gio

Open a file with the default application

$ gio open [path/to/file]

$ gio list [path/to/directory]

$ gio info [path/to/file]

$ gio copy [path/to/source] [path/to/destination]

$ gio trash [path/to/file]

$ gio launch [path/to/file].desktop

gio command [arguments]

gio is the GIO command-line tool for file operations in GNOME-based systems. It provides a unified interface for both local files and virtual filesystems (GVfs), including network locations, trash, and removable media.
Unlike standard Unix commands, gio integrates with GNOME's infrastructure, respecting desktop settings for default applications, trash behavior, and virtual filesystem mounts. It can access locations like smb://, sftp://, mtp://, and trash://.
The tool replaces older utilities like gvfs-open, gvfs-copy, and gvfs-trash.

open FILE

Open file with default application

List contents of directory

Display information about a file

Copy files

Move files

Move file to trash

Delete file permanently

Display file contents

Launch application from .desktop file

Get or set MIME type handler

Mount a location

Requires GLib and GVfs to be properly installed. Some virtual filesystem operations require the gvfsd daemon running. Performance may be slower than native commands for local file operations.

gio was introduced in GLib 2.50 (2016) as a unified command-line interface for GIO operations, consolidating various gvfs-* utilities into a single tool with subcommands. It's part of the GNOME platform's modern approach to file handling.

xdg-open(1), gvfs(7), nautilus(1)