Linkchecker is a command-line utility designed to help users check HTML documents and websites for broken or dead links. As websites often contain numerous hyperlinks that navigate users to different pages or external resources, it’s crucial to ensure that these links are functional and lead to the intended destinations. Linkchecker automates the process of verifying links, saving users time and effort while ensuring the integrity and usability of their websites.
Key features and functionalities of Linkchecker include:
- Broken Link Detection: Linkchecker scans HTML documents and websites to identify links that are broken or inaccessible. It checks both internal links (within the same website) and external links (pointing to other websites), alerting users to any URLs that return error codes such as 404 (Not Found) or 500 (Internal Server Error).
- Command-Line Interface (CLI): Linkchecker features a command-line interface, allowing users to run link checks directly from the terminal or command prompt. This makes it convenient to integrate Linkchecker into scripts, batch processes, and automated testing workflows, facilitating regular link checking and maintenance.
- Customizable Configuration: Linkchecker offers customizable configuration options that allow users to specify various parameters and settings for the link checking process. Users can define the maximum depth of the link scan, specify exclusion rules for certain URLs or domains, and configure timeout settings for network requests.
- Output Formats: Linkchecker provides flexible output options for reporting the results of link checks. Users can choose from different output formats, including plain text, HTML, CSV (Comma-Separated Values), and XML (Extensible Markup Language), making it easy to view and analyze the results in a format that suits their needs.
- Parallel Processing: Linkchecker supports parallel processing of link checks, allowing multiple URLs to be checked simultaneously for improved performance and efficiency. This feature enables faster scanning of large websites with numerous links, reducing the overall time required to complete the link checking process.
- Recursive Link Checking: Linkchecker can recursively follow links within HTML documents and websites, ensuring that all linked pages are checked for broken links. This comprehensive approach helps identify issues that may be hidden within nested pages or subdirectories, providing a thorough evaluation of link integrity.
- HTTP and HTTPS Support: Linkchecker supports both HTTP and HTTPS protocols, allowing users to check links on websites with secure (HTTPS) connections as well as non-secure (HTTP) connections. This ensures compatibility with modern web standards and security requirements.
linkchecker Command Examples
1. Find broken links on https://example.com/:
# linkchecker [https://example.com/]
2. Also check URLs that point to external domains:
# linkchecker --check-extern [https://example.com/]
3. Ignore URLs that match a specific regular expression:
# linkchecker --ignore-url [regular_expression] [https://example.com/]
4. Output results to a CSV file:
# linkchecker --file-output [csv]/[path/to/file] [https://example.com/]
Summary
Overall, Linkchecker is a valuable tool for website administrators, developers, and content creators who need to maintain the quality and usability of their websites by regularly checking for broken links. By automating the link checking process and providing detailed reports, Linkchecker helps ensure a positive user experience and fosters trust and credibility in web content.