Midori

A lightweight, portable GTK+ web browser

Authors: Christian Dywan
Date: 2009-11-18
Version: 0.2.2

Copyright © 2008-2009

This documentation is distributed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Contents

Introduction

What is Midori

Midori is a lightweight and portable web browser based on Gtk+. The interface is designed to be intuitive yet powerful.

  • Full integration with GTK+2.
  • Fast rendering with WebKit.
  • Tabs, windows and session management.
  • Flexibly configurable Web Search.
  • User scripts and user styles support.
  • Straightforward bookmark management.
  • Customizable and extensible interface.
  • Extensions written in C.

Running Midori

  • If you are using a graphical desktop environment you will usually find Midori in the menu under Network.

  • You can also run Midori from a console or a Run dialog. See also Command line usage.

    $ midori

A browser window appears where you can start navigating the web right away.

The main interface

The main browser window consists of a few basic elements:

  • The menubar. It's pretty much standardized and gives you access to allmost all features, many of the items have a keyboard shortcut by default. See also Keyboard shortcuts.
  • The navigationbar. It lets you open tabs, go back and forward, enter addresses, search the web and reopen closed tabs. See also The navigationbar.
  • The sidepanel. It takes a pretty central role in the functionality it provides, yet it can be hidden and resized to not distract you. See also The sidepanel.
  • The statusbar. It displays informational text when hovering something with a pointer. That's it.

Taking a closer look

Command line usage

Running Midori normally works as follows:

  • $ midori

    Just run a new instance of Midori. If an instance of Midori is already running a new window in that instance will be opened.

  • $ midori [URIs]

    You can supply any number of URIs to open as arguments. If you have a saved session or a running instance they will be added to the last active window.

  • $ midori [URI1]|[URI2]|...

    You can separate URIS by a pipe (|) as well. They are handled as if you provided all URIs as separate arguments.

  • $ midori --run [JAVASCRIPT]

    If you pass the filename of a javascript Midori will attempt to run the contents of the file as javascript code.

Note that support for opening tabs in an existing instance depends on your build and may not be available on some platforms.

The following arguments are supported if you call Midori from a command line.

Short Long option Function
-a --app Run ADDRESS as a web application
-c --config Use FOLDER as configuration folder
-r --run Run the specified filename as javascript
-s --snapshot Take a snapshot of the specified URI
-V --version Show version information and exit.

Configuration files

The configuration files in Midori that save related states are by default stored in the folder ~/.config/midori in the home directory. It is possible to use a different folder by specifying '--config' on the command line.

The files stored in the primary configuration folder are the following:

Filename Contents
accels Keyboard shortcuts, GtkAccelMap resource
bookmarks.xbel Bookmarks, XBEL
config Preferences, text key file
cookies.txt Cookies, Mozilla text cookies
history.db History, sqlite3
logins Usernames and passwords, plain text
running A file created to track whether Midori quit cleanly
search Search engines, text key file
session.xbel The current or last session, ie. open tabs,
tabtrash.xbel The 10 last closed tabs

Note that generally manual modifications to these files aren't recommended. As an exception, while Midori is not running, it is possible to edit or replace the 'bookmarks.xbel' as long as it is valid XBEL/ XML.

Currently while Midori is running it will happily overwrite files as needed and never read back any changes.

The navigationbar

The navigationbar is the primary toolbar containing notably back and forward buttons, the location entry and a search entry. The "Toolbar Editor" extension can be used to add or remove items.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce Midori and what does it mean anyway?

Pronounce it "midoɺi", with a Bavarian/ Japanese "r" or "Mee-Doh-Ree" in English or read it Italian. The name comes from the Japanese word 緑 (みどり) for the colour "green".

What does the logo mean?

The paw of a green cat. Obviously. Also it resembles the letter "M" in "Midori". The curving is supposed to emphasize speed.

On which platforms does Midori run currently?

Midori is basically very portable and should run on all platforms that its dependencies support.

Under which license is Midori distributed?

Midori, documentation and all delivered artwork are licensed under the LGPL2.

GNU Lesser General Public License

GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Version 2.1, February 1999

FIXME: Provide full license text