====== URI Schemes Beyond HTTPS ======

A URI scheme is the protocol prefix before ''://''. ''https://'' is not the only one.

===== Common Non-Web Schemes =====

^ Scheme ^ Protocol ^ Notes ^
| ''ftp://'' | File Transfer Protocol | File transfers |
| ''mailto:'' | Email composition | Handed off to mail client |
| ''ssh://'' | Secure Shell | Terminal access |
| ''irc://'' | Internet Relay Chat | Chat |
| ''magnet:'' | BitTorrent/P2P | Peer-to-peer downloads |

===== Small Web Schemes =====

^ Scheme ^ Protocol ^ Notes ^
| ''finger://'' | [[protocols:finger:start|Finger]] | User info, .plan files |
| ''gopher://'' | [[protocols:gopher:start|Gopher]] | Hierarchical menus, text docs |
| ''gemini://'' | [[protocols:gemini:start|Gemini]] | Lightweight, TLS-required documents |

Most mainstream browsers don't handle these — they require dedicated [[protocols:smallweb:clients|clients]].

===== See Also =====

  * [[protocols:start|Protocols Overview]]
  * [[protocols:smallweb:browser_monoculture|Browser Monoculture]]