Explore Modern Web Browsing From Terminal with Brow6el

Graphical Browsing in Terminal

Developers have varying opinions on software complexity, ranging from those deeply attached to command lines to web application developers. Brow6el, a fully integrated graphical web browser within a terminal, serves as a point of contact between these two extremes, created by Jan Antos. It utilizes sixel graphics to render images within the terminal. In the background, the Chromium Embedded Framework processes web pages, while Brow6el converts these images into sixel representations, a simple graphical display based on consoles. The browser constantly refreshes the webpage to capture updates and display them in real-time, capable of sending input from the mouse or keyboard back to the page.

Brow6el also includes a JavaScript development console, the ability to manually inject scripts into processed web pages, or to do so automatically using URL matching patterns. Among other useful features are a bookmarking system, a download manager, support for terminal-based pop-up windows, and the capability to open multiple windows simultaneously, all controllable via keyboard. Mouse input can come from either a real mouse or a virtual mouse controlled by the keyboard, allowing users to click and scroll through websites even on entirely text-based systems.

Jan has provided an impressive video demonstration of Brow6el, which can be viewed below. The browser draws inspiration from other terminal-based web browsers like Carbonyl but enhances their graphics. Experienced readers may already know that with some Wayland tricks, it is possible to transform any application into a terminal application.