---
name: "qutebrowser"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "qutebrowser"
version: "3.7.0-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/qutebrowser"
---

# qutebrowser(1)

a keyboard-driven, vim-like browser based on Python and Qt.

## NAME

qutebrowser - a keyboard-driven, vim-like browser based on Python and Qt.

## SYNOPSIS

**qutebrowser** \[*-OPTION* \[*...*\]\] \[*:COMMAND* \[*...*\]\] \[*URL* \[*...*\]\]

## DESCRIPTION

qutebrowser is a keyboard-focused browser with a minimal GUI. It’s based on Python and Qt and is free software, licensed under the GPL.

It was inspired by other browsers/addons like dwb and Vimperator/Pentadactyl.

Note the commands and settings of qutebrowser are not described in this manpage, but in the help integrated in qutebrowser - use the ":help" command to show it.

## OPTIONS

### positional arguments

*:command*

Commands to execute on startup.

*URL*

URLs to open on startup (empty as a window separator).

### options

- **-h**, **--help**

  show this help message and exit

- **-B** *BASEDIR*, **--basedir** *BASEDIR*

  Base directory for all storage.

- **-C** *CONFIG*, **--config-py** *CONFIG*

  Path to config.py.

- **-V**, **--version**

  Show version and quit.

**-s** *OPTION* *VALUE*, **--set** *OPTION* *VALUE*

Set a temporary setting for this session.

- **-r** *SESSION*, **--restore** *SESSION*

  Restore a named session.

- **-R**, **--override-restore**

  Don’t restore a session even if one would be restored.

- **--target** *{auto,tab,tab-bg,tab-silent,tab-bg-silent,window,private-window}*

  How URLs should be opened if there is already a qutebrowser instance running.

- **--backend** *{webkit,webengine}*

  Which backend to use.

- **--qt-wrapper** *{PyQt6,PyQt5}*

  Which Qt wrapper to use. This can also be set via the QUTE\_QT\_WRAPPER environment variable. If both are set, the command line argument takes precedence.

- **--desktop-file-name** *DESKTOP\_FILE\_NAME*

  Set the base name of the desktop entry for this application. Used to set the app\_id under Wayland. See https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/qguiapplication.html#desktopFileName-prop

- **--untrusted-args**

  Mark all following arguments as untrusted, which enforces that they are URLs/search terms (and not flags or commands)

### debug arguments

- **-l** *{critical,error,warning,info,debug,vdebug}*, **--loglevel** *{critical,error,warning,info,debug,vdebug}*

  Override the configured console loglevel

- **--logfilter** *LOGFILTER*

  Comma-separated list of things to be logged to the debug log on stdout.

- **--loglines** *LOGLINES*

  How many lines of the debug log to keep in RAM (-1: unlimited).

- **-d**, **--debug**

  Turn on debugging options.

- **--json-logging**

  Output log lines in JSON format (one object per line).

- **--nocolor**

  Turn off colored logging.

- **--force-color**

  Force colored logging

- **--nowindow**

  Don’t show the main window.

- **-T**, **--temp-basedir**

  Use a temporary basedir.

- **--no-err-windows**

  Don’t show any error windows (used for tests/smoke.py).

**--qt-arg** *NAME* *VALUE*

Pass an argument with a value to Qt. For example, you can do --qt-arg geometry 650x555+200+300 to set the window geometry.

- **--qt-flag** *QT\_FLAG*

  Pass an argument to Qt as flag.

- **-D** *DEBUG\_FLAGS*, **--debug-flag** *DEBUG\_FLAGS*

  Pass name of debugging feature to be turned on.

## FILES

• *~/.config/qutebrowser/config.py*: Configuration file.

• *~/.config/qutebrowser/autoconfig.yml*: Configuration done via the GUI.

• *~/.config/qutebrowser/quickmarks*: Saved quickmarks.

• *~/.local/share/qutebrowser/*: Various state information.

• *~/.cache/qutebrowser/*: Temporary data.

Note qutebrowser conforms to the XDG basedir specification - if *XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME*, *XDG\_DATA\_HOME* or *XDG\_CACHE\_HOME* are set in the environment, the directories configured there are used instead of the above defaults.

## BUGS

Bugs are tracked in the Github issue tracker at https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/issues.

If you found a bug, use the built-in *:report* command to create a bug report with all information needed.

If you prefer, you can also write to the mailinglist at qutebrowser@lists.qutebrowser.org instead.

For security bugs, please contact security@qutebrowser.org (or if GPG encryption is desired, contact me@the-compiler.org with GPG ID 0x916EB0C8FD55A072).

Alternatively, report a vulnerability via GitHub’s private reporting feature.

## COPYRIGHT

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

## RESOURCES

• Website: https://www.qutebrowser.org/

• Mailinglist: qutebrowser@lists.qutebrowser.org / https://listi.jpberlin.de/mailman/listinfo/qutebrowser

• Announce-only mailinglist: qutebrowser-announce@lists.qutebrowser.org / https://listi.jpberlin.de/mailman/listinfo/qutebrowser-announce

• IRC: #qutebrowser on Libera Chat (webchat, via Matrix)

• Github: https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser

## AUTHOR

**qutebrowser** was written by Freya Bruhin. All contributors can be found in the README file distributed with qutebrowser.