Normal commands

Table 1. Quick reference
Command Description

adblock-update

Update the adblock block lists.

back

Go back in the history of the current tab.

bind

Bind a key to a command.

close

Close the current window.

download

Download a given URL, or current page if no URL given.

download-cancel

Cancel the last/[count]th download.

download-delete

Delete the last/[count]th download from disk.

download-open

Open the last/[count]th download.

download-remove

Remove the last/[count]th download from the list.

forward

Go forward in the history of the current tab.

fullscreen

Toggle fullscreen mode.

help

Show help about a command or setting.

hint

Start hinting.

home

Open main startpage in current tab.

inspector

Toggle the web inspector.

later

Execute a command after some time.

navigate

Open typical prev/next links or navigate using the URL path.

open

Open a URL in the current/[count]th tab.

paste

Open a page from the clipboard.

print

Print the current/[count]th tab.

quickmark-add

Add a new quickmark.

quickmark-del

Delete a quickmark.

quickmark-load

Load a quickmark.

quickmark-save

Save the current page as a quickmark.

quit

Quit qutebrowser.

reload

Reload the current/[count]th tab.

repeat

Repeat a given command.

report

Report a bug in qutebrowser.

restart

Restart qutebrowser while keeping existing tabs open.

save

Save configs and state.

search

Search for a text on the current page. With no text, clear results.

session-delete

Delete a session.

session-load

Load a session.

session-save

Save a session.

set

Set an option.

set-cmd-text

Preset the statusbar to some text.

spawn

Spawn a command in a shell.

stop

Stop loading in the current/[count]th tab.

tab-clone

Duplicate the current tab.

tab-close

Close the current/[count]th tab.

tab-detach

Detach the current tab to its own window.

tab-focus

Select the tab given as argument/[count].

tab-move

Move the current tab.

tab-next

Switch to the next tab, or switch [count] tabs forward.

tab-only

Close all tabs except for the current one.

tab-prev

Switch to the previous tab, or switch [count] tabs back.

unbind

Unbind a keychain.

undo

Re-open a closed tab (optionally skipping [count] closed tabs).

view-source

Show the source of the current page.

wq

Save open pages and quit.

yank

Yank the current URL/title to the clipboard or primary selection.

zoom

Set the zoom level for the current tab.

zoom-in

Increase the zoom level for the current tab.

zoom-out

Decrease the zoom level for the current tab.

adblock-update

Update the adblock block lists.

back

Syntax: :back [--tab] [--bg] [--window]

Go back in the history of the current tab.

optional arguments

  • -t, --tab: Go back in a new tab.

  • -b, --bg: Go back in a background tab.

  • -w, --window: Go back in a new window.

count

How many pages to go back.

bind

Syntax: :bind [--mode MODE] [--force] key command

Bind a key to a command.

positional arguments

  • key: The keychain or special key (inside <...>) to bind.

  • command: The command to execute, with optional args.

optional arguments

  • -m, --mode: A comma-separated list of modes to bind the key in (default: normal).

  • -f, --force: Rebind the key if it is already bound.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

close

Close the current window.

download

Syntax: :download [url] [dest]

Download a given URL, or current page if no URL given.

positional arguments

  • url: The URL to download. If not given, download the current page.

  • dest: The file path to write the download to, or not given to ask.

download-cancel

Cancel the last/[count]th download.

count

The index of the download to cancel.

download-delete

Delete the last/[count]th download from disk.

count

The index of the download to cancel.

download-open

Open the last/[count]th download.

count

The index of the download to cancel.

download-remove

Syntax: :download-remove [--all]

Remove the last/[count]th download from the list.

optional arguments

  • -a, --all: If given removes all finished downloads.

count

The index of the download to cancel.

forward

Syntax: :forward [--tab] [--bg] [--window]

Go forward in the history of the current tab.

optional arguments

  • -t, --tab: Go forward in a new tab.

  • -b, --bg: Go forward in a background tab.

  • -w, --window: Go forward in a new window.

count

How many pages to go forward.

fullscreen

Toggle fullscreen mode.

help

Syntax: :help [--tab] [--bg] [--window] [topic]

Show help about a command or setting.

positional arguments

  • topic: The topic to show help for.

    • :command for commands.

    • section->option for settings.

optional arguments

  • -t, --tab: Open in a new tab.

  • -b, --bg: Open in a background tab.

  • -w, --window: Open in a new window.

hint

Syntax: :hint [--rapid] [group] [target] [args [args …]]

Start hinting.

positional arguments

  • group: The hinting mode to use.

    • all: All clickable elements.

    • links: Only links.

    • images: Only images.

  • target: What to do with the selected element.

    • normal: Open the link in the current tab.

    • tab: Open the link in a new tab.

