1:mod:`!webbrowser` --- Convenient web-browser controller 2======================================================== 3 4.. module:: webbrowser 5 :synopsis: Easy-to-use controller for web browsers. 6 7.. moduleauthor:: Fred L. Drake, Jr. <fdrake@acm.org> 8.. sectionauthor:: Fred L. Drake, Jr. <fdrake@acm.org> 9 10**Source code:** :source:`Lib/webbrowser.py` 11 12-------------- 13 14The :mod:`webbrowser` module provides a high-level interface to allow displaying 15web-based documents to users. Under most circumstances, simply calling the 16:func:`.open` function from this module will do the right thing. 17 18Under Unix, graphical browsers are preferred under X11, but text-mode browsers 19will be used if graphical browsers are not available or an X11 display isn't 20available. If text-mode browsers are used, the calling process will block until 21the user exits the browser. 22 23If the environment variable :envvar:`BROWSER` exists, it is interpreted as the 24:data:`os.pathsep`-separated list of browsers to try ahead of the platform 25defaults. When the value of a list part contains the string ``%s``, then it is 26interpreted as a literal browser command line to be used with the argument URL 27substituted for ``%s``; if the part does not contain ``%s``, it is simply 28interpreted as the name of the browser to launch. [1]_ 29 30For non-Unix platforms, or when a remote browser is available on Unix, the 31controlling process will not wait for the user to finish with the browser, but 32allow the remote browser to maintain its own windows on the display. If remote 33browsers are not available on Unix, the controlling process will launch a new 34browser and wait. 35 36On iOS, the :envvar:`BROWSER` environment variable, as well as any arguments 37controlling autoraise, browser preference, and new tab/window creation will be 38ignored. Web pages will *always* be opened in the user's preferred browser, in 39a new tab, with the browser being brought to the foreground. The use of the 40:mod:`webbrowser` module on iOS requires the :mod:`ctypes` module. If 41:mod:`ctypes` isn't available, calls to :func:`.open` will fail. 42 43The script :program:`webbrowser` can be used as a command-line interface for the 44module. It accepts a URL as the argument. It accepts the following optional 45parameters: 46 47* ``-n``/``--new-window`` opens the URL in a new browser window, if possible. 48* ``-t``/``--new-tab`` opens the URL in a new browser page ("tab"). 49 50The options are, naturally, mutually exclusive. Usage example:: 51 52 python -m webbrowser -t "https://www.python.org" 53 54.. availability:: not WASI, not Android. 55 56The following exception is defined: 57 58 59.. exception:: Error 60 61 Exception raised when a browser control error occurs. 62 63The following functions are defined: 64 65 66.. function:: open(url, new=0, autoraise=True) 67 68 Display *url* using the default browser. If *new* is 0, the *url* is opened 69 in the same browser window if possible. If *new* is 1, a new browser window 70 is opened if possible. If *new* is 2, a new browser page ("tab") is opened 71 if possible. If *autoraise* is ``True``, the window is raised if possible 72 (note that under many window managers this will occur regardless of the 73 setting of this variable). 74 75 Returns ``True`` if a browser was successfully launched, ``False`` otherwise. 76 77 Note that on some platforms, trying to open a filename using this function, 78 may work and start the operating system's associated program. However, this 79 is neither supported nor portable. 80 81 .. audit-event:: webbrowser.open url webbrowser.open 82 83 84.. function:: open_new(url) 85 86 Open *url* in a new window of the default browser, if possible, otherwise, open 87 *url* in the only browser window. 88 89 Returns ``True`` if a browser was successfully launched, ``False`` otherwise. 90 91 92.. function:: open_new_tab(url) 93 94 Open *url* in a new page ("tab") of the default browser, if possible, otherwise 95 equivalent to :func:`open_new`. 96 97 Returns ``True`` if a browser was successfully launched, ``False`` otherwise. 98 99 100.. function:: get(using=None) 101 102 Return a controller object for the browser type *using*. If *using* is 103 ``None``, return a controller for a default browser appropriate to the 104 caller's environment. 105 106 107.. function:: register(name, constructor, instance=None, *, preferred=False) 108 109 Register the browser type *name*. Once a browser type is registered, the 110 :func:`get` function can return a controller for that browser type. If 111 *instance* is not provided, or is ``None``, *constructor* will be called without 112 parameters to create an instance when needed. If *instance* is provided, 113 *constructor* will never be called, and may be ``None``. 114 115 Setting *preferred* to ``True`` makes this browser a preferred result for 116 a :func:`get` call with no argument. Otherwise, this entry point is only 117 useful if you plan to either set the :envvar:`BROWSER` variable or call 118 :func:`get` with a nonempty argument matching the name of a handler you 119 declare. 