gnome-open

gnome-open [OPTIONS] FILE|URL...

FILE|URL...
    One or more paths to files, directories, or URLs to be opened by their associated applications. Multiple items can be specified, separated by spaces.

--help
    Displays a brief help message about the command and exits.

--version
    Shows the version information of the gnome-open utility and exits.

The gnome-open command was a utility designed for the GNOME desktop environment to open files, directories, or URLs with their associated default applications. It functioned by identifying the MIME type of a given file or the protocol of a URL, then launching the corresponding preferred application, much like double-clicking an item in a file manager. For instance, a text file would open in a text editor, an image in an image viewer, and a web address in a browser. While functional and widely used in older GNOME versions (e.g., GNOME 2.x), it has largely been superseded. Modern Linux distributions and desktop environments now primarily use xdg-open, which offers a standardized, cross-desktop method for handling file and URI associations based on XDG (X Desktop Group) specifications. Therefore, gnome-open is considered deprecated, with xdg-open being the recommended replacement.

The gnome-open command is largely deprecated in modern Linux distributions and GNOME versions. It is not always available or might simply be a symbolic link to xdg-open. Users are strongly advised to use xdg-open instead, which provides a more robust, cross-desktop, and standardized way of opening files and URIs. Using gnome-open on systems where it's still present might lead to unexpected behavior or fail to open items correctly if its underlying dependencies have changed or been removed.

Here are some common ways to use gnome-open (or its modern equivalent xdg-open):

Open a PDF document:
gnome-open report.pdf

Open a website in the default web browser:
gnome-open https://www.example.com

Open multiple files simultaneously:
gnome-open ~/Photos/vacation.jpg document.txt

Originating as a core component of the GNOME desktop environment, gnome-open provided a command-line interface to GNOME's system for associating MIME types with applications. It was widely used during the GNOME 2.x era. As the Linux desktop landscape evolved, the need for cross-desktop compatibility became paramount. This led to the development of XDG (X Desktop Group) specifications, which included a standard for opening files and URIs, implemented by xdg-open. Consequently, gnome-open became obsolete and was gradually phased out or replaced by xdg-open in newer distributions, establishing xdg-open as the de facto standard for this functionality across various desktop environments.

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