    • tab-bg: Open the link in a new background tab.

    • window: Open the link in a new window.

    • hover : Hover over the link.

    • yank: Yank the link to the clipboard.

    • yank-primary: Yank the link to the primary selection.

    • run: Run the argument as command.

    • fill: Fill the commandline with the command given as argument.

    • download: Download the link.

    • userscript: Call an userscript with $QUTE_URL set to the link.

    • spawn: Spawn a command.

  • args: Arguments for spawn/userscript/run/fill.

    • With spawn: The executable and arguments to spawn. {hint-url} will get replaced by the selected URL.

    • With userscript: The userscript to execute.

    • With fill: The command to fill the statusbar with. {hint-url} will get replaced by the selected URL.

    • With run: Same as fill.

optional arguments

  • -r, --rapid: Whether to do rapid hinting. This is only possible with targets tab-bg, window, run, hover, userscript and spawn.

home

Open main startpage in current tab.

inspector

Toggle the web inspector.

later

Syntax: :later ms command

Execute a command after some time.

positional arguments

  • ms: How many milliseconds to wait.

  • command: The command to run, with optional args.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

Syntax: :navigate [--tab] [--bg] [--window] where

Open typical prev/next links or navigate using the URL path.

This tries to automatically click on typical Previous Page or Next Page links using some heuristics. Alternatively it can navigate by changing the current URL.

positional arguments

  • where: What to open.

    • prev: Open a previous link.

    • next: Open a next link.

    • up: Go up a level in the current URL.

    • increment: Increment the last number in the URL.

    • decrement: Decrement the last number in the URL.

optional arguments

  • -t, --tab: Open in a new tab.

  • -b, --bg: Open in a background tab.

  • -w, --window: Open in a new window.

open

Syntax: :open [--bg] [--tab] [--window] [url]

Open a URL in the current/[count]th tab.

positional arguments

  • url: The URL to open.

optional arguments

  • -b, --bg: Open in a new background tab.

  • -t, --tab: Open in a new tab.

  • -w, --window: Open in a new window.

count

The tab index to open the URL in.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

paste

Syntax: :paste [--sel] [--tab] [--bg] [--window]

Open a page from the clipboard.

optional arguments

  • -s, --sel: Use the primary selection instead of the clipboard.

  • -t, --tab: Open in a new tab.

  • -b, --bg: Open in a background tab.

  • -w, --window: Open in new window.

print

Syntax: :print [--preview]

Print the current/[count]th tab.

optional arguments

  • -p, --preview: Show preview instead of printing.

count

The tab index to print.

quickmark-add

Syntax: :quickmark-add url name

Add a new quickmark.

positional arguments

  • url: The url to add as quickmark.

  • name: The name for the new quickmark.

quickmark-del

Syntax: :quickmark-del name

Delete a quickmark.

positional arguments

  • name: The name of the quickmark to delete.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

quickmark-load

Syntax: :quickmark-load [--tab] [--bg] [--window] name

Load a quickmark.

positional arguments

  • name: The name of the quickmark to load.

optional arguments

  • -t, --tab: Load the quickmark in a new tab.

  • -b, --bg: Load the quickmark in a new background tab.

  • -w, --window: Load the quickmark in a new window.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

quickmark-save

Save the current page as a quickmark.

quit

Quit qutebrowser.

reload

Syntax: :reload [--force]

Reload the current/[count]th tab.

optional arguments

  • -f, --force: Bypass the page cache.

count

The tab index to reload.

repeat

Syntax: :repeat times command

Repeat a given command.

positional arguments

  • times: How many times to repeat.

  • command: The command to run, with optional args.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

report

Report a bug in qutebrowser.

restart

Restart qutebrowser while keeping existing tabs open.

save

Syntax: :save [what [what …]]

Save configs and state.

positional arguments

  • what: What to save (config/key-config/cookies/…). If not given, everything is saved.

Syntax: :search [--reverse] [text]

Search for a text on the current page. With no text, clear results.

positional arguments

  • text: The text to search for.

optional arguments

  • -r, --reverse: Reverse search direction.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

session-delete

Syntax: :session-delete [--force] name

Delete a session.

positional arguments

  • name: The name of the session.

optional arguments

  • -f, --force: Force deleting internal sessions (starting with an underline).

session-load

Syntax: :session-load [--clear] [--temp] [--force] name

Load a session.

positional arguments

  • name: The name of the session.

optional arguments

  • -c, --clear: Close all existing windows.

  • -t, --temp: Don’t set the current session for :session-save.

  • -f, --force: Force loading internal sessions (starting with an underline).

session-save

Syntax: :session-save [--current] [--quiet] [--force] [name]

Save a session.

positional arguments

  • name: The name of the session. If not given, the session configured in general → session-default-name is saved.

optional arguments

  • -c, --current: Save the current session instead of the default.

