12 Open-source Free Vim-style Keyboard Driven Web Browsers For Advanced Users

A keyboard-driven browser is a type of web browser that allows users to navigate and interact with web pages primarily using keyboard shortcuts and commands, rather than relying on a mouse or other pointing device.

Benefits

The benefits of using a keyboard-driven browser for productivity and advanced users include:

Efficiency: Keyboard shortcuts can significantly speed up browsing tasks, allowing users to navigate, open tabs, switch between tabs, and perform other actions quickly and easily.
Accessibility: Keyboard-driven browsing can be a more accessible option for individuals with mobility impairments or those who prefer keyboard navigation.
Customization: Many keyboard-driven browsers offer extensive customization options, allowing users to create their own keyboard shortcuts and tailor the browsing experience to their preferences.
Reduced reliance on mouse: By using keyboard-driven browsers, users can reduce their reliance on a mouse or trackpad, which can be beneficial for those who experience discomfort or repetitive strain injuries from prolonged mouse usage.
Advanced features and workflows: Keyboard-driven browsers often provide advanced features and workflows that cater to power users and developers. These features include powerful search capabilities, scriptable automation, and integration with other tools and services.

1- Luakit

Luakit is a browser framework that offers a wide range of customization options. It is built on the powerful WebKit engine and GTK+ toolkit, ensuring a smooth and efficient browsing experience.

One of the standout features of Luakit is its extensibility, allowing users to enhance their browsing experience using Lua. Additionally, Luakit is licensed under the GNU GPLv3, providing users with the freedom to modify and distribute the software.

This browser framework is specifically designed for power users, developers, and individuals who value having complete control over their browsing experience. With Luakit, you can personalize and optimize your browser to suit your specific needs and preferences.

Luakit Web Browser

2- qutebrowser

QuteBrowser is an impressive keyboard-driven, vim-like browser built on Python and Qt. It delivers a distinctive browsing experience by enabling users to effortlessly navigate the web using keyboard shortcuts and commands, reminiscent of the widely-used text editor Vim.

With its solid foundation in Python and Qt, QuteBrowser provides a robust and adaptable platform for web browsing.

Whether you're a dedicated Vim enthusiast or seeking a more streamlined approach to internet browsing, QuteBrowser is an exceptional choice that seamlessly combines the finest features from both worlds.

3- Vimb

Vimb is a fast and lightweight vim like web browser based on the webkit web browser engine and the GTK toolkit. Vimb is modal like the great vim editor and also easily configurable during runtime. Vimb is mostly keyboard driven and does not distract you from your daily work.

4- vieb

Vieb is a free, open-source, fast, and secure keyboard-driven browser inspired by Vim. It offers features such as local first adblocking, auto-complete, AMP protection, custom redirects, strict privacy settings, accessibility options, security settings, window splitting, and more.

It uses Electron and offers a wide range of commands and features such as tabs control, and allow users to set personalized commnads.

Vieb - Vim bindings for the web by design

Homepage of the Vim Inspired Electron Browser: Vieb

ViebJelmerro

5- surf

surf is a simple web browser based on WebKit2/GTK+. It is able to display websites and follow links. It supports the XEmbed protocol which makes it possible to embed it in another application. Furthermore, one can point surf to another URI by setting its XProperties.

surf | suckless.org software that sucks less

suckless.org software that sucks less

6- Vimium

Vimium is a browser extension that allows users to navigate and control the web using keyboard shortcuts, similar to the Vim editor. It offers features such as mouse-free navigation, clickable links with highlighting, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and an in-page help dialog for personalized shortcuts.

Vimium can be installed for Google Chrome, Chromium, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox.

Vimium - The Hacker’s Browser

The Hacker's Browser

7- wyeb

wyeb is a free open-source a vim-like webkit2gtk web browser, that is written in C programming language.

Key features

Editable main page. It is a markdown text containing bookmarks. e key opens it by a text editor. As this, all settings are thrown to text editors.
Monitored conf files. For example, do echo "* {color:red \!important}" >> user.css on the conf dir(key c). It should be applied immediately.
Settings per URI matched regular expression. e on a page adds URI to the conf and opens it. And another thing, ctrl-i/s and v switch setting 'set:' can be edited.
Open actions. Most of actions assigned to keys can be accessed by shell. For example, context-menu items we added are just shell scripts.
Suffix. wyeb X "" "" spawns a process using different dirs added the suffix 'X' for all data.
Hacked Hinting. For pages having javascript.
Window List. Key z
No tab. But keys J/K/x/X or button actions. tabbed wyeb plugto works though. Make sure tabbed takes no notice of the reordering of wins without adding if(sel != c) focus(c); to the configure event.
Rocker gestures and middle button gestures. We can change it even to call a script. (e.g. mdlbtnleft=spawn sh -c "wyeb // showmsg `pwd`") Of course it is in the 'set;', so we can set it by uri.
Pointer Mode. p makes pure click event for javascript pages. Also it moves pointer pos(don't esc but p) used by scroll and keeps pos last clicked for same layout pages.
Range hinting. ctrl-r. Also see hidden files in the menu dir, it has callback interface.
Misc. related domain only loading, whiteblack.conf, new window with clipboard text, hinting for callback scripts.
Adblock extension.

8- Tridactyl (Firefox)

Tridactyl is an extension for Firefox which replaces its default control mechanism with one modelled on the one true editor, Vim.

Tridactyl - a vim-like Firefox WebExtension

Surfingkeys

Surfingkeys is another web browser(including Google Chrome, Chromium based browsers, Firefox, Safari) extension that provides keyboard-based navigation and control of the web in the spirit of the VIM editor. But it's not for VIM users only, it's for anyone who just needs some more shortcuts to his/her own functions.

Surfingkeys is created with all settings described in Javascript, so it's easy for anyone to map any keystrokes to his/her own defined Javascript function.

Features

All settings are set up within a javascript file, which makes it easy to create mapping to user customized function.
A large cursor in visual mode, which makes visual mode better.
Search selected with, which works in both normal mode and visual mode.
Help messages are automatically generated for mappings.
* to search word under cursor in visual mode.
Scroll actions like page up/down (e d) work for not only top window but also scrollable DIV.
w to switch frames if there is.
Session management
A versatile bookmark/url finder
Count prefixes to repeat actions
Use vim editor to edit input on page
Dot to repeat previous action
;pm to preview markdown
Emoji completion in Insert mode
Rich hints for keystroke
Everything in Surfingkeys works for PDF

9- Vimmatic (Chrome and Firefox)

This extension enables you to navigate pages, switch tabs, and open a site you want with your keyboard. The extension provides a Vim-like experience on your browser and a new choice for Vim users. You can configure keymaps and browse pages with your preferences.

Vimmatic provides the following features: Scrolling a page and managing tabs with keyboard shortcuts Also, they are available by a command Opening a page from bookmarks and histories. Custom search engined Setting keymaps by a JSON-format configuration.

10- webmacs

webmacs is yet another browser for keyboard-based web navigation.

It mainly target emacs-like navigation, and started as a clone (in terms of features) of conkeror.

11- Vimium C

A Customized Vimium (to click web page content and manipulate browser windows using only keyboard) having contextual mapping, global shortcuts, command sequences, Chinese support and injection functionality, in C-style code for quicker action and less resource cost.

12- Web Search Navigator

This is an open-source web browser extension that adds configurable keyboard shortcuts to Google search, YouTube, Startpage, Brave Search, Google Scholar, Github, Gitlab, and Amazon.