 Conkeror web browser running on Ubuntu Linux 10.04 | |
| Developer(s) | Shawn Betts, John J. Foerch, Jeremy Maitin-Shepard |
|---|---|
| Stable release | |
| Written in | JavaScript |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Platform | XULRunner |
| Type | Web browser |
| License | GNU GPL,GNU LGPL andMPL |
| Website | conkeror |
Conkeror is aMozilla-basedweb browser designed to be navigated primarily by acomputer keyboard. Its design is mainly patterned after the text editorGNU Emacs, with some influence from other programs, includingvi.[2]
It was originally written by Shawn Betts, the primary author of keyboard-drivenratpoison andStumpwmtiling window managers. Formerly anextension for theMozilla Firefox browser, it is now developed forXULRunner as a stand-alone application. Since Firefox 52ESR (September 2018), when the last official Mozilla browser that supportedXULRunner reachedend-of-life, there is no officially-supported browser from Mozilla for Conkeror to be based on.[3] Firefoxforks likePale Moon andWaterfox continue to bundle XULRunner and can be used to run Conkeror.[4]
Conkeror is released under the same set offree software licenses as Mozilla: theGNU General Public License, theGNU Lesser General Public License, and theMozilla Public License.
Conkeror emphasizes Emacs-derivedkey bindings and keyboard-based browser navigation.[5] By pressing a key (f, for "follow", by default), Conkeror brings up a small, numbered label beside every element within the current view[6] on the page thatcan be clicked. The user can type the number of the link andENTER to follow the link,[7] or type the link name to narrow down the choices; when the part of the name already typed uniquely identifies a link, it becomes numbered one, highlighted green, and then hittingEnter will follow it.
Conkeror has a large number of standard key bindings, and more can be added. The following are some examples of default key bindings:[8] (key bindings are case sensitive[9])
| Key binding | Action |
|---|---|
g | search/go to URL |
f | follow link |
C-x k | kill current buffer |
C-h i | Conkeror User Manual |
C-h b | Complete list of key bindings |
C-s | search text forward[6] |
Like Emacs, Conkeror makes use of buffers in order to allow multiple pages to remain open at the same time (similar to tabs in traditional browsers). Users can open new buffers and navigate through them using key bindings. For example,C-u C-f opens a hyperlink in a new buffer,C-u C-g goes to a URL or search term in a new buffer, andC-u C-h i opens the start page in a new buffer. Buffers can be cycled through usingM-n to go to the next buffer orM-p to go to the previous one.C-x b displays a list of the currently open buffers from which the user can choose a buffer using the up and down arrows.[10]
The Conkeror browser can be customized in many ways usingJavaScript as the scripting language, much in the way thatEmacs usesEmacs Lisp. Customizations can be as simple as rebinding keys, but can also be more involved; for instance, writing new interactive commands. By default, Conkeror looks for these customizations in~/.conkerorrc. If~/.conkerorrc/ is a directory instead of a file, then all the contained files will be read, which is a technique to enable modularization of bigger customizations.
Conkeror also ships with a number of loadable JavaScript modules, some of which provide core functionality; others are user-loadable and provide additional functionality.[10]
Conkeror hasmodes in which the key bindings, page display or browser behaviour becomeuri-specific.[5] Some modes, likexkcd-mode, come by default. In xkcd-mode, the message which is normally displayed when the user mouses over thecomic strip is instead displayed in a special font below the strip. Other modes include those forGoogle Maps,Reddit andYouTube, and modes can be user-defined as well.[10]
The name of the browser is pronounced identically to that of theKonquerorweb browser from theKDE suite of desktop software, although according to the Conkeror FAQ, "the full name of the browser in spoken English is 'Conkeror (with a C)'" to avoid confusion.
Also according to the FAQ, the name derives from the name given to the winner of a game ofconkers, a children's game involvinghorse chestnuts on a string, as well as from a brand of beer also called Conkeror.
Conkeror is a keyboard-oriented, highly-customizable, highly-extensible web browser based on Mozilla XULRunner, written mainly in JavaScript, and inspired by exceptional software such as Emacs and vi.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Conkeror was originally written for Xulrunner, which was deprecated by Mozilla a couple of years ago. It has continued to work on Firefox until the release of Firefox 57 "Quantum", which disabled support for traditional extensions and also removed many APIs that conkeror currently requires. Firefox 52 ESR is still based on Gecko, but it reached end of life on September 5 2018, to be replaced by a Quantum-based release (60). That means there will be no more officially supported browser from Mozilla on which to run Conkeror. As modern web browsers have a large attack surface, this is bad if you have any concerns about security.
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