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.

cancel-download

Cancel the first/[count]th download.

close

Close the current window.

download

Download a given URL, given as string.

download-page

Download the current page.

forward

Go forward in the history of the current tab.

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.

run-userscript

Run an userscript given as argument.

save

Save the config file.

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-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.

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] 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).

cancel-download

Cancel the first/[count]th download.

count

The index of the download to cancel.

close

Close the current window.

download

Syntax: :download url [dest]

Download a given URL, given as string.

positional arguments

  • url: The URL to download

  • dest: The file path to write the download to to ask.

download-page

Download the current page.

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.

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 [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.

    • rapid: Open the link in a new tab and stay in hinting mode.

    • rapid-win: Open the link in a new window and stay in hinting mode.

    • 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

quickmark-save

Save the current page as a quickmark.

quit

Quit qutebrowser.

reload

Reload the current/[count]th tab.

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.

report

Report a bug in qutebrowser.

restart

Restart qutebrowser while keeping existing tabs open.

run-userscript

Syntax: :run-userscript cmd [args [args …]]

Run an userscript given as argument.

positional arguments

  • cmd: The userscript to run.

  • args: Arguments to pass to the userscript.

save

Save the config file.

set

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

Set an option.

If the option name ends with ?, the value of the option is shown instead.

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.

set-cmd-text

Syntax: :set-cmd-text text

Preset the statusbar to some text.

positional arguments

  • text: The commandline to set.

spawn

Syntax: :spawn args [args …]

Spawn a command in a shell.

positional arguments

  • args: The commandline to execute.

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 oppsite direction of what’s configured in tabs→select-on-remove.

count

The tab index to close

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.

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 100%.

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 webpage.

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 webpage.

positional arguments

  • s: The string to evaluate.