elinks
Browse websites in a text-based environment
TLDR
Start ELinks
Quit elinks
Dump output of webpage to console, colorizing the text with ANSI control codes
SYNOPSIS
elinks [OPTIONS] [URL]
PARAMETERS
-dump
Dumps the content of the specified URL(s) to standard output. Useful for programmatic retrieval.
-force-html
Forces the given document to be interpreted as HTML, overriding its declared content type.
-no-frames
Disables the rendering of HTML frames, displaying content sequentially instead.
-no-images
Prevents the display of images. This is the default in text mode, but can prevent ASCII art images from loading.
-anonymous
Starts browsing in an anonymous mode for the specified URL, disabling history, cookies, caches, and other persistent data for privacy.
-config
Specifies an alternative configuration file to load instead of the default one.
-session
Loads or saves the browser session (e.g., open tabs, visited history) from/to the specified file.
-eval
Evaluates a piece of ELinks Scripting Language (ELS) code before starting the browser, allowing for advanced customization or automation.
-v, --version
Displays the version information of elinks and exits.
-h, --help
Displays a brief help message with common options and exits.
DESCRIPTION
elinks is a free, open-source, text-mode web browser designed for Unix-like operating systems. It enables users to browse the web directly from a terminal or console, making it an excellent choice for headless servers, embedded systems, or simply for users who prefer a keyboard-driven interface.
While not a graphical browser, elinks offers robust capabilities for a text-mode environment. It supports various internet protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and more. It features advanced rendering for text browsers, including support for tables, frames, and basic CSS styling, which helps in presenting a more structured and readable view of web pages. Its lightweight nature, speed, and extensibility through its built-in ELinks Scripting Language (ELS) make it a powerful and highly customizable tool for console-based web browsing.
CAVEATS
Being a text-mode browser, elinks has significant limitations with modern web content. It typically does not execute JavaScript, cannot render complex CSS layouts, and struggles with dynamic web applications. It also cannot display graphical elements (images, videos) directly, though it can show their textual representations or download them. While generally secure for its purpose, it lacks the advanced security features of modern graphical browsers.
SCRIPTING CAPABILITIES
elinks incorporates a powerful internal scripting language, ELS (ELinks Scripting Language), which allows users to automate tasks, extend browser functionality, and extensively customize its behavior.
PROTOCOL SUPPORT
Beyond common web protocols like HTTP and HTTPS, elinks supports a variety of other protocols including FTP, IPv4, IPv6, and more, making it versatile for diverse network operations.
CUSTOMIZATION
Nearly every aspect of elinks, from keybindings and color schemes to rendering preferences, is highly configurable through its comprehensive configuration files and scripting language, allowing users to tailor it precisely to their needs.
HISTORY
elinks originated as a fork of the Links web browser project in the early 2000s. Its creation was driven by a desire to introduce more advanced features and maintain a more active development cycle compared to the original Links. Over the years, elinks has evolved to include features like tabbed browsing, improved rendering capabilities, and a powerful internal scripting language, establishing itself as a robust and highly customizable console-based web browser.