120 121 .. versionchanged:: 3.7 122 *preferred* keyword-only parameter was added. 123 124A number of browser types are predefined. This table gives the type names that 125may be passed to the :func:`get` function and the corresponding instantiations 126for the controller classes, all defined in this module. 127 128+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 129| Type Name | Class Name | Notes | 130+========================+=========================================+=======+ 131| ``'mozilla'`` | ``Mozilla('mozilla')`` | | 132+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 133| ``'firefox'`` | ``Mozilla('mozilla')`` | | 134+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 135| ``'epiphany'`` | ``Epiphany('epiphany')`` | | 136+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 137| ``'kfmclient'`` | ``Konqueror()`` | \(1) | 138+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 139| ``'konqueror'`` | ``Konqueror()`` | \(1) | 140+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 141| ``'kfm'`` | ``Konqueror()`` | \(1) | 142+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 143| ``'opera'`` | ``Opera()`` | | 144+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 145| ``'links'`` | ``GenericBrowser('links')`` | | 146+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 147| ``'elinks'`` | ``Elinks('elinks')`` | | 148+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 149| ``'lynx'`` | ``GenericBrowser('lynx')`` | | 150+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 151| ``'w3m'`` | ``GenericBrowser('w3m')`` | | 152+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 153| ``'windows-default'`` | ``WindowsDefault`` | \(2) | 154+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 155| ``'macosx'`` | ``MacOSXOSAScript('default')`` | \(3) | 156+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 157| ``'safari'`` | ``MacOSXOSAScript('safari')`` | \(3) | 158+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 159| ``'google-chrome'`` | ``Chrome('google-chrome')`` | | 160+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 161| ``'chrome'`` | ``Chrome('chrome')`` | | 162+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 163| ``'chromium'`` | ``Chromium('chromium')`` | | 164+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 165| ``'chromium-browser'`` | ``Chromium('chromium-browser')`` | | 166+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 167| ``'iosbrowser'`` | ``IOSBrowser`` | \(4) | 168+------------------------+-----------------------------------------+-------+ 169 170Notes: 171 172(1) 173 "Konqueror" is the file manager for the KDE desktop environment for Unix, and 174 only makes sense to use if KDE is running. Some way of reliably detecting KDE 175 would be nice; the :envvar:`!KDEDIR` variable is not sufficient. Note also that 176 the name "kfm" is used even when using the :program:`konqueror` command with KDE 177 2 --- the implementation selects the best strategy for running Konqueror. 178 179(2) 180 Only on Windows platforms. 181 182(3) 183 Only on macOS. 184 185(4) 186 Only on iOS. 187 188.. versionadded:: 3.2 189 A new :class:`!MacOSXOSAScript` class has been added 190 and is used on Mac instead of the previous :class:`!MacOSX` class. 191 This adds support for opening browsers not currently set as the OS default. 192 193.. versionadded:: 3.3 194 Support for Chrome/Chromium has been added. 195 196.. versionchanged:: 3.12 197 Support for several obsolete browsers has been removed. 198 Removed browsers include Grail, Mosaic, Netscape, Galeon, 199 Skipstone, Iceape, and Firefox versions 35 and below. 200 201.. versionchanged:: 3.13 202 Support for iOS has been added. 203 204Here are some simple examples:: 205 206 url = 'https://docs.python.org/' 207 208 # Open URL in a new tab, if a browser window is already open. 209 webbrowser.open_new_tab(url) 210 211 # Open URL in new window, raising the window if possible. 212 webbrowser.open_new(url) 213 214 215.. _browser-controllers: 216 217Browser Controller Objects 218-------------------------- 219 220Browser controllers provide these methods which parallel three of the 221module-level convenience functions: 222 223 224.. attribute:: controller.name 225 226 System-dependent name for the browser. 227 228 229.. method:: controller.open(url, new=0, autoraise=True) 230 231 Display *url* using the browser handled by this controller. If *new* is 1, a new 232 browser window is opened if possible. If *new* is 2, a new browser page ("tab") 233 is opened if possible. 234 235 236.. method:: controller.open_new(url) 237 238 Open *url* in a new window of the browser handled by this controller, if 239 possible, otherwise, open *url* in the only browser window. Alias 240 :func:`open_new`. 241 242 243.. method:: controller.open_new_tab(url) 244 245 Open *url* in a new page ("tab") of the browser handled by this controller, if 246 possible, otherwise equivalent to :func:`open_new`. 247 248 249.. rubric:: Footnotes 250 251.. [1] Executables named here without a full path will be searched in the 252 directories given in the :envvar:`PATH` environment variable. 253