1# Getting Started
2
3## Launch the Browser
4
5```bash
6dumber browse
7```
8
9Or use the desktop entry after running `dumber setup`.
10
11## Basic Navigation
12
13Dumber uses modal keybindings inspired by Zellij:
14
15| Mode | Activation | Purpose |
16|------|------------|---------|
17| Pane Mode | `Ctrl+P` | Split, close, focus panes |
18| Tab Mode | `Ctrl+T` | Create, close, switch tabs |
19| Vim Mode | `Ctrl+Y` | Scroll, navigate headings, and focus page inputs with Vim-style commands; arrow keys stay native and page focus stays inside the page while other app shortcuts wait until exit |
20| Resize Mode | `Ctrl+N` | Resize pane splits |
21| Session Mode | `Ctrl+O` | Session management |
22
23Press `Escape` or `Enter` to exit any mode.
24Vim Mode stays local to the active pane and automatically leaves the mode when focus moves into the omnibox, find bar, overlays, or a page editable.
25
26## Pane Mode Quick Reference
27
281. Press `Ctrl+P` to enter pane mode
292. Use arrow keys or `hjkl` to split in that direction
303. `Shift+arrows` to focus adjacent panes
314. `X` to close current pane
32
33## Vim Mode Quick Reference
34
351. Press `Ctrl+Y` to enter Vim Mode
362. Use `h`, `j`, `k`, `l` to scroll left, down, up, or right
373. Use `Shift+J` / `Shift+K` for faster vertical jumps
384. Arrow keys continue to use the browser engine's native page navigation while Vim Mode is active
395. Use `gi` to cycle through visible page inputs; use `]]` and `[[` to move through headings
406. `Tab` and `Shift+Tab` traverse focusable page controls while a page input is focused
417. Other app-level shortcuts stay suspended until you leave Vim Mode
428. Press `Escape` or `Enter` to leave the mode
439. `Ctrl+Y` can activate Vim Mode even when a page input or editor is already focused
44
45> **Engine behavior**: CEF and WebKit execute Vim Mode scroll steps with the
46> shared `BuildPageScrollByJS` resolver (viewport-center start, nested-scroller
47> handoff, document fallback). The application repeater owns held-key cadence;
48> each engine runs one immediate step per tick. Cross-origin frames are
49> best-effort. CEF may use native precision-wheel input only before the browser
50> frame is ready.
51
52## Omnibox
53
54Press `Ctrl+L` to open the omnibox for:
55- URL navigation
56- Search (uses default search engine)
57- Bang shortcuts (`!g query` for Google, `!gh query` for GitHub)
58
59## Floating Pane
60
61- Press `Alt+F` to toggle the floating pane.
62- Press `Ctrl+W` to close the active pane; if the floating pane is active, this fully releases it so the next open starts fresh.
63- Some `Alt+<key>` bindings can conflict with browser-engine shortcuts or desktop-level handlers.
64
65See [Floating Pane](./reference/floating-pane.md) for profile shortcuts and configuration.
66
67## Configuration
68
69Edit `~/.config/dumber/config.toml` or use:
70
71```bash
72dumber config open
73```
74
75See [Configuration](./config/index.md) for all options.
76
77## Launcher Integration
78
79Use with rofi or fuzzel:
80
81```bash
82dumber dmenu | rofi -dmenu -show-icons | dumber dmenu --select
83```
84
85## Website Permissions
86
87Dumber includes a built-in permissions system for camera, microphone, and screen sharing:
88
89- **Custom dialog** - Clean permission prompts replace native GTK dialogs
90- **Persistent choices** - "Always Allow" and "Always Deny" are saved per-origin
91- **Privacy-focused** - All permissions stored locally
92- **Camera & Microphone** - Fully working on Wayland/PipeWire
93
94> ⚠️ **WebKit fallback note**: Screen sharing does not currently work on Wayland with WebKitGTK 6.0. This is a known WebKitGTK limitation and does not describe the default CEF backend.
95
96When a website requests camera or microphone access, you'll see a permission dialog with options to allow once, always allow, deny, or always deny.
97
98See [Website Permissions](./reference/permissions.md) for details.
99
100## Crash Reporting
101
102If Dumber exits unexpectedly, crash reports are automatically generated:
103
104```bash
105# List all crash reports
106dumber crashes
107
108# View the latest crash report
109dumber crashes show latest
110
111# Generate GitHub issue payload
112dumber crashes issue latest
113```
114
115See [Session Exit Classification](./reference/session-exit-classification-runbook.md) for troubleshooting.
116
117## Next Steps
118
119- [Configuration Reference](./reference/configuration.md) - All settings
120- [Keybindings](./reference/keybindings.md) - Full keyboard shortcuts
121- [CLI Commands](./cli/index.md) - Command-line tools