gnome-open

gnome-open [OPTION...] FILE|URI...

--help, -?
    Show help options.

--help-all
    Show all help options.

--help-gtk
    Show GTK-specific help options.

--version
    Show release version.

The gnome-open command is a GNOME desktop utility for launching files, directories, or URIs using the default application based on MIME type associations. It integrates with the GNOME Virtual File System (GVFS) to detect file types and invoke suitable programs, such as PDF viewers for documents, image viewers for photos, web browsers for HTTP links, or file managers for folders.

For instance, gnome-open document.pdf opens the PDF in the default viewer, gnome-open http://example.com launches the browser, and gnome-open . opens the current directory in Nautilus. It supports multiple arguments, processing each with its handler.

This tool is ideal for terminal scripts or automation needing graphical apps without hardcoding paths. However, it's primarily designed for GNOME environments and may behave differently elsewhere. In modern distributions, it often symlinks to gio open or xdg-open for compatibility.

Deprecated in GNOME 3.10+ in favor of xdg-open; best in GNOME, unreliable in other desktops. Requires GVFS and DBus.

gnome-open file.pdf
Opens PDF in default viewer.
gnome-open https://example.com
Launches web browser.
gnome-open ~/Documents
Opens folder in file manager.

Internally invokes gio open via GVFS for MIME handling and app spawning; fails if no handler set.

Introduced in early GNOME 2.x (~2002) via gnome-vfs-utils for MIME-based launching. Evolved with GVFS in GNOME 2.16+. Deprecated post-GNOME 3.10 (~2014), now symlinks to standards-compliant tools.

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