Lynx Browser - Time Capsule

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)

Key	Action
`↓` or `j`	Select next link
`↑` or `k`	Select previous link
`Enter` or `→`	Follow selected link
`0-9`	Jump directly to numbered link

Key	Action
`←` or `Backspace`	Go back to previous page
`g`	Open location prompt
`m`	Go to main/home page

Special Commands

Key	Action
`q`	Quit Lynx (prompts for confirmation)
`h` or `?`	Show help page
`/`	Search in current page
`v`	View bookmarks
`o`	Options (opens lynx://options)
`p`	Print page (opens print dialog)

History & Bookmarks

Key	Action
`Delete`	View history page
`v`	View bookmarks
`Backspace`	Go back one page

Navigating to Pages

Open Location (g)

Press g to open a URL:

Type URL or search term
Press Enter to load
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

Enter URL: gnu.org
Lynx fetches HTML
Converts to plain text:
- Strips images, CSS, JavaScript
- Extracts text content
- Numbers all links
- Shows images as [IMAGE: alt text]
Displays as navigable text page

Link Numbering

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.

Link Selection

Visual Highlighting

The selected link appears in a different color:

Options: [1]Home  [2]About  [3]Contact
                  ^^^^^^^^
                  (selected)

Selecting Links

Sequential:

↓ or j: Next link
↑ or k: Previous link

Direct:

Press link number: 3 jumps to link 3
Press Enter to follow

Following Links

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.

Search

Press / to search in current page:

Enter search term
Press Enter
Matches are highlighted
Status shows: Found: "term"
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

Fast Link Navigation

Reading Long Pages

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

URL Entry

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

Text Rendering

External sites are simplified:

No images (shows [IMAGE: description])
No CSS styling
No JavaScript
Pure content extraction

This makes reading faster and more focused.

Bookmark Management

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

​Features

​Opening Lynx

​The Lynx Interface

​Screen Layout

​Keyboard Navigation

​Link Navigation

​Page Navigation

​Special Commands

​History & Bookmarks

​Navigating to Pages

​Open Location (g)

​Default Protocol

​Internal Pages

​about:lynx

​lynx://help

​lynx://options

​lynx://bookmarks

​lynx://history

​External Websites

​How It Works

​Link Numbering

​Link Selection

​Visual Highlighting

​Selecting Links

​Following Links

​History

​Bookmarks

​Default Bookmarks

​Search

​Status Bar Messages

​Help Page

​Quitting Lynx

​Normal Quit

​Force Quit

​Terminal Lab Integration

​Tips and Tricks

​Source Code