorder.net, is a Python implementation of web archival replay tools. In 2020, the IIPC recommended pywb as a replay solution and worked to support IIPC members’ adoption of pywb. The project’s outcome is an openly available Transition Guide and use cases that IIPC members have been sharing via blog posts and technical webinars. The recommended setup is to use OutbackCDX, an indexing tool developed by Alex Osborne of the National Library of Australia, alongside pywb. Web archives currently using pywb for replay include Arquivo.pt, Vefsafn.is, the UK Web Archive and the Web Archive at UNT.

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SolrWayback

The SolrWayback software bundle, developed by Netarkivet.dk, is an out-of-the-box solution with index workflow, a Solr and Tomcat web server, and a free text search interface with playback functionality. SolrWayback relies on real-time access to WARC files and a Solr index populated by the UK Web Archive webarchive-discovery tool. It has a built-in playback engine and can be integrated with pywb. Publicly available use cases include the Hungarian Web Archive and the IIPC collaborative collections hosted by Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

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OpenWayback

IIPC funded the development of OpenWayback which is still being used by some web archives. OpenWayback was subsequently maintained by the wider web archiving community under the leadership of Lauren Ko, University of North Texas, and while it is not currently under development, the following resources are available online: