Skip to main content
Lynx is a legendary text-based web browser that predates the graphical web. Time Capsule’s Lynx implementation provides an authentic terminal-style browsing experience, complete with keyboard navigation, numbered links, and the ability to browse both internal pages and external websites as plain text.

​
Features

  • Text-Only Display: No images, no CSS, pure content
  • Keyboard Navigation: Full keyboard control
  • Numbered Links: Jump directly to links by number
  • Internal Pages: Curated Lynx-formatted content
  • External Browsing: Fetch and render modern websites as text
  • History: Browse previous pages
  • Bookmarks: Save frequently visited pages
  • Search: Find text on current page

​
Opening Lynx

Launch from:
  • CDE panel application menu
  • Terminal Lab: Type lynx or lynx [url]
  • Man Viewer integration
Lynx opens to the About page (about:lynx).

​
The Lynx Interface

​
Screen Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [URL]                                   │
│                                         │
│ [1]Link One  [2]Link Two               │
│                                         │
│ Page content appears here as plain      │
│ text. Links are numbered and can be     │
│ selected with keyboard.                 │
│                                         │
│ Selected link highlighted: [3]Click     │
│                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ Status: Document: Done                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ URL to open:                            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
  • Top: Current URL in white
  • Content Area: Page text with numbered links
  • Selected Link: Highlighted in color
  • Status Bar: Loading status and messages
  • Input Line: Appears for prompts (hidden otherwise)

​
Keyboard Navigation

KeyAction
↓ or jSelect next link
↑ or kSelect previous link
Enter or →Follow selected link
0-9Jump directly to numbered link

​
Page Navigation

KeyAction
← or BackspaceGo back to previous page
gOpen location prompt
mGo to main/home page

​
Special Commands

KeyAction
qQuit Lynx (prompts for confirmation)
h or ?Show help page
/Search in current page
vView bookmarks
oOptions (opens lynx://options)
pPrint page (opens print dialog)

​
History & Bookmarks

KeyAction
DeleteView history page
vView bookmarks
BackspaceGo back one page

​
Open Location (g)

Press g to open a URL:
  1. Type URL or search term
  2. Press Enter to load
  3. Press Escape to cancel
Examples: 
about:lynx           → Internal Lynx page
gnu.org              → GNU website (text version)
debian.org           → Debian site
linux tutorials      → (Opens as URL if formatted)

​
Default Protocol

Lynx adds https:// automatically: 
gnu.org  →  https://gnu.org

​
Internal Pages

Lynx includes curated text-only pages:

​
about:lynx

Welcome page with Lynx introduction and basic instructions.

​
lynx://help

Keyboard shortcuts and navigation guide.

​
lynx://options

Configuration page displaying Lynx preferences and settings.

​
lynx://bookmarks

List of saved bookmarks with numbered links.

​
lynx://history

Recent browsing history in authentic Lynx format.

​
External Websites

Lynx can fetch and render modern websites as text.

​
How It Works

  1. Enter URL: gnu.org
  2. Lynx fetches HTML
  3. Converts to plain text:
    • Strips images, CSS, JavaScript
    • Extracts text content
    • Numbers all links
    • Shows images as [IMAGE: alt text]
  4. Displays as navigable text page
External pages get automatic link numbers: 
[1]Home  [2]About  [3]Software  [4]Documentation

The GNU Operating System

[5]What is GNU?  [6]Free Software  [7]Licenses

GNU is a Unix-like operating system...
Press 1 to jump to “Home”, 5 for “What is GNU?”, etc.

​
Visual Highlighting

The selected link appears in a different color: 
Options: [1]Home  [2]About  [3]Contact
                  ^^^^^^^^
                  (selected)
Sequential:
  • ↓ or j: Next link
  • ↑ or k: Previous link
Direct:
  • Press link number: 3 jumps to link 3
  • Press Enter to follow
Once selected:
  • Press Enter
  • Or press → (right arrow)
  • Page loads immediately

​
History

Press Delete to view browsing history. History Page Format: 
            History Page (Lynx Version 2.8.9rel.1)

You selected:

 10. [1]GNU Operating System
     https://gnu.org

  9. [2]Debian - The Universal Operating System
     https://debian.org

  8. [3]About Lynx
     about:lynx
  • Newest pages at top
  • Current page in yellow
  • Click numbers to revisit

​
Bookmarks

Press v to view bookmarks. Bookmark Format: 
  BOOKMARKS
  =========

  [1]about:lynx
  [2]gnu.org
  [3]debian.org

  Enter number to visit, or press any other key to return

​
Default Bookmarks

  • about:lynx - Lynx welcome
  • gnu.org - GNU Project
  • debian.org - Debian OS
Bookmarks persist across sessions. Press / to search in current page:
  1. Enter search term
  2. Press Enter
  3. Matches are highlighted
  4. Status shows: Found: "term"
  5. Or: Not found: "term"
Search is case-insensitive.

​
Status Bar Messages

Loading: 
Connecting to gnu.org...
Complete: 
Document: Done
Error: 
Error: Could not load URL — https://invalid-site.com
Actions: 
Opening manual page for ls...
Lynx browser opened with URL: gnu.org
Cancelled

​
Help Page

Press h or ? to view help. Help Content: 
MAN VIEWER HELP

KEYBOARD COMMANDS

  q           Quit Lynx
  h, ?        Show this help
  /           Search in current page
  v           View bookmarks
  Delete      View history
  ←           Go back to previous page
  ↑↓          Navigate links
  g           Open location

MOUSE COMMANDS

  Click on [number] to follow link

Press any key to return

​
Quitting Lynx

​
Normal Quit

Press q: 
Are you sure you want to quit? (y/n)
Type y or yes to confirm, n to cancel.

​
Force Quit

Close the window using the window manager close button.

​
Terminal Lab Integration

From Terminal Lab (free mode): Open Lynx: 
lynx
Open with URL: 
lynx gnu.org
lynx https://debian.org
Lynx opens in separate window. Status message: 
Lynx browser opened
Lynx browser opened with URL: gnu.org

​
Tips and Tricks

Navigate text-heavy pages:
  • Page Down: Scroll content area
  • j repeatedly: Move through links
  • Selected link auto-scrolls into view
  • Search (/) to jump to specific content
When pressing g to open location:
  • Type URL without protocol (added automatically)
  • Use Tab key to auto-complete (if history)
  • Press Escape to cancel
  • Press Enter to load
External sites are simplified:
  • No images (shows [IMAGE: description])
  • No CSS styling
  • No JavaScript
  • Pure content extraction
This makes reading faster and more focused.
Use bookmarks for frequent sites:
  • Press v to view
  • Links are numbered
  • Easy to add common sites
  • Persist across sessions

​
Source Code

Lynx is implemented in:
  • /src/scripts/features/lynx.ts: Core browser engine (633 lines)
  • /src/data/lynx-pages.json: Internal page content
  • HTML to text converter with link extraction
  • Keyboard event handler for all navigation
  • History manager with back navigation
  • Bookmark system with persistence
  • External content fetching with fetch API