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Presenting gmir, a reader for gmi files

Although there are currently many Gemini servers and clients, there is still no standalone reader for gmi files. This is why I wrote gmir.

github.com/codesoap/gmir

What for?

One of Gemini's best aspects, to me, is its simplicity. It encourages people to write their own servers and browsers and thus creates an environment of diverse software. This leads to more experiments and more tools that fit specific preferences.

For me, one such novel concept were "command based browsers". By that I mean command line browsers, which have a command prompt as their only input, browsers like the following:

acdw/bollux

chambln/gmi

blmayer/astro

I started liking these types of browsers, because of their clean, yet potent interface and their simple code, which makes them easy to adapt. However, those browsers come with a big drawback: They usually use less to display gmi pages. This means, that syntax highlighting and word wrapping are often not done and following links is cumbersome, because one usually has to memorize a link number, close less and enter the memorized number to get to the next page.

gmir to the rescue

This is why I felt the need to create a reader for gmi files. It's supposed to be a replacement for less in command based browsers. It performs word wrapping, syntax highlighting and, most importantly, allows the user to follow links. The user simply types the link number and gmir will quit and print the link's URL to standard output. This can be picked up by the browser, that opened gmir, the link can be followed and opened again with gmir, without any further user interaction.

Of course, gmir can also be used to view local gmi files, but that is a secondary use case to me. Just like web browsers are rarely used to view local files.