Emacs/EWW Hacks

Quick search prompts the user for a search query. Type anything into the field and press enter to search using duckduckgo.com. If the first word is a keyword, such as "wiki", a different search engine will be used.

(defun my-is-url (string)
  "Checks if STRING is a valid URL."
  (let ((url-parts (url-generic-parse-url string)))
    (and url-parts (url-type url-parts))))

(defvar my-eww-search-engines
  '(("w"      . "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=%s")
    ("wiki"   . "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=%s")
    ("wikipedia" . "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=%s")
    ("yt"     . "https://yewtu.be/search?q=%s")
    ("yewt"   . "https://yewtu.be/search?q=%s")
    ("yewtu"  . "https://yewtu.be/search?q=%s")
    ("wu"     . "https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=%s")
    ("wuc"    . "https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=%s")
    ("winup"  . "https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=%s")
    ("winupdate" . "https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=%s")
    ("windowsupdate" . "https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=%s")
    ("ns"     . "https://www.nslookup.io/domains/%s/dns-records/")
    ("nslookup" . "https://www.nslookup.io/domains/%s/dns-records/")
    ("who"    . "https://www.whois.com/whois/%s")
    ("whois"  . "https://www.whois.com/whois/%s"))
  "Alist mapping search keywords to URL templates.")

(defun my-eww-search (query)
  "Perform a keyword-based search using EWW or Gemini AI when keyword is 'ai'."
  (interactive "sSearch Query: ")
  (let* ((parts (split-string query " "))
         (keyword (downcase (car parts)))
         (engine-url (cdr (assoc keyword my-eww-search-engines))))
    (cond
     ;; Case 1: Known keyword-based search
     (engine-url
      (let ((search-terms (mapconcat #'identity (cdr parts) " "))
            (url (format engine-url (url-hexify-string (mapconcat #'identity (cdr parts) " ")))))
        (switch-to-buffer (generate-new-buffer "*eww-search*"))
        (eww-mode)
        (eww url)
        (evil-normal-state)))

     ;; Case 2: No keyword -> use full query in DuckDuckGo
     (t
      (let ((url (format "https://lite.duckduckgo.com/lite/?q=%s"
                         (url-hexify-string query))))
        (switch-to-buffer (generate-new-buffer "*eww-search*"))
        (eww-mode)
        (eww url)
        (evil-normal-state))))))

Use this to redirect some pages to another site. Redirection requires Emacs be built with libxml2 support.

(defun eww-reddit-redirect(url) "Redirect reddit.com to old.reddit.com
  automatically."  (replace-regexp-in-string "https://www.reddit.com"
  "https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://old.reddit.com" url))

(defun eww-archive-org-redirect(url) "Redirects stackoverflow to use the Archive.org"
  (replace-regexp-in-string "https://stackoverflow.com"
  "https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://stackoverflow.com" url))

(setq eww-url-transformers '(eww-remove-tracking eww-reddit-redirect eww-archive-org-redirect))

Run M-x eww-open-latest-archived-page to open the current page using the archive.org. This can bypass JavaScript requirements and firewalls

(defun eww-open-latest-archived-page ()
  "Open the latest archived version of the current EWW page using the Wayback Machine."
  (interactive)
  (if (eq major-mode 'eww-mode)
      (let ((url (plist-get eww-data :url)))
        (if url
            (eww-browse-url (concat "https://web.archive.org/web/2/" url))
          (message "No URL found in EWW buffer.")))
    (message "Not in an EWW buffer.")))

With this code, Emacs will prompt the user to open a link with EWW before defaulting a graphical web browser.

(defalias 'gk-urls-external-browser 'browse-url-xdg-open)

(defun gk-browse-url (&rest args)
  "Prompt for whether or not to browse with EWW, if no browse
with external browser."
  (apply
   (if (y-or-n-p "Browse with EWW? ")
         'eww-browse-url
     #'gk-urls-external-browser)
   args))

(setq browse-url-browser-function #'gk-browse-url) 

(defun my/open-eww-in-background()
  (switch-to-buffer (generate-new-buffer "eww"))
  (eww-mode)
  (eww "https://lite.duckduckgo.com/lite/")
  (switch-to-buffer "*scratch*")
  )

(my/open-eww-in-background)

Automatically sets the buffername to be the name of the current website.

(setq eww-auto-rename-buffer t)

(setq browse-url-browser-function 'eww-browse-url) ; Use eww as the default browser
(setq shr-use-fonts  nil)  ; No special fonts
(setq shr-use-colors nil) ; No colours
(setq shr-indentation 4) ; Left-side margin
(setq shr-width 70) ; Fold text to 70 columns
(setq eww-search-prefix "https://lite.duckduckgo.com/lite/?q=") ; Use another engine for searching

Typically EWW only runs as a single buffer, similar to Eshell. This function will make a new EWW buffer by default instead of replacing the previous.

(defun modi/force-new-eww-buffer (orig-fun &rest args)
      "When prefix argument is used, a new eww buffer will be created,
      regardless of whether the current buffer is in `eww-mode'."
      (if current-prefix-arg
            (with-temp-buffer
                  (apply orig-fun args))
        (apply orig-fun args)))  
    (advice-add 'eww :around #'modi/force-new-eww-buffer)

Highlighting a url will open it using EWW. If you highlight text, it'll google the string instead.

  (defun my/eww-search-selected (start end)
    "Searches the selected text in EWW. If it's a URL, opens it directly. If not, searches Google."
    (interactive "r")
    (when (use-region-p)
      (let ((region (buffer-substring-no-properties start end)))
        (if (my/is-url region)
            (eww-browse-url region)
          (split-window-right)
          (balance-windows)
          (other-window 1)
          (let ((query (replace-regexp-in-string "\n" " " region)))
            (eww-browse-url (concat "https://www.google.com/search?q=" (url-hexify-string query))))))))
(define-key map (kbd "C-c s") 'my/eww-search-selected)