Tips For Opening and Browsing Websites Inside The Terminal - Ubuntu

In this guide we will learn how to open websites using the Ubuntu Terminal. We will also see how to navigate web pages inside the terminal without using a standard web browser. The commands are tested under Ubuntu 11.10 and are workable for older versions of Ubuntu, or even other Linux-based distributions.

Method 1

You can use the "gnome-open" command line utility to open URLs directly from the command line. You need first to install this dependency if you are under Ubuntu 11.10:

sudo apt-get install libgnome2-0

Then use this command to access websites from the terminal:

gnome-open URL

Repolace URL with any link of your choice. Here is an example:

gnome-open http://www.upubuntu.com

The entered link will be opened in the current default web browser (Firefox).

Method  2

If you are installing multiple web browsers and want to open a  link in one of them, then use one of these commands:

- Firefox:

firefox URL

- Google Chrome:

google-chrome URL

- Opera:

opera URL

Method 3

You can also use the "links" command line utility to browse websites directly inside the terminal, no need to use your web browser. This tool will be very useful for webmasters who want to see how their websites are viewed by search engines.  Only text will be displayed; images, videos, Javascripts, Flash contents will be excluded.

To install "links" on Ubuntu, run this command:

sudo apt-get install links

Then use this command to navigate websites inside the terminal:

links URL

That's it!