Learning Unix for Mac OS X, Second Edition

Lynx, a Text-Based Web Browser

There are a number of excellent web browsers available for Mac OS X, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Chimera, Mozilla, Omniweb, and Opera. However, attractive, graphically based web browsers can be slow — especially with flashy, graphics-laden web pages on a slow network.

The Lynx web browser (originally from the University of Kansas, and available on many Unix systems) is different because it’s a text-based web browser that works within the Terminal application. Being text-only causes it to have some tradeoffs you should know about. Lynx indicates where graphics occur in a page layout; you won’t see the graphics, but the bits of text that Lynx uses in their place can clutter the screen. Still, because it doesn’t have to download or display those graphics, Lynx is fast, which is especially helpful over a dialup modem or busy network connection. Sites with complex multicolumn layouts can be hard to follow with Lynx; a good rule is to page through the screens, looking for the link you want and ignore the rest. Forms and drop-down lists are a challenge at first, but Lynx always gives you helpful hints for forms and lists, as well as other web page elements, in the third line from the bottom of the screen. With those warts (and others), though, once you get a feel for Lynx you may find yourself choosing to use it — even on a graphical system.

The Lynx command line syntax is:

lynx "location"

For example, to visit the O’Reilly home page, enter