What's the difference between x-www-browser and gnome-www-browser?
Both are scripts that, when configured by update-alternatives
, call the default application for internet browsing on a GUI environment.
The script x-www-browser
calls the application configured to run on any desktop environment that runs under X Server, while gnome-www-browser
application configured specifically calls for GNOME. Similarly, www-browser
is a script to call the default browser on a TUI (text-based user interface) environment, such as w3m
or elinks
, for example.
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You can check which browser they are associated with the commands
update-alternatives --display x-www-browser update-alternatives --display gnome-www-browser
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To list all the alternatives to these scripts, use
update-alternatives --list x-www-browser update-alternatives --list gnome-www-browser
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To configure a default browser, use the commands
sudo update-alternatives --config x-www-browser sudo update-alternatives --config gnome-www-browser
Since these scripts can call different browsers, it may happen that a certain program call a browser other than the default browser. This often causes confusion for some users, but this issue can be fixed by running the command sudo update-alternatives --config
as explained in item 3, above.
Sources:
- http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/91
- http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-faq/ch-customizing.en.html
- http://wiki.debian.org/DebianAlternatives
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Updated on September 18, 2022Comments
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Admin almost 2 years
What's the difference between x-www-browser and gnome-www-browser? I came across it here: Setting the default browser when update-alternatives fails.
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johndodo almost 6 yearsThanks for a nice sum-up! Additionally, to install a new alternative (just before 3), use
update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/x-www-browser x-www-browser /opt/firefox/firefox 100
(and the same forx-www-browser
).