Browser Selector

A bash script that allows you to choose which web browser to use when opening URLs, instead of being limited to your system's default browser.

Features

Interactive browser selection: Choose from all installed web browsers when opening a URL
Automatic browser detection: Finds all browsers installed on your system that can handle HTTP/HTTPS URLs
Multi-platform support: Detects browsers installed via:
- System packages (/usr/share/applications)
- User installations (~/.local/share/applications)
- Flatpak applications (/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/applications)
- Local installations (/usr/local/share/applications)
Clean command extraction: Properly extracts executable commands from desktop files, including Flatpak commands
Self-exclusion: Prevents infinite loops by excluding itself from the browser list
Error handling: Provides clear error messages and validates user input
Symbolic link support: Handles Flatpak symbolic links correctly

Installation

Quick Setup

Copy the script to your local bin directory:

cp browser-selector.sh ~/.local/bin/
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/browser-selector.sh

Copy the desktop file to your local applications directory:

cp browser-selector.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Update the desktop database:

update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/

Set as your default browser:

xdg-settings set default-web-browser browser-selector.desktop

Automated Installation

Use the included installation script:

./install.sh

This will guide you through the installation process and optionally set the browser selector as your default browser.

Usage

Command Line

# Open a URL with browser selection
./browser-selector.sh "https://example.com"

# The script will show you available browsers and let you choose

As Default Browser

Once installed and set as your default browser, clicking any web link will:

Show you a list of available browsers
Let you choose which one to use
Open the URL with your selected browser

Example Output

==========================================
Browser Selector
==========================================
URL to open: https://example.com
Select a browser:
------------------------------------------
1) Brave
2) Firefox
3) Microsoft Edge
4) Ungoogled Chromium
5) Vivaldi
6) Web (Epiphany)
7) Zen Browser
------------------------------------------
Enter your choice (1-7): 3
------------------------------------------
Opening 'https://example.com' with Microsoft Edge...
Command: /usr/bin/flatpak run --branch=stable --arch=x86_64 --command=/app/bin/edge --file-forwarding com.microsoft.Edge @@u @@
------------------------------------------

How It Works

Browser Detection: The script searches for .desktop files in multiple directories that handle HTTP/HTTPS URLs
Command Extraction: It extracts the executable command from each desktop file, removing placeholder arguments like %u
Flatpak Support: Handles Flatpak applications by following symbolic links and extracting proper Flatpak run commands
User Selection: Presents a numbered list of browsers for user selection
URL Opening: Launches the selected browser with the provided URL

Supported Installation Methods

Native Package Browsers

Firefox
Google Chrome / Chromium
Vivaldi
Opera
Epiphany (GNOME Web)
And many others installed via system package managers

Flatpak Browsers

Microsoft Edge
Zen Browser
Brave Browser
Ungoogled Chromium
Any other Flatpak browser that declares HTTP scheme handling

Detection Locations

The script searches these directories for browser desktop files:

/usr/share/applications/ - System-wide applications
/usr/local/share/applications/ - Local system applications
~/.local/share/applications/ - User applications
/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/applications/ - System Flatpak applications
~/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share/applications/ - User Flatpak applications

Requirements

Bash 4.0 or later
Standard Linux desktop environment with .desktop files
grep, find, cut, sed (standard on most Linux systems)

Troubleshooting

Browser not detected

If your browser isn't showing up:

Check desktop file locations: Run find /usr/share/applications ~/.local/share/applications /var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/applications -name "*browser_name*" 2>/dev/null
Verify MIME type declarations: Check if the browser's .desktop file includes x-scheme-handler/http in its MimeType field:
```
grep "MimeType" /path/to/browser.desktop
```
Test browser detection: Use the test script to debug:
```
./test-func.sh
```

Flatpak browsers not detected

Ensure Flatpak browsers are properly installed and have desktop files in /var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/applications/
Check that the symbolic links are valid and point to actual desktop files
Verify the Flatpak browser declares HTTP scheme handling in its MIME types

Permission errors

Make sure the script is executable: chmod +x browser-selector.sh
Ensure the script path in the desktop file is correct
Check that you have read access to all application directories

Browser won't launch

Verify the extracted command is valid by running it manually
For Flatpak browsers, ensure the Flatpak runtime is properly installed
Some browsers may require additional setup or have complex launch requirements

Testing

Run the included test suite:

./test-browser-selector.sh

Or test browser detection specifically:

./test-func.sh

Configuration

Desktop File Customization

You can modify browser-selector.desktop to:

Change the name or description
Add or remove MIME types
Customize the icon
Set terminal preferences

Script Customization

The script can be modified to:

Change the output format
Add browser filtering
Implement browser preferences/favorites
Add keyboard shortcuts for common browsers

Files

browser-selector.sh - Main script with Flatpak support
browser-selector.desktop - Desktop entry file
install.sh - Automated installation script
test-browser-selector.sh - Comprehensive test suite
test-func.sh - Function-specific tests
README.md - This documentation

Recent Improvements

Version 2.0 Changes

Flatpak Support: Added detection for Flatpak browsers including Edge and Zen Browser
Symbolic Link Handling: Properly handles symbolic links used by Flatpak applications
Expanded Search Locations: Now searches 5 different application directories
Improved Command Extraction: Better handling of complex Flatpak run commands
Enhanced Testing: More comprehensive test suite for debugging detection issues

Contributing

Test your changes with the provided test scripts
Ensure compatibility with both native and Flatpak browsers
Follow bash best practices
Update documentation as needed

License

This project is in the public domain. Use it however you like!

Background

This script was created to solve the common problem where users want to choose which browser to use when clicking links, rather than being stuck with their system's default browser. It's particularly useful for:

Web developers who need to test in multiple browsers
Users who prefer different browsers for different tasks (e.g., Edge for work, Firefox for personal)
Anyone who wants more control over their browsing experience
Users with multiple browsers installed via different methods (system packages, Flatpak, etc.)

The script has evolved to support modern Linux application distribution methods like Flatpak, making it work seamlessly with browsers like Microsoft Edge and Zen Browser that are commonly distributed as Flatpak applications.

megatux/browser-selector-tui