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Access any web page from a terminal with these quick commands
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Whether you want to browse the web in a text-only browser or launch a GUI browser like Chromium or Firefox in a terminal on Linux, we have you covered. Read on to learn easy ways to browse the internet in a Linux terminal window, plus how to open a graphical browser using terminal commands.
Browsing the Internet from a Linux Terminal
- To go to a website in a terminal, install a browser like w3m or Links2.
- Once installed, use "w3m <website address>" or "links2 <website address>" to browse the web in a terminal window.
- To open a graphical web browser like Chrome or Chromium from the command line, use "google-chrome &" or "chromium-browser &".
Steps
Section 1 of 3:
Browse from the Terminal with w3m
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Install w3m. You can use the text-based w3m web browser to browse the internet from the terminal. It isn't preinstalled, but you can get the package from your distribution's default repositories.- If you're using Ubuntu or another Debian-based Linux , use the command sudo apt install w3m to get it.
- On Red Hat, Fedora, or other RH-based distros, use sudo dnf install w3m .
- On Arch Linux, Manjaro, or other distros that use the pacman package manager, use sudo pacman -S w3m .
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Consider installing xterm. In the default terminal application, you won't be able to use w3m's handy right-click menu or view images. If you use xterm, a replacement terminal app , instead, you can right-click any page to access features like Back , View Source , Bookmark , and even a Quit option.- Xterm is available through your distro's repositories—just use the installation command from above but replace w3m with xterm to install it.
- One installed, you can launch xterm by typing xterm at the prompt and pressing ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return , or by selecting it in from your app list.
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Use w3m (website address) to visit a website. For example, if you want to browse wikiHow's website, type w3m www.wikihow.com and press Enter or Return .- If you want to see images on the page, you'll need to use a different terminal app like xterm.
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Navigate around the site.- Use the arrow keys to go up, down, left, or right, or just use your mouse.
- To follow a link, select it and press Enter or Return . [1] X Research source
- To type into a text box, click the text box with your cursor, press Enter or Return , type your text, and press Enter or Return again.
- To follow a link, navigate to it using the arrow keys (or click it with your cursor), then press Enter or Return .
- If you're using xterm instead of the default terminal app, right-click anywhere on the page to access additional options.
- Press B to go back.
- Use ⇧ Shift + T to open a new tab.
- In xterm, you can view an image by selecting it and pressing i .
- To search for text on a page, press / , type your search term, and press Enter or Return . You can press n to find the next instance of your search term, or N (capital) to go back.
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Section 2 of 3:
Browse from the Terminal with Links2
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Install Links2. Links2 is another web browser you can use to access the web from the Linux terminal. It even has a graphical version you can open from the command line if you prefer to see images and use your mouse to browse.- If using Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux versions, install Links2 with sudo apt install links2 .
- On Red Hat, Fedora, or other RH-based distros, use sudo dnf install links2 .
- On Arch Linux, Manjaro, or other distros that use the pacman package manager, use sudo pacman -S links2 .
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Use links2 (website address) to visit a website. For example, if you want to browse wikiHow's website, type links2 www.wikihow.com and press Enter or Return . -
Use links2 -g (website address) to launch the GUI version of Links2. If you want features like images on the page, a back button at the top of the browser, and a right-click menu, include the "-g" option. -
Navigate around the site.- Press F9 to toggle the menu on or off. [2] X Research source
- Use the arrow keys or your cursor to navigate.
- To follow a link, select it, then press Enter or Return .
- Press s to access your bookmark manager, where you can add, remove, and find bookmarks.
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Tips
- If you don't like w3m or links2, try some alternatives—there are plenty, including elinks, lynx, and brow.sh.Thanks
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