Uzbl

Uzbl
is a lightweight browser based on
uzbl-core
.
Uzbl
adheres to the UNIX philosophy of "Write programs that do one thing and do it well". The uzbl-browser package includes uzbl-core, uzbl-browser and uzbl-event-manager. Most users will want to use
uzbl-browser
or
uzbl-tabbed
as they provide the fullest set of tools for browsing. Uzbl-browser allows for a single page per window (with as many windows as you want), while uzbl-tabbed provides a wrapper for uzbl-browser and implements basic tabs with multiple pages per window.
Installation
Install
the
uzbl-browser-next-git
AUR
or
uzbl-tabbed-next-git
AUR
package.
Thanks to
webkitgtk
AUR
, uzbl can make use of NPAPI plugins: installing
flashplugin
AUR
or
icedtea-web
will enable their use in uzbl-browser and uzbl-tabbed.
Commands
One of the biggest advantages of using Uzbl is that nearly everything can be controlled by the keyboard. This is preferable to the traditional mouse/keyboard combo because less moving around of the hands is needed.
Vim
users will find Uzbl much easier to pick-up, especially as the default bindings loosely resemble Vim keystrokes. For instance, following a link requires the user to type
fl
, and then the keystrokes in the box that appears next to each link on the page. Shortening the command to just
f
in the configuration file allows for even faster navigation.
Below are basic, default commands that can be used with uzbl-browser and uzbl-tabbed. These commands can all be found in
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/uzbl/config
(which is usually located in
~/.config/uzbl/config
). The default settings work well, but many users like to edit them to suit their preferences and in fact, it is encouraged to change this file to suit your needs. More help with editing the configuration file can be found on
the Uzbl readme
.
Navigation
Command
Doing what
o
enter url
O
edit url
b
back
m
forward
S
stop
r
reload
R
reload ignoring cache
fl
spawn numbers next to each hyperlink. Type the number after typing fl to follow the link.
gh
go home
Page Movement
Command
Doing what
j
scroll up
k
scroll down
h
scroll left
l
scroll right
PgUp
scroll page up
ctrl+b
scroll page up
PgDn
scroll page down
ctrl+f
scroll page down
Home
vertical beginning of the page
<<
vertical beginning of the page
End
vertical end of the page
>>
vertical end of the page
Space
vertical end of the page
^
horizontal beginning of the page
$
horizontal end of the page
/
find in page
?
find backwards in page
n
repeat find forward
N
repeat find backwards
Zooming
Command
Doing what
+
zoom_in
-
zoom_out
T
toggle_zoom_type
1
set zoom_level = 1
2
set zoom_level = 2
Searching
Command
Doing what
ddg
search term in DuckDuckGo
gg
search term in Google
\wiki
search term in Wikipedia
Inserting Text
Command
Doing what
i
toggle_insert_mode   (Esc works to go back to command mode much like vim)
fi
go to the first input field and enter insert mode
Bookmarks and History
Command
Doing what
M
insert bookmark (bookmarks are saved in ~/.local/share/uzbl/bookmarks
U
load url from history via dmenu
u
load url from bookmarks via dmenu
Tabs (when using uzbl-tabbed)
Command
Doing what
go
load uri in new tab
gt
go to next tab
gT
go to previous tab
gn
open new tab
gi+n
goto 'n' tab
gC
close current tab
Other
Command
Doing what
t
show/hide status bar
w
open new window
ZZ
exit
:
enter command
Esc
back to normal mode
ctrl+[
back to normal mode
Tips and tricks
Caching
Due to its lightweight nature, uzbl does NOT contain caching functionality. You can install
Squid
to speed up page loading.
Troubleshooting
Parcellite
Parcellite can cause problems at the time of selecting text under uzbl - just disable it.
TLS certificates
Per
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=185014
, adjust the configuration file:
~/.config/uzbl/config
set ssl_ca_file /etc/ssl/cert.pem
set ssl_policy fail
See also
Uzbl wiki with user configuration files and scripts
Forum thread
Configuration file