npdfr (ncurses PDF reader) is a command-line PDF reader prioritizing fast searches.
I use a lot of PDFs for running tabletop RPGs and often need to search through them. This isn't nearly as snappy as it could be because of the tendency of PDF readers to lazy-render the PDF. I wanted a command-line reader that wouldn't do this and would respond to search queries more immediately.
Really intended for use on Linux only, but should be reasonably easy to adapt to other operating systems.
Complete and ready to use! Please open an issue if you find any problems or it stops working.
Contributions are accepted.
Make sure the following dependencies are available:
cmakelibmupdfmakencursesw
Then run the following commands:
mkdir -p build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)The following CMake flags are available:
| Flag | Default Value | Use |
|---|---|---|
NPDFR_DEPLOYMENT |
On | When enabled compiles with optimizations, otherwise compiles with debugging symbols. |
After running the build commands, run this command:
sudo make installIf you have installed the program globally run:
npdfr /path/to/file.pdfOtherwise run ./run.sh /path/to/file.pdf in the project root directory. You can open multiple PDFs by supplying multiple file names.
The keybindings are mostly the same as the less utility.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| g, home | Go to first page |
| G, end | Go to last page |
| u, U | Go to start of page |
| d, D | Go to end of page |
| tab | Next document |
| shift+tab | Previous document |
| space, f, F, page down | Next page |
| b, B, page up | Previous page |
| h, H, left arrow | Pan left |
| e, E, j, J, enter, down arrow | Scroll down |
| y, Y, k, K, up arrow | Scroll up |
| l, L, right | Pan right |
| o, O | Toggle outline view |
| q, Q | Quit |
| n | Find next |
| N | Find previous |
| / | Search forwards |
| ? | Search backwards |
| : | Go to page number |
Developed by Amini Allight, licensed under the GPL 3.0.