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Snapshot 0 · 2026-11-04T12:47:24Z · JavaScript · LGPL-2.1
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ab859d1e375619a0f95f7eaf17c4ffa6d98b8ac6d3492da6e0728ef02be1956fGitHub description at capture
A fully-modern text-based browser, rendering to TTY and browsers
README at capture
[](https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=brow_sh)
**A fully interactive, real-time, and modern text-based browser rendered to TTYs and browsers**
## Why use Browsh?
Not all the world has good Internet.
If you only have a 3kbps internet connection tethered from a phone,
then it's good to SSH into a server and browse the web through, say,
[elinks](https://github.com/browsh-org/browsh/issues/17). That way the
_server_ downloads the web pages and uses the limited bandwidth of an
SSH connection to display the result. However, traditional text-based browsers
lack JS and all other modern HTML5 support. Browsh is different
in that it's backed by a real browser, namely headless Firefox,
to create a purely text-based version of web pages and web apps. These can be easily
rendered in a terminal or indeed, ironically, in another browser. Do note that currently the browser client doesn't have feature parity with the terminal client.
Why not VNC? Well VNC is certainly one solution but it doesn't quite
have the same ability to deal with extremely bad Internet. Terminal
Browsh can also use MoSH to further reduce bandwidth and increase stability
of the connection. Mosh offers features like automatic
reconnection of dropped or roamed connections and diff-only screen updates.
Furthermore, other than SSH or MoSH, terminal Browsh doesn't require a client
like VNC.
One final reason to use terminal Browsh could be to offload the battery-drain of a modern
browser from your laptop or low-powered device like a Raspberry Pi. If you're a CLI-native,
then you could potentially get a few more hours of life if your CPU-hungry browser
is running somewhere else on mains electricity.
## Installation
Download a binary from the [releases](https://github.com/browsh-org/browsh/releases) (~11MB).
You will need to have [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/) already installed.
Or download and run the Docker image (~230MB) with:
`docker run --rm -it browsh/browsh`
## Usage
Most keys and mouse gestures should work as you'd expect on a desktop
browser.
For full documentation click [here](https://www.brow.sh/docs/introduction/).
## Development
### The Firefox Web Extension
This is needed to run essential JS inside web pages so that they render in a way that Browsh can consume.
You will need to install `nodejs`, usually available from your OS package manager. Though for development purposes the recommended method is with https://mise.jdx.dev.
Then in the `webext` directory
* `npm install`
* `npx webpack --watch`
### The `browsh` Golang code
You will need to install `go`, usually available from your OS package manager. Though for development purposes the recommended method is with https://mise.jdx.dev.
Then in the `interfacer` directory
* `go run ./cmd/browsh --debug`
Logs will be available in `interfacer/debug.log`
## Tests
For the webextension: in `webext/` folder, `npm test`
For CLI unit tests: in `/interfacer` run `go test src/browsh/*.go`
For CLI E2E tests: in `/interfacer` run `go test test/tty/*.go`
For HTTP Service tests: in `/interfacer` run `go test test/http-server/*.go`
## Special Thanks
* [@tobimensch](https://github.com/tobimensch) For essential early feedback and user testing.
* [@arasatasaygin](https://github.com/arasatasaygin) For the Browsh logo.
## Donating
Please consider donating: https://www.brow.sh/donate
## License
GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1