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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 3.0//EN">
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<title>Help on Environment variables</title>
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<LINK rev="made" href="mailto:lynx-dev@sig.net">
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
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In addition to various "standard" environment variables
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such as HOME, PATH, USER, DISPLAY, TMPDIR, etc, Lynx utilizes
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several Lynx-specific environment variables, <a href="#env">if they exist</a>.
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Others may be created or modified by Lynx to pass data to
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an external program, or for other reasons. These are
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listed separately <a href="#setenv">below</a>.
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See also the sections on <a href="#cgi">SIMULATED CGI SUPPORT</a> and
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<a href="#language">NATIVE LANGUAGE SUPPORT</a>, below.
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Note: Not all environment variables apply to all types of
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platforms supported by Lynx, though most do. Feedback on
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platform dependencies is solicited. See also <a href="#dos">win32/dos</a> specific
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Environment Variables Used By Lynx:
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If set, color capability for the terminal
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is forced on at startup time. The actual
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value assigned to the variable is ignored.
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This variable is only meaningful if Lynx
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was built using the slang screen-handling
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This variable, if set, will override
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the default location and name of the
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global configuration file (normally,
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lynx.cfg) that was defined by the
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LYNX_CFG_FILE constant in the
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userdefs.h file, during installation.
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See the userdefs.h file for more
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If set, this variable overrides the
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compiled-in location of the locale
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directory which contains native lan-
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guage (NLS) message text.
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This variable, if set, specifies the
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location of the default Lynx character
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style sheet file. [Currently only
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meaningful if Lynx was built using
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experimental color style support.]
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This variable, if set, will override
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the default path prefix for files
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saved to disk that is defined in the
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lynx.cfg SAVE_SPACE: statement. See
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the lynx.cfg file for more information.
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This variable, if set, will override
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the default path prefix for temporary
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files that was defined during installation,
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as well as any value that may
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be assigned to the TMPDIR variable.
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If set, causes Lynx to write a trace
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file as if the -trace option were sup-
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If set, overrides the compiled-in name
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of the trace file, which is either
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Lynx.trace or LY-TRACE.LOG (the latter
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on the DOS platform). The trace file
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is in either case relative to the home
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This variable specifies the default
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inbox Lynx will check for new mail, if
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such checking is enabled in the
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This variable, if set, provides the
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string used in the Organization:
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header of USENET news postings. It will
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override the setting of the ORGANIZATION
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environment variable, if it is also set
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(and, on UNIX, the contents of an
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/etc/organization file, if present).
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If set, this variable specifies the
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default NNTP server that will be used
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for USENET news reading and posting
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with Lynx, via news: URL's.
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This variable, if set, provides the
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string used in the Organization:
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header of USENET news postings. On
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UNIX, it will override the contents of
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an /etc/organization file, if present.
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Lynx supports the use of proxy servers
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that can act as firewall gateways and
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caching servers. They are preferable
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to the older gateway servers (see
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WWW_access_GATEWAY, below).
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Each protocol used by Lynx (http, ftp,
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gopher, etc), can be mapped separately
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by setting environment variables of
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the form PROTOCOL_proxy (literally:
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http_proxy, ftp_proxy, gopher_proxy,
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etc), to "http://some.server.dom:port/".
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See <a href="#proxy">Proxy details and examples</a>.
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Lynx still supports use of gateway
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servers, with the servers specified
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via "WWW_access_GATEWAY" variables
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(where "access" is lower case and can
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be "http", "ftp", "gopher" or "wais"),
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however most gateway servers have been
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discontinued. Note that you do not
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include a terminal '/' for gateways,
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but do for proxies specified by PROTOCOL_proxy
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environment variables. See <a href="#proxy">Proxy details</a>.
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This variable, if set, will override
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the default startup URL specified in
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any of the Lynx configuration files.
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<a name="setenv"><em>
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Environment Variables Set or Modified By Lynx:
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LYNX_PRINT_DATE This variable is set by the Lynx
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p(rint) function, to the Date: string
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seen in the document's "Information
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about" page (= cmd), if any. It is
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created for use by an external program,
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as defined in a lynx.cfg
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PRINTER: definition statement. If the
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field does not exist for the document,
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the variable is set to a null string
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under UNIX, or "No Date" under VMS.
