# TB – super‑fast text‑only browser using Jina Reader API

> Source: <https://github.com/falcga/tb>
> Published: 2026-06-06 22:18:40+00:00

**tb** lets you view web pages and perform searches directly from your terminal using the [Jina Reader API](https://jina.ai/reader).

Works on **Linux**, **macOS**, **Windows** (CMD, PowerShell, WSL, Git Bash).

- 🚀 Instant text‑only version of any page
- 🔍 Search using
`s.jina.ai`

- 🎨 Automatic pager (
`less`

/`more`

) - 🔐 Optional token authentication & context token
- 📦 One‑command installation

```
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/falcga/tb/main/install.sh | bash
```

Then restart your terminal or run `source ~/.bashrc`

/ `source ~/.zshrc`

.

```
powershell -Command "Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/falcga/tb/main/install.ps1' -OutFile install.ps1; ./install.ps1"
```

Or manually: download `tb.bat`

and place it in a folder that is in your `%PATH%`

.

You can use **tb without a token** – requests will be sent anonymously.

For higher rate limits or special features, get a free token from [Jina AI Reader](https://jina.ai/reader).

```
export JINA_TOKEN="jina_your_token_here"          # Linux/macOS
set JINA_TOKEN=jina_your_token_here               # Windows CMD
$env:JINA_TOKEN="jina_your_token_here"            # Windows PowerShell
```

For a context token (sent as `X-Context`

header):

```
export JINA_CONTEXT_TOKEN="your_context"
```

Open a webpage:

```
tb https://example.com
```

Search the web:

```
tb "how to install python"
```

| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
`--token TOKEN` |
Jina API token (overrides `JINA_TOKEN` ) |
`--context TOKEN` |
Context token (sent as `X-Context` header) |
`--raw` |
Output without pager (useful for piping to files) |
`--help` , `-h` |
Show help message |

```
# Open a page with a temporary token (overrides environment)
tb --token jina_xyz https://news.ycombinator.com

# Search with a context token
tb --context session_123 "bash best practices"

# Save output to a file (no pager)
tb --raw https://example.com > page.txt

# Anonymous usage (no token)
tb "latest tech news"
```

| Variable | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
`JINA_TOKEN` |
API token for Jina Reader | No |
`JINA_CONTEXT_TOKEN` |
Context token (sent as `X-Context` ) |
No |

If `JINA_TOKEN`

is not set and no `--token`

is provided, the `Authorization`

header is omitted entirely.

**curl**(pre‑installed on most systems, required)** less**or** more**(for paging, optional – use`--raw`

to bypass)- No other dependencies

**Linux/macOS**:`sudo rm /usr/local/bin/tb`

**Windows**: Delete`tb.bat`

from your`%USERPROFILE%\bin`

(or wherever you placed it) and remove that folder from your`PATH`

if desired.

| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
`curl: command not found` |
Install curl (e.g., `apt install curl` / `brew install curl` ) |
`Error: Request failed` |
Check your internet connection. If you provided a token, ensure it is valid. |
| No output or strange characters | Try `--raw` mode or check if the URL/search query is correct. |

MIT © 2025 falcga

This tool is an **unofficial** third‑party client for the public Jina Reader API.

It respects the API’s intended usage:

- No web scraping or automated extraction from jina.ai
- No reverse engineering or creation of competing services
- API tokens are optional and passed exactly as documented (
`Authorization: Bearer`

header) - The required
`X-Engine: browser`

header is always sent

For heavy or automated usage, please obtain your own free token from [Jina AI Reader](https://jina.ai/reader) and respect their rate limits.

See [Jina AI Terms](https://jina.ai/legal/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://jina.ai/legal/privacy) for details.