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Why use a terminal pdf viewer? (programming.dev)
submitted 5 days ago by chasteinsect@programming.dev to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I've been using Firefox to view PDFs and it works fine. Recently though I wanted to try something more minimal with vim keybindings. Found two options: Zathura and tdf (terminal pdf viewer).

What I'm curious about is why someone would choose a TUI pdf viewer over a regular one (like Zathura). What are the actual advantages people find in practice. tdf mentions being fast but I wonder if that's something you'd actually notice day to day?

Also I remember seeing screenshots where PDFs looked transparent or matched the terminal colors. Is that actually a feature of some of these viewers ? Maybe someone uses one here?

Tdf seems relatively popular with 1.4k github stars.

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[-] chasteinsect@programming.dev 3 points 4 days ago

I personally want something more minimal.

this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2025
44 points (97.8% liked)

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