Linux Pocket Guide

Name

lynx [options] [URL] — lynx

Synopsis

/usr/bin stdin stdout - file -- opt --help --version

lynx is a text-only web browser: a rarity these days, but quite useful when graphics don’t matter, or over slow network connections.

$ lynx http://www.yahoo.com

All browsing is done by keyboard, not mouse. Many pages will not look quite right, especially if they use tables or frames extensively, but usually you can find your way around a site.

Keystroke	Meaning
?	Get help.
k	List all keystrokes and their meanings.
^G	Cancel a command in progress.
q	Quit lynx.
Enter	“Click” the current link, or finish the current form field.
Left arrow	Back to previous page.
Right arrow	Forward to next page, or “click” the current link.
g	Go to a URL (you’ll be prompted to enter it).
p	Save, print, or mail the current page.
Spacebar	Scroll down.
b	Scroll up.
Down arrow	Go to the next link or form field.
Up arrow	Go to the previous link or form field.
^A	Go to top of page.
^E	Go to end of page.
m	Return to the main/home page.
/	Search for text on the page.
a	Bookmark the current page.
v	View your bookmark list.
r	Delete a bookmark.
=	Display properties of the current page and link.
\	View HTML source (type again to return to normal view).

lynx has over 100 command-line options, so the manpage is well worth exploring.

Useful options
-dump	Print the rendered page to standard output and exit. (Compare to -source.)
-source	Print the HTML source to standard output and exit. (Compare to the wget and curl commands.)
-emacskeys	Make lynx obey keystrokes reminiscent of the ...