Qutebrowser is a keyboard-focused, Vim-inspired web browser built with Python and Qt. On Linux, you can install it from several distribution repositories, then handle most everyday browsing without reaching for the mouse. This guide covers the current installation options, the shortcuts that matter first, and the supported ways to customize the browser.
Qutebrowser's own installation guide lists packages for major Linux distributions. The project notes that distro packages are community-maintained, so versions in Debian Stable or Ubuntu can lag behind upstream releases.
Open a terminal and use the command for your distribution:
sudo apt install qutebrowsersudo dnf install qutebrowsersudo pacman -S qutebrowseremerge -av qutebrowser as root.xbps-install qutebrowser as root.For openSUSE, the official Qutebrowser instructions point users to prebuilt packages on the openSUSE Build Service rather than documenting a universal default-repository command.
After installation, launch the browser from your desktop application menu or run qutebrowser in a terminal. If a distro package is old or broken, check the upstream installation page before adding third-party repositories.
The fastest way to learn Qutebrowser is to use its normal-mode shortcuts. According to the official Qutebrowser quickstart, press o to enter a URL or search query in the current tab. Press O instead to open it in a new tab. If the text is not recognized as a URL, Qutebrowser sends it to the configured search engine; DuckDuckGo is the default search engine documented by the project.
For page navigation, use the arrow keys or the Vim-style h, j, k, and l keys. Press H to go back in history and L to go forward. Use + and - to zoom.
Press f to enter hint mode. Qutebrowser places short labels over clickable elements; type the label shown on the link you want. This is one of the browser's defining features because it makes link navigation practical without pointer movement.
A small set of shortcuts covers most daily browsing:
Commands provide access to functions that do not need a dedicated shortcut. For example, use :bookmark-add to save the current page and :bookmark-list to open the bookmark list. The official command reference documents available commands and their options.
For simple changes, press : and run :set with no arguments. Qutebrowser opens its qute://settings page, where supported settings can be changed and saved to autoconfig.yml. The project specifically advises against editing that YAML file by hand.
Advanced users can create config.py, typically at ~/.config/qutebrowser/config.py on Linux. Run :config-edit to open it in your configured editor and :config-source to reload it. The official configuration guide also explains an important detail: once a config.py exists, autoconfig.yml is not loaded automatically unless your Python configuration calls config.load_autoconfig().
:help whenever you need the built-in documentation.Once those shortcuts become familiar, Qutebrowser works much like a modal editor for the web: normal mode handles navigation, hint mode selects page elements, insert mode passes typing to web forms, and command mode gives direct access to browser actions.
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