Lynx Web Browser

Introduction

The Lynx Web Browser Router App installs Lynx — a fast, text-based web browser for the router's command-line interface. Lynx does not display images, but it supports frames, tables, and most standard HTML tags. Because it renders only text, Lynx starts and exits quickly and displays web pages with minimal resource usage.

Typical uses on an Advantech router include:

Verifying connectivity to web endpoints and APIs directly from the router's CLI.
Downloading files from HTTP or HTTPS URLs.
Testing the router's own web interface from the command line.
Extracting plain-text content from web pages for use in scripts.

Installation

To install the Lynx Web Browser Router App, follow the instructions in the Configuration Manual, section Customization → Router Apps.

To verify the installation, check the Lynx version from the router's CLI:

lynx --version

Basic Usage

To open a URL in Lynx:

lynx https://example.com

Lynx renders the page as text and highlights links. Use the keyboard to navigate — no mouse support is available.

To print the plain-text content of a page to standard output (useful in scripts):

lynx -dump https://example.com

To print the raw HTML source of a page:

lynx -source https://example.com

To download a file from a URL directly to disk:

lynx -dump https://example.com/file.txt > /opt/file.txt

All Lynx interactions are keyboard-driven. The most commonly used keys are listed below.

Key	Action
`↓` / `↑`	Move to the next / previous link on the page.
`→` / `Enter`	Follow the selected link.
`←`	Go back to the previous page.
`Tab`	Jump to the next link.
`Shift-Tab`	Jump to the previous link.
`g`	Go to a new URL (prompts for input).
`b`	Go back to the previous page.
`/`	Search for text on the current page.
`n`	Jump to the next search match.
`d`	Download the currently selected link target.
`p`	Print the current page.
`o`	Open the options menu to adjust settings.
`\`	Toggle between rendered view and HTML source.
`=`	Show information about the current page and link.
`Ctrl-R`	Reload the current page.
`h` / `?`	Open the help page.
`q`	Quit Lynx (prompts for confirmation).
`Q`	Quit Lynx immediately without confirmation.

Lynx navigation key bindings

Command-Line Options

Option	Description
`lynx <URL>`	Open the specified URL in interactive mode.
`lynx -dump <URL>`	Print the rendered page text to standard output and exit.
`lynx -source <URL>`	Print the raw HTML source to standard output and exit.
`lynx -head <URL>`	Print the HTTP headers for the URL and exit.
`lynx -accept_all_cookies`	Accept all cookies without prompting.
`lynx -nocolor`	Disable color output.
`lynx -anonymous`	Restrict access to local files and sensitive operations.
`lynx -cfg=<file>`	Use the specified configuration file instead of the default.

Lynx command-line options

Getting Help

Lynx includes built-in help accessible by pressing h or ? while browsing. Comprehensive documentation is also available at the Lynx website.