# Gophering without a client

In a recent article I explained why I'd finally stopped using UMN
gopher[0]. In that same article I mentioned my idea for a client-less
gopher client and that I'd made a basic filter to degopher[1] menus.

This filter exposes the URI's so that I can make use of functionality
built into my terminal emulator to call a plumber program which knows
how to handle them. 

*Note:* Configuration of that plumber program, and an alternative
solution to both the functionality in urxvt and plumber program,
were given in a follow-up article[2].


## gopen

I now have a rudimentary implementation of the final part of the
puzzle, the gopen[3] script, which can either be called from the
command line or by the plumber program.

> gopen gopher.icu

If the link contains a search URI then it prompts you for entry.

> gopen gopher.icu/7/quarry
> Search: 

For every link you open a new shell is spawned so you back-pedal
through your navigation by just exiting less. This may work better
inside something like the tabbed suckless application?


## Summary

The scripts are very crude and can be improved a lot. The degopher
filter I have already discovered doesn't handle 'i' type lines well.

It's a very crude way of navigating gopher but it makes all URI's
actionable from the command line in a common way and I have taken the
same approach with NEX.


## References

[0](gopher://gopher.icu/0/phlog/Computing/UMN-gopher-no-more.md)
[1](gopher://gopher.icu/0/files/degopher.awk)
[2](gopher://gopher.icu/0/phlog/Computing/URI-open--plumber-and-xclip.md)
[3](gopher://gopher.icu/0/files/gopen)