Use links for repeatable text-mode web checks

links is a text-mode browser, and this guide turns the same browsing work into commands you can check or script. The installed package here is links 2.29-1build6, and the executable reports Links 2.29. Allow about fifteen minutes. You need a shell, a URL or local HTML file, and permission to read the destination. The examples only read pages unless you deliberately save downloads or change browser settings.

1. Confirm the installed build

Check which executable will run and record its version:

$ command -v links
/usr/bin/links
$ links -version
Links 2.29

The www-browser manpage on this system is an identical alias for the links manpage. If a script calls www-browser, check its target with command -v www-browser and do not assume that another distribution uses the same package layout.

2. Read a page without opening the full-screen browser

Use -dump when you want formatted text on standard output:

$ links -dump https://example.com/

The command renders the document for output rather than opening the ncurses interface. Links and headings are represented in the text output, but this is not a substitute for checking the page in a graphical browser. The URL may be an HTTP, HTTPS, FTP or local file:// URL according to the installed manual.

To make wrapping reproducible, add a width:

$ links -dump -width 72 https://example.com/ > example.txt
$ sed -n '1,40p' example.txt

-width controls formatting for -dump. A long unbreakable line can still exceed it. The redirection creates or truncates example.txt, so choose a new filename when the existing report matters. To replace a report safely, write to a temporary name, inspect it, then use mv only after the command succeeds.

$ links -dump https://example.com/ > /tmp/example-links.txt
$ printf '%s\n' "$?"
0

3. Fetch the original data instead of rendered text

Use -source when you need the unformatted response body:

$ links -source https://example.com/ > example.html
$ sed -n '1,20p' example.html

This is useful for a small inspection pipeline, but it does not make the response trustworthy. Treat downloaded HTML as data. Do not pipe it into a shell, an interpreter or an editor command that executes embedded instructions. If you only need to see the rendered words, use -dump and avoid creating a file.

-force-html changes how files with an unknown type are treated. It does not repair invalid HTML, and it is not needed for a normal HTTP page with a useful content type. Use it only when you have a specific local or remote document whose type is misleading:

$ links -dump -force-html file:///path/to/page.data

4. Browse interactively in text mode

Start an interactive session with a URL. -no-g forces the text driver if a previous setting or launcher requested graphics:

$ links -no-g https://example.com/

Use the arrow keys or Tab to move between links, Enter to follow the selected link, and Left to go back. Page Down or Space moves down; b moves up. Press g to enter a URL, / to search the current page, n for the next match, and q to quit. Q quits without asking, so use ordinary q when you want the normal exit prompt.

Press \ to toggle between rendered HTML and source view. That view is for inspection, not validation: a page can contain misleading markup or links. d starts downloading the selected link, which changes local state and can consume disk space. Check the destination before accepting a download, and do not grant elevated privileges merely to browse a page.

5. Keep network and privacy defaults explicit

The manpage gives the installed defaults for several connection controls: up to 10 concurrent connections overall, up to 2 to one host, 3 retries, a 120-second receive timeout and a 600-second timeout for non-restartable connections. These affect waiting and load, not the content's trustworthiness. For a bounded one-off text check, set only the limit you have a reason to change:

$ links -dump -retries 1 -receive-timeout 30 https://example.com/

Proxy options are named -http-proxy, -https-proxy, -ftp-proxy and -socks-proxy. An empty proxy is the documented default. A proxy can observe or alter traffic according to its policy, so use the proxy required by your network rather than copying a value from an unrelated shell session. -only-proxies 1 prevents non-proxy connections, which is useful only when you have configured the required proxy and want a failure instead of a direct connection.

HTTPS certificate handling deserves a deliberate choice. -ssl.certificates 1 is the default and warns about an invalid certificate; 2 rejects it; 0 ignores it. Do not use 0 to silence a warning in a script that handles credentials or sensitive information. A warning is a checkpoint to inspect the URL, clock, trust store and network path.

Cookies and history are separate settings. The manpage lists -enable-cookies, -save-cookies and -save-url-history. If you do not need a session, prefer a dump command and avoid interactive state. Never put a password in a command line option or a captured shell transcript. The browser's per-user configuration is ~/.links2/links.cfg, created automatically by links; protect it as user data and review it before copying it to another account.

6. Diagnose a failure without guessing

First separate a missing command from a network or document problem:

$ command -v links
$ links -version
$ links -dump https://example.com/ > /tmp/example-links.txt
$ printf 'exit=%s\n' "$?"

If command -v finds nothing, install the distribution's links package through its normal package manager. If version output works but the dump fails, inspect the URL, DNS, proxy and certificate message. Try a known local file with file:///path/to/page.html to distinguish browser rendering from network access. For a page that is empty or badly wrapped, compare -dump with -source, and try an explicit -width. Do not treat a successful fetch as proof that links, forms, frames or scripts behave as they would in a modern browser.

No step in this guide requires sudo. If a local file or download directory is inaccessible, fix ownership or permissions through the system's normal change process rather than running the browser as root. Running a browser with elevated privileges increases the impact of a malicious page or viewer association.