Firelynx seems to be a good idea as a starting point. Iād like to help developing this solution.
Thanks ! Mattia > Il giorno 16 set 2025, alle ore 17:57, Nicolas Pitre <[email protected]> ha > scritto: > > On Tue, 16 Sep 2025, [email protected] wrote: > >> Instead of trying to maintain a stand-alone text browser like Lynx, wouldn't >> it be easier to build a command-line browser that uses a modern engine like >> Chrome or Firefox as the backend? You'd only need some X libraries >> installed, but not an actual running desktop. Interaction could be handled >> through text, while the backend stays updated automatically as Chrome or >> Firefox updates. > > Well well... > > I wanted to have something more functional and stable before I post it > here ... but here's the README as a teaser for the project I'm working > on when time permits. There are still many issues and bugs, but I was > able to log into my Facebook account, even with MFA active, for the > first time using a text-based interface. I didn't publish the code yet > but I'm willing to share with people with development skills eager to > contribute (this is not ready for casual user yet). > > ===== > > # Firelynx: Where Firefox Meets lynx > > ā ļø **EXPERIMENTAL ALPHA SOFTWARE** - Firelynx is in early development. > While functional for many websites, expect bugs, limitations, and breaking > changes. Use at your own risk and keep backups of important work. > > The web has moved on, but accessible browsing hasn't kept up. > Firelynx changes that by creating a bridge between the excellent > accessibility of lynx and the modern web compatibility of Firefox. > > ## The Problem: When the Web Left Accessibility Behind > > If you're a blind user, you know the frustration. Traditional text browsers > like lynx work beautifully with braille displays and screen readers - they're > fast, efficient, and give you exactly the semantic information you need. > But try to use Google Search, Facebook, or most modern websites, and you're > out of luck. These sites require JavaScript to function, leaving lynx users > stuck with broken layouts, completely blank pages, or worse - some sites > simply refuse to serve you if your browser isn't one of the big ones. > > On the other hand, Firefox is a powerhouse that handles any modern website > perfectly. But running Firefox in a GUI environment when you're using a > braille display is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You're forced > to navigate through complex visual interfaces, deal with mouse-centric > designs, and lose the clean, efficient text-based interaction that makes > computing accessible in the first place. > > ### What About term.everything? > > You might have heard of > [term.everything](https://github.com/mmulet/term.everything) - > a project that promises to render GUI applications in the terminal as ASCII > art. Sounds perfect, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't solve our problem at > all. > > When term.everything displays Firefox, you get something like this: > ``` > š¬½ āāāāāāš¬¼ āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā > Ėš¬ āāā ā ā š¬¼ ā > ``` > > This is just visual noise to a braille display. There's no semantic > structure, no way to understand what's a heading versus a link versus body > text. It's graphics made of text characters - completely inaccessible to > the tools that blind users rely on. > > ## The Solution: Firelynx > > The breakthrough came from realizing we didn't need to choose between lynx > and Firefox. What if we could use Firefox as a backend engine to process > modern websites, then serve the results through lynx's familiar, > accessible interface? > > That's exactly what Firelynx does. It creates an HTTP proxy server that > sits between lynx and the web. When you browse with lynx, the proxy > intercepts your requests, processes them through a headless Firefox > instance (complete with JavaScript execution), extracts the meaningful > content, and serves it back to lynx as clean, semantic HTML. > > The result? You get to keep lynx's excellent accessibility - all your > customizations, keyboard shortcuts, and the clean interface that works > perfectly with your braille display in a text-based terminal with > [BRLTTY](http://brltty.app/) - while gaining access to any modern website > that Firefox can handle. > > ## Features That Make It Work > > **Modern Web Compatibility**: Google Search, Facebook, complex JavaScript > sites - they all work because Firefox handles the heavy lifting. > > **Seamless lynx Experience**: Every lynx feature works exactly as before. > Your muscle memory, customizations, and workflow remain unchanged. > > **Smart Content Extraction**: The system intelligently finds and > prioritizes main content while filtering out navigation clutter and ads. > > **Runtime Content Filtering**: Choose your preferred balance between showing > everything (bridge mode) and clean reading (filtered mode) with instant > switching between filter levels. > > ## Installation > > ### Fedora Linux > ```bash > # Install the packages > sudo dnf install python3-selenium selenium-manager firefox lynx > > # Get and install Firelynx > git clone [your-repo-url] firelynx > cd firelynx/ > ./install.sh > > # Now you can use 'firelynx' from anywhere > firelynx https://example.com > ``` > > ### Debian/Ubuntu > ```bash > # Install the packages > sudo apt update > sudo apt install python3-selenium firefox lynx > > # Note: No additional geckodriver installation needed! > # Modern Selenium (4.x+) automatically downloads geckodriver on first use > > # Get and install Firelynx > git clone [your-repo-url] firelynx > cd firelynx/ > ./install.sh > > # Now you can use 'firelynx' from anywhere > firelynx https://example.com > ``` > > ## How to Use > > **Start browsing any website:** > ```bash > firelynx https://facebook.com > firelynx google.com > firelynx > ``` > > This launches lynx connected to the Firefox proxy. Navigate exactly as you > normally would in lynx - press 'g' to go to URLs, follow links normally, > fill out forms as usual. You now have a much greater chance for > JavaScript-heavy sites to work to some extent. > > **For quick text output without interactive lynx:** > ```bash > firelynx --dump --search "python tutorial" > firelynx --dump https://example.com > firelynx --dump --search "weather forecast" --engine bing > ``` > > ## Current Limitations > > **JavaScript Modal Dialogs**: Some modal dialogs (like Facebook's device > trust prompts) don't convert properly yet. The detection system is there > but needs refinement. > > **Google Search CAPTCHAs**: Google still detects the automation and shows > robot verification. Use DuckDuckGo instead - it works perfectly and doesn't > have this issue. > > **MFA Timing**: On sites like Facebook, if you press the "continue" button > too quickly during multi-factor authentication, you might not get the > expected retry prompts. > > **Some False Positives**: Occasionally sites like Amazon trigger MFA > warnings when no authentication is actually required. > > Despite these quirks, the browser handles many websites well, including > complex authentication flows, form submissions, and JavaScript-heavy content > that traditional text browsers simply can't > access._______________________________________________ > This message was sent via the BRLTTY mailing list. > To post a message, send an e-mail to: [email protected] > For general information, go to: http://brltty.app/mailman/listinfo/brltty _______________________________________________ This message was sent via the BRLTTY mailing list. To post a message, send an e-mail to: [email protected] For general information, go to: http://brltty.app/mailman/listinfo/brltty
