python-arch-wiki

A terminal interface for browsing the Arch Linux Wiki, with an interactive table of contents and article search.

Installation

The easiest way to use this program is with uvx python-arch-wiki or install it in a virtual environment to have easier access to the source code.

To install latest version from GitHub with source and create a link with a name wiki (assuming ~/.local/bin is in the PATH):

mkdir python_arch_wiki
cd python_arch_wiki
python3 -m venv venv
venv/bin/python -m pip install \
    -e 'python-arch-wiki @ git+https://github.com/termctrlseq/python-arch-wiki.git'
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
ln -s "$PWD/venv/bin/python-arch-wiki" "$HOME/.local/bin/wiki"

Then the source code can be found in ~/python_arch_wiki/venv/src/.

To add ~/.local/bin to PATH put this in your ~/.bashrc

# add ~/.local/bin to PATH if not in it
[[ ":${PATH}:" != *:"${HOME}/.local/bin":* ]] \
    && export PATH="${HOME}/.local/bin:${PATH}"

Usage

Run:

uvx python-arch-wiki [-h | [-l] [-v] [article name]]

Or if installed:

wiki [-h | [-l] [-v] [article name]]

Options

-h, --help        Show a help message and exit
-l, --link-url    Show URLs in links
-v, --verbose     Enable debug logging

Examples

Open the table of contents:

wiki

From there, press / to search the Arch Wiki. The search uses the Arch Wiki's own search engine, and the results are presented in a navigable menu. For convenience, this can be preferable to specifying a longer query on the command line:

/install

For short, specific searches, giving the article name on the command line is often more convenient:

wiki zram

Controls

Key	Action
↑ / k / Ctrl-P / Shift-Tab	Previous
↓ / j / Ctrl-N / Tab	Next
H	First visible item
M	Middle visible item
L	Last visible item
Enter	Open
Space / l	Fold/unfold
h / u / Esc	Back
/ / ?	Search
q / Ctrl-D	Quit

Mouse input is also supported:

Button	Action
Left click	select
Double left click	open
Right click	fold/unfold
Wheel	navigate

Articles are rendered in the terminal and paged with less.

Requirements

• Python 3.13+
• A terminal with curses support
• Internet connection

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.