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LYNX_PRINT_LASTMOD This variable is set by the Lynx
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p(rint) function, to the Last Mod:
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string seen in the document's "Information
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about" page (= cmd), if any.
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It is created for use by an external
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program, as defined in a lynx.cfg
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PRINTER: definition statement. If the
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field does not exist for the document,
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the variable is set to a null string
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under UNIX, or "No LastMod" under VMS.
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LYNX_PRINT_TITLE This variable is set by the Lynx
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p(rint) function, to the Linkname:
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string seen in the document's "Information
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about" page (= cmd), if any.
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It is created for use by an external
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program, as defined in a lynx.cfg
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PRINTER: definition statement. If the
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field does not exist for the document,
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the variable is set to a null string
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under UNIX, or "No Title" under VMS.
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LYNX_PRINT_URL This variable is set by the Lynx
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p(rint) function, to the URL: string
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seen in the document's "Information
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about" page (= cmd), if any. It is
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created for use by an external program,
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as defined in a lynx.cfg
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PRINTER: definition statement. If the
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field does not exist for the document,
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the variable is set to a null string
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under UNIX, or "No URL" under VMS.
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LYNX_VERSION This variable is always set by Lynx,
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and may be used by an external program
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to determine if it was invoked by
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Lynx. See also the comments in the
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distribution's sample mailcap file,
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for notes on usage in such a file.
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SSL_CERT_DIR Set to the directory containing trusted
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SSL_CERT_FILE Set to the full path and filename for
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your file of trusted certificates.
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TERM Normally, this variable is used by
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Lynx to determine the terminal type
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being used to invoke Lynx. If, however,
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it is unset at startup time (or
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has the value "unknown"), or if the
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-term command-line option is used,
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Lynx will set or modify its value
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to the user specified terminal type
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(for the Lynx execution environment).
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Note: If set/modified by Lynx, the values of
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the LINES and/or COLUMNS environment
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variables may also be changed.
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SIMULATED CGI SUPPORT
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If built with the cgi-links option enabled, Lynx allows
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access to a cgi script directly without the need for an
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When executing such "lynxcgi scripts" (if enabled), the
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following variables may be set for simulating a CGI environment:
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Other environment variables are not inherited by the
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script, unless they are provided via a LYNXCGI_ENVIRONMENT
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statement in the configuration file. See the lynx.cfg
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file, and the (draft) CGI 1.1 Specification
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<http://Web.Golux.Com/coar/cgi/draft-coar-cgi-v11-00.txt>
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for the definition and usage of these variables.
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The CGI Specification, and other associated documentation,
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should be consulted for general information on CGI script
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<a name="language"><em>
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NATIVE LANGUAGE SUPPORT
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If configured and installed with Native Language Support,
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Lynx will display status and other messages in your local
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language. See the file ABOUT_NLS in the source distribution,
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or at your local GNU site, for more information about
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internationalization.
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The following environment variables may be used to alter
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LANG This variable, if set, will override
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the default message language. It is
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an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying
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the language. Language codes are NOT
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the same as the country codes given in
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LANGUAGE This variable, if set, will override
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the default message language. This is a
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GNU extension that has higher priority for
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setting the message catalog than LANG or
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LC_MESSAGES These variables, if set, specify the
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notion of native language formatting
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style. They are POSIXly correct.
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LINGUAS This variable, if set prior to configuration,
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limits the installed languages to specific values.
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It is a space-separated list of two-letter codes.
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Currently, it is hard-coded to a wish list.
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NLSPATH This variable, if set, is used as the
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path prefix for message catalogs.
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Proxy details and examples:
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To set your site's NTTP server as the default host for news reading
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and posting via Lynx, set the environment variable NNTPSERVER so that
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it points to its Internet address. The variable "NNTPSERVER" is used
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to specify the host which will be used as the default for news URLs.
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setenv NNTPSERVER "news.server.dom"
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define/system NNTPSERVER "news.server.dom"
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Lynx still supports use of gateway servers, with the servers specified
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via the variables "WWW_access_GATEWAY", where "access" is lower case
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and can be "http", "ftp", "gopher" or "wais". Most of the gateway
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servers have been discontinued, but "http://www.w3.org:8001" is
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available for wais searches (note that you do not include a
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terminal '/' for gateways, but do for proxies; see below).
