# What's your favourite text-based web browser?



## eternal_noob (Aug 22, 2021)

Hi,

i want to install a text-based web browser on my FreeBSD 13.0-RELEASE minimal system.

Can't decide whether i should install

- www/lynx
- www/elinks
- www/w3m
- www/links
- any other?

Which one do you prefer and why?

Edit: @mods: Just realized this sub forum is about web services. If this thread is in the wrong place, please feel free to move.


----------



## kpedersen (Aug 23, 2021)

I tend to default to lynx. I think they all have the same feature but I find the "numbered links" mode to be really convenient to navigate.

(Xombrero (formerly xxxterm) used to work like this too until WebKitGtk became too horrible to work with.)

For a really heavy, though still terminal driven solution, there is browsh: https://www.brow.sh/
Certainly the most accurate (and usable on crap pages with too much Javascript) but really it is just running a full fledged Firefox behind the scenes)


----------



## shiorid (Aug 23, 2021)

I'm defaulting to EWW both on "graphical" (not really) and text mode. Sometimes Lynx


----------



## memreflect (Aug 23, 2021)

I use W3M as both a text browser and a PAGER, so there is only one set of config files and keymap files to edit to get a consistent experience whether I'm viewing a web page, piped command output, or even just a regular file.  One other useful feature is that it has browser tabs, and you can also open a page in an external browser if you want/need to do that (e.g. `/usr/local/bin/firefox --private-window`).  I do have a minor annoyance where the default history command is Ctrl-H, which tmux converts to DEL because Ctrl-H is a common control sequence created by pressing Backspace/Delete-Left, so I have both C-h and DEL mapped to the history command to account for both tmux and non-tmux usage.

The accompanying w3mman(1) Perl script is also convenient as a manpage browser because it can turn things like URLs, file names, C headers, and even items like `execve(2)` into traversable links if they are formatted correctly, and you still get the benefits of using W3M as a web browser with features like browser history and tabs.  An important caveat is that opening the rendered man pages in an external browser doesn't work because executable `file:` URLs are likely not implemented due to the security and privacy risks.  On the other hand, it's rare that you'd want to view man pages using Chromium, Firefox, etc. in the first place, so there is little point in working around the issue.  The only time I might want to do that is with a ridiculously long and information-dense page like cmake-commands(7), which is very abnormal for a man page.

That said, other choices aren't bad by any means as far as text browsers are concerned.  Links does not have a configurable keymap—unlike ELinks, Lynx, and W3M—but you may find its keybindings acceptable, so don't let that discourage you from trying it or any of the others.


----------



## Geezer (Aug 24, 2021)

I have always used lynx. It works well enough. Have not tried any of the others.


----------



## grahamperrin@ (Aug 25, 2021)

Lynx, only because it was introduced to me years ago. I typically use it only once per day.


----------



## kpedersen (Aug 25, 2021)

grahamperrin said:


> I typically use it only once per day.


Once per day... but all day?


----------



## grahamperrin@ (Aug 25, 2021)

Just once, weekdays only and only when on campus. For a firewall authentication page.


----------