  • -q, --quiet: Don’t show confirmation message.

  • -f, --force: Force saving internal sessions (starting with an underline).

set

Syntax: :set [--temp] [--print] [section] [option] [value]

Set an option.

If the option name ends with ?, the value of the option is shown instead. If the option name ends with ! and it is a boolean value, toggle it.

positional arguments

  • section: The section where the option is in.

  • option: The name of the option.

  • value: The value to set.

optional arguments

  • -t, --temp: Set value temporarily.

  • -p, --print: Print the value after setting.

set-cmd-text

Syntax: :set-cmd-text [--space] text

Preset the statusbar to some text.

positional arguments

  • text: The commandline to set.

optional arguments

  • -s, --space: If given, a space is added to the end.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

spawn

Syntax: :spawn [--userscript] args [args …]

Spawn a command in a shell.

positional arguments

  • args: The commandline to execute.

optional arguments

  • -u, --userscript: Run the command as an userscript.

stop

Stop loading in the current/[count]th tab.

count

The tab index to stop.

tab-clone

Syntax: :tab-clone [--bg] [--window]

Duplicate the current tab.

optional arguments

  • -b, --bg: Open in a background tab.

  • -w, --window: Open in a new window.

tab-close

Syntax: :tab-close [--left] [--right] [--opposite]

Close the current/[count]th tab.

optional arguments

  • -l, --left: Force selecting the tab to the left of the current tab.

  • -r, --right: Force selecting the tab to the right of the current tab.

  • -o, --opposite: Force selecting the tab in the opposite direction of what’s configured in tabs→select-on-remove.

count

The tab index to close

tab-detach

Detach the current tab to its own window.

tab-focus

Syntax: :tab-focus [index]

Select the tab given as argument/[count].

positional arguments

  • index: The tab index to focus, starting with 1. The special value last focuses the last focused tab.

count

The tab index to focus, starting with 1.

tab-move

Syntax: :tab-move [direction]

Move the current tab.

positional arguments

  • direction: + or - for relative moving, not given for absolute moving.

count

If moving absolutely: New position (default: 0) If moving relatively: Offset.

tab-next

Switch to the next tab, or switch [count] tabs forward.

count

How many tabs to switch forward.

tab-only

Syntax: :tab-only [--left] [--right]

Close all tabs except for the current one.

optional arguments

  • -l, --left: Keep tabs to the left of the current.

  • -r, --right: Keep tabs to the right of the current.

tab-prev

Switch to the previous tab, or switch [count] tabs back.

count

How many tabs to switch back.

unbind

Syntax: :unbind key [mode]

Unbind a keychain.

positional arguments

  • key: The keychain or special key (inside <…>) to unbind.

  • mode: A comma-separated list of modes to unbind the key in (default: normal).

undo

Re-open a closed tab (optionally skipping [count] closed tabs).

view-source

Show the source of the current page.

wq

Syntax: :wq [name]

Save open pages and quit.

positional arguments

  • name: The name of the session.

yank

Syntax: :yank [--title] [--sel]

Yank the current URL/title to the clipboard or primary selection.

optional arguments

  • -t, --title: Yank the title instead of the URL.

  • -s, --sel: Use the primary selection instead of the clipboard.

zoom

Syntax: :zoom [zoom]

Set the zoom level for the current tab.

The zoom can be given as argument or as [count]. If neither of both is given, the zoom is set to the default zoom.

positional arguments

  • zoom: The zoom percentage to set.

count

The zoom percentage to set.

zoom-in

Increase the zoom level for the current tab.

count

How many steps to zoom in.

zoom-out

Decrease the zoom level for the current tab.

count

How many steps to zoom out.

Hidden commands

Table 2. Quick reference
Command Description

command-accept

Execute the command currently in the commandline.

command-history-next

Go forward in the commandline history.

command-history-prev

Go back in the commandline history.

completion-item-next

Select the next completion item.

completion-item-prev

Select the previous completion item.

enter-mode

Enter a key mode.

follow-hint

Follow the currently selected hint.

leave-mode

Leave the mode we’re currently in.

open-editor

Open an external editor with the currently selected form field.

prompt-accept

Accept the current prompt.

prompt-no

Answer no to a yes/no prompt.

prompt-yes

Answer yes to a yes/no prompt.

rl-backward-char

Move back a character.

rl-backward-delete-char

Delete the character before the cursor.

rl-backward-word

Move back to the start of the current or previous word.

rl-beginning-of-line

Move to the start of the line.

rl-delete-char

Delete the character after the cursor.

rl-end-of-line

Move to the end of the line.

rl-forward-char

Move forward a character.

