---
publish: true
permalink: /10-19 LIFE/13 TECH SETUP/13.11 APPS/zathura.md
title: zathura
created: 2026-02-05T09:08:26.899-07:00
modified: 2026-02-05T09:12:58.920-07:00
tags:
  - pdf
  - documents
  - reader
cssclasses: ""
---

zathura is a minimalist document viewer with vim-like keybindings. Fast, keyboard-driven, and highly customizable.

## Installation

**Arch Linux:**
```bash
sudo pacman -S zathura zathura-pdf-mupdf
```

When prompted for tesseract data (for OCR), select `tesseract-data-eng` for English.

### Backend plugins

| Plugin | Formats |
|--------|---------|
| `zathura-pdf-mupdf` | PDF, EPUB, XPS (recommended) |
| `zathura-pdf-poppler` | PDF (alternative) |
| `zathura-djvu` | DjVu |
| `zathura-ps` | PostScript |
| `zathura-cb` | Comic books (CBZ/CBR) |

## Key Bindings

### Navigation
| Key | Action |
|-----|--------|
| `j/k` | Scroll down/up |
| `h/l` | Scroll left/right |
| `Ctrl+d/u` | Half page down/up |
| `gg/G` | First/last page |
| `nG` | Go to page n |
| `Space` | Next page |

### Zoom
| Key | Action |
|-----|--------|
| `+/-` | Zoom in/out |
| a` | Fit page |
| `s` | Fit width |

### View
| Key | Action |
|-----|--------|
| `d` | Toggle dual-page |
| `r` | Rotate |
| `R` | Reload |
| `Tab` | Toggle index |
| `F11` | Fullscreen |

### Other
| Key | Action |
|-----|--------|
| `/` | Search |
| `n/N` | Next/prev match |
| `y` | Copy selection |
| `o/O` | Open file |
| `q` | Quit |

## Configuration

`~/.config/zathura/zathurarc`:
```bash
# Enable clipboard
set selection-clipboard clipboard

# Recolor for dark mode
set recolor true
set recolor-darkcolor "#ebdbb2"
set recolor-lightcolor "#282828"

# Default zoom
set zoom-min 10
set adjust-open "best-fit"

# Status bar
set statusbar-home-tilde true

# Window
set window-title-basename true
set window-title-page true
```

## Make Default PDF Viewer

```bash
xdg-mime default org.pwmt.zathura.desktop application/pdf
```

## Synctex (LaTeX integration)

For LaTeX editors that support synctex:
```bash
zathura --synctex-forward <line>:<col>:<input> <pdf>
```

Configure your editor to call this for forward search.

## Tips

- `:help` or `man zathura` for full documentation
- Use `:bmark` to bookmark pages
- Use `i` to invert colors (quick dark mode)
- Index/TOC navigation with `Tab` is very useful for long documents