gio

GNOME file operations utility supporting local and virtual filesystems

TLDR

Open a file with its default application

$ gio open [path/to/file]

List a directory, including virtual locations

$ gio list [smb://server/share]

Show a file's attributes

$ gio info [path/to/file]

Show a specific group of attributes

$ gio info --attributes=[standard::*] [path/to/file]

Print a remote file to standard output

$ gio cat [sftp://host/path/to/file]

Copy across backends, from local disk to a remote share

$ gio copy [path/to/local] [sftp://host/path/]

Move a file

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

Send a file to the trash

$ gio trash [path/to/file]

Delete everything in the trash

$ gio trash --empty

Delete a file permanently

$ gio remove [path/to/file]

Show the tree below a location

$ gio tree [path/to/directory]

Mount a remote share through GVfs

$ gio mount [smb://server/share]

Unmount it again

$ gio mount --unmount [smb://server/share]

Watch a directory and print changes as they happen

$ gio monitor [path/to/directory]

Mark a launcher trusted so it can be run

$ gio set [path/to/file.desktop] metadata::trusted true

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://.

PARAMETERS

open FILE

Open file with default application

list DIR

List contents of directory

info FILE

Display information about a file

copy SRC DEST

Copy files

move SRC DEST

Move files

trash FILE

Move file to trash

remove FILE

Delete file permanently

cat FILE

Display file contents

launch DESKTOP

Launch application from .desktop file

mime FILE

Get or set MIME type handler

mount LOCATION

Mount a location

INSTALL

sudo apt install libglib2.0-bin

sudo dnf install glib

sudo apk add glib

brew install glib

nix profile install nixpkgs#glib

CAVEATS

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.

HISTORY

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.

gio

GNOME file operations utility supporting local and virtual filesystems

TLDR

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

PARAMETERS

INSTALL

CAVEATS

HISTORY

SEE ALSO