rl-forward-word

Move forward to the end of the next word.

rl-kill-line

Remove chars from the cursor to the end of the line.

rl-kill-word

Remove chars from the cursor to the end of the current word.

rl-unix-line-discard

Remove chars backward from the cursor to the beginning of the line.

rl-unix-word-rubout

Remove chars from the cursor to the beginning of the word.

rl-yank

Paste the most recently deleted text.

scroll

Scroll the current tab by count * dx/dy.

scroll-page

Scroll the frame page-wise.

scroll-perc

Scroll to a specific percentage of the page.

search-next

Continue the search to the ([count]th) next term.

search-prev

Continue the search to the ([count]th) previous term.

command-accept

Execute the command currently in the commandline.

command-history-next

Go forward in the commandline history.

command-history-prev

Go back in the commandline history.

completion-item-next

Select the next completion item.

completion-item-prev

Select the previous completion item.

enter-mode

Syntax: :enter-mode mode

Enter a key mode.

positional arguments

  • mode: The mode to enter.

follow-hint

Follow the currently selected hint.

leave-mode

Leave the mode we’re currently in.

open-editor

Open an external editor with the currently selected form field.

The editor which should be launched can be configured via the general -> editor config option.

prompt-accept

Accept the current prompt.

prompt-no

Answer no to a yes/no prompt.

prompt-yes

Answer yes to a yes/no prompt.

rl-backward-char

Move back a character.

This acts like readline’s backward-char.

rl-backward-delete-char

Delete the character before the cursor.

This acts like readline’s backward-delete-char.

rl-backward-word

Move back to the start of the current or previous word.

This acts like readline’s backward-word.

rl-beginning-of-line

Move to the start of the line.

This acts like readline’s beginning-of-line.

rl-delete-char

Delete the character after the cursor.

This acts like readline’s delete-char.

rl-end-of-line

Move to the end of the line.

This acts like readline’s end-of-line.

rl-forward-char

Move forward a character.

This acts like readline’s forward-char.

rl-forward-word

Move forward to the end of the next word.

This acts like readline’s forward-word.

rl-kill-line

Remove chars from the cursor to the end of the line.

This acts like readline’s kill-line.

rl-kill-word

Remove chars from the cursor to the end of the current word.

This acts like readline’s kill-word.

rl-unix-line-discard

Remove chars backward from the cursor to the beginning of the line.

This acts like readline’s unix-line-discard.

rl-unix-word-rubout

Remove chars from the cursor to the beginning of the word.

This acts like readline’s unix-word-rubout.

rl-yank

Paste the most recently deleted text.

This acts like readline’s yank.

scroll

Syntax: :scroll dx dy

Scroll the current tab by count * dx/dy.

positional arguments

  • dx: How much to scroll in x-direction.

  • dy: How much to scroll in x-direction.

count

multiplier

scroll-page

Syntax: :scroll-page x y

Scroll the frame page-wise.

positional arguments

  • x: How many pages to scroll to the right.

  • y: How many pages to scroll down.

count

multiplier

scroll-perc

Syntax: :scroll-perc [--horizontal] [perc]

Scroll to a specific percentage of the page.

The percentage can be given either as argument or as count. If no percentage is given, the page is scrolled to the end.

positional arguments

  • perc: Percentage to scroll.

optional arguments

  • -x, --horizontal: Scroll horizontally instead of vertically.

count

Percentage to scroll.

search-next

Continue the search to the ([count]th) next term.

count

How many elements to ignore.

search-prev

Continue the search to the ([count]th) previous term.

count

How many elements to ignore.

Debugging commands

These commands are mainly intended for debugging. They are hidden if qutebrowser was started without the --debug-flag.

Table 3. Quick reference
Command Description

debug-all-objects

Print a list of all objects to the debug log.

debug-cache-stats

Print LRU cache stats.

debug-console

Show the debugging console.

debug-crash

Crash for debugging purposes.

debug-pyeval

Evaluate a python string and display the results as a web page.

debug-trace

Trace executed code via hunter.

debug-all-objects

Print a list of all objects to the debug log.

debug-cache-stats

Print LRU cache stats.

debug-console

Show the debugging console.

debug-crash

Syntax: :debug-crash [typ]

Crash for debugging purposes.

positional arguments

  • typ: either exception or segfault.

debug-pyeval

Syntax: :debug-pyeval s

Evaluate a python string and display the results as a web page.

positional arguments

  • s: The string to evaluate.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.

debug-trace

Syntax: :debug-trace [expr]

Trace executed code via hunter.

positional arguments

  • expr: What to trace, passed to hunter.

note

  • This command does not split arguments after the last argument and handles quotes literally.

  • With this command, ;; is interpreted literally instead of splitting off a second command.