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Lynx version 2.2 and beyond supports the use of proxy servers that
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can act as firewall gateways and caching servers. They are
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preferable to the older gateway servers. Each protocol used by
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Lynx can be mapped separately using PROTOCOL_proxy environment
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variables of the form:
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setenv http_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv https_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv ftp_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv gopher_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv news_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv newspost_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv newsreply_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv snews_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv snewspost_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv snewsreply_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv nntp_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv wais_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv finger_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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setenv cso_proxy "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "http_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "https_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "ftp_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "gopher_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "news_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "newspost_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "newsreply_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "snews_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "snewspost_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "snewsreply_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "nntp_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "wais_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "finger_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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define "cso_proxy" "http://some.server.dom:port/"
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(Encase *BOTH* strings in double-quotes to maintain
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lower case for the PROTOCOL_proxy variable and for
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the http access type; include /system if you want
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proxying for all clients on your system.)
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If you wish to override the use of a proxy server for specific hosts or
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entire domains you may use the "no_proxy" environment variable.
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The no_proxy variable can be a comma-separated list of strings defining
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no-proxy zones in the DNS domain name space. If a tail substring of the
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domain-path for a host matches one of these strings, transactions with that
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node will not be proxied. Here is an example use of "no_proxy":
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setenv no_proxy "host.domain.dom, domain1.dom, domain2"
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define "no_proxy" "host.domain.dom, domain1.dom, domain2"
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You can include a port number in the no_proxy list to override use
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of a proxy server for the host accessed via that port, but not via
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other ports. For example, if you use "host.domain.dom:119" and/or
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"host.domain.dom:210", then news (port 119) URLs and/or any wais
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(port 210) searches on that host would be excluded, but http, ftp,
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and gopher services (if normally proxied) would still be included,
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as would any news or wais services on other hosts.
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Warning: Note that setting 'il' as an entry in this list
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will block proxying for the .mil domain as well as the .il domain.
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If the entry is '.il' this will not happen.
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If you wish to override the use of a proxy server completely (i.e.,
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globally override any existing proxy variables), set the value of
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"no_proxy" to "*". This is the only allowed use of * in no_proxy.
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Note that Lynx treats file URLs on the local host as requests for
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direct access to the file, and does not attempt ftp if that fails.
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It treats both ftp URLs and file URLs on remote hosts as ftp URLs,
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and does not attempt direct file access for either. If ftp URLs are
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being proxied, file URLs on a remote host will be converted to ftp
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URLs before submission by Lynx to the proxy server, so no special
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procedure for inducing the proxy server to handle them is required.
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Other WWW clients may require that the http server's configuration
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file have "Map file:* ftp:*" in it to perform that conversion.
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If you have not set NNTPSERVER, proxy or no_proxy environment variables
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you can set them at run time via the configuration file lynx.cfg
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(this will not override external settings).
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Win32 (95/NT) and 386 DOS
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(adapted from "readme.txt" by Wayne Buttles
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and "readme.dos" by Doug Kaufman)
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Here are some environment variables that should be set, usually in a
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batch file that runs the lynx executable. Make sure that you have enough
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room left in your environment. You may need to change your "SHELL="
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setting in config.sys. In addition, lynx looks for a "SHELL" environment
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variable when shelling to DOS. If you wish to preserve the environment
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space when shelling, put a line like this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file also
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"SET SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /E:2048". It should match CONFIG.SYS.
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HOME Where to keep the bookmark file and personal config files.
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TEMP or TMP Bookmarks are kept here with no HOME. Temp files here.
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USER Set to your login name
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LYNX_CFG Set to the full path and filename for lynx.cfg
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WATTCP.CFG Set to the full path for the WATTCP.CFG directory
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(Depending on how you compiled libtcp.a, you may have to use WATCONF.)
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Define these in your batch file for running Lynx. For example, if your
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application line is "D:\win32\lynx.bat", lynx.bat for Win32 may look like:
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set lynx_cfg=d:\win32\lynx.cfg
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d:\win32\lynx.exe %1 %2 %3 %4 %5
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In lynx_386, a typical batch file might look like:
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set USER=your_login_name
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set LYNX_CFG=%HOME%/lynx.cfg
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set WATTCP.CFG=%HOME%
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f:\lynx2-8\lynx %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
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You will also need to make sure that the WATTCP.CFG file has the
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correct information for IP number, Gateway, Netmask, and Domain Name
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Server. This can also be automated in the batch file.
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lynx_help/keystrokes/environments.html
