evince

Open a PDF file

$ evince [path/to/file.pdf]

$ evince [file1.pdf file2.pdf ...]

$ evince [[-f|--fullscreen]] [path/to/file.pdf]

$ evince [[-s|--presentation]] [path/to/file.pdf]

$ evince [[-i|--page-index]] [5] [path/to/file.pdf]

evince [OPTION...] [URI...]

-?, --help
    Show help options

--help-all
    Show all help options

--help-gtk
    Show GTK+ options

--display=DISPLAY
    X display to use

--screen=SCREEN
    X screen to use

--sm-client-id=CLIENT-ID
    Specify session manager client ID

--warning-level=LEVEL
    Set warning level (0-3)

-l, --page-label=NUM
    Display specific page label

-n, --page-index=NUM
    Display specific page index

--named-dest=DEST
    Jump to named destination

-f, --fullscreen
    Start in full-screen mode

-s, --presentation
    Start in presentation mode

-t, --toolbar[=0|1]
    Show (1) or hide (0) toolbar

--preview-window
    Open in preview window

--action-name=ACTION
    Activate named action

--print-settings-filename=FILENAME
    Load print settings from file

--print-settings-set=KEY=VALUE
    Set print setting

--print
    Print the document

--untitled
    Open untitled window

Evince is the default document viewer for the GNOME desktop environment, providing a simple, lightweight interface for viewing multiple file formats. It supports PDF, PostScript (PS), DjVu, TIFF, DVI, XPS, and comic books (CBZ/CBR). Key features include full-screen and presentation modes, page thumbnails, text search, printing, and PDF annotations. Evince is built with GTK and integrates seamlessly with GNOME shell extensions and file managers like Nautilus via thumbnailers. It emphasizes minimalism, avoiding bloat while offering essential functionality such as continuous scrolling, zoom controls, and metadata viewing. Users can open multiple documents in tabs or separate windows. Evince handles URIs, making it suitable for scripts and desktop launchers. It's actively maintained by the GNOME community and available in most Linux distributions.

Requires graphical session (X11/Wayland); no headless mode. Some formats need additional backends (e.g., libdjvu). Printing requires CUPS.

PDF, PS, DjVu, DVI, TIFF, XPS, CBZ/CBR comics.
Backends in /usr/lib/evince/backends.

Generates thumbnails for Nautilus/GNOME Files via /usr/share/thumbnailers/evince-thumbnailer.thumbnailer.

Evince originated in 2003 with GNOME 2.4 as a replacement for ggv and gpdf. Developed by the GNOME community, it unified backends for multiple formats. Major releases align with GNOME cycles; version 40+ supports GTK4 and Wayland natively.

xdg-open(1), gv(1), xpdf(1), zathura(1), okular(1)