The sys admin's daily grind
Charly's Column – googler
If you are a genuine admin, you will want to be able to google things at the command line. Charly uses googler for this; it has pretty useful capabilities despite the unimaginative name.
What if you need to google something but only have access to a command line? You could just grab your smartphone, but if you want to copy and paste something from the search results, that's not really a good solution. A text-mode browser like Lynx is more suitable.
But there is another option that is more powerful and fits seamlessly into the workflow on the console: googler [1]. Many distributions have the tool in their package repositories, but it can also be installed manually with a few commands (Listing 1). The current version (at press time in July 2021) is googler 4.3.2.
In the simplest case, you can start a keyword search on Google by calling googler TERM. The result for the keyword "Linux" is shown in Figure 1. You can see that googler numbers the search results. If you type the number for a search result, googler passes the address to the default web browser to open. If this does not work for you, that means that googler cannot determine the appropriate browser. You then need to pass in the name of the program with the --url-handler parameters, for example, as --url-handler lynx (or whatever you use).
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Framework Laptop 13 Pro Competes with the Best
Framework has released what might be considered the MacBook of Linux devices.
-
The Latest CachyOS Features Supercharged Kernel
The latest release of CachyOS brings with it an enhanced version of the latest Linux kernel.
-
Kernel 7.0 Is a Bit More Rusty
Linux kernel 7.0 has been released for general availability, with Rust finally getting its due.
-
France Says "Au Revoir" to Microsoft
In a move that should surprise no one, France announced plans to reduce its reliance on US technology, and Microsoft Windows is the first to get the boot.
-
CIQ Releases Compatibility Catalog for Rocky Linux
The company behind Rocky Linux is making an open catalog available to developers, hobbyists, and other contributors, so they can verify and publish compatibility with the CIQ lineup.
-
KDE Gets Some Resuscitation
KDE is bringing back two themes that vanished a few years ago, putting a bit more air under its wings.
-
Ubuntu 26.04 Beta Arrives with Some Surprises
Ubuntu 26.04 is almost here, but the beta version has been released, and it might surprise some people.
-
Ubuntu MATE Dev Leaving After 12 years
Martin Wimpress, the maintainer of Ubuntu MATE, is now searching for his successor. Are you the next in line?
-
Kali Linux Waxes Nostalgic with BackTrack Mode
For those who've used Kali Linux since its inception, the changes with the new release are sure to put a smile on your face.
-
Gnome 50 Smooths Out NVIDIA GPU Issues
Gamers rejoice, your favorite pastime just got better with Gnome 50 and NVIDIA GPUs.