kdialog

Open a dialog box displaying a specific message

$ kdialog --msgbox "[message]" "[optional_detailed_message]"

$ kdialog --yesno "[message]"

$ kdialog --warningyesnocancel "[message]"

$ kdialog --inputbox "[message]" "[optional_default_text]"

$ kdialog --password "[message]"

$ kdialog --combobx "[message]" "[item1]" "[item2]" "[...]"

$ kdialog --getopenfilename

$ kdialog --progressbar "[message]"

kdialog [generic options] [box options]

--title
    Sets the titlebar text.

--yes-button
    Sets the label for the Yes button.

--no-button
    Sets the label for the No button.

--msgbox
    Displays a message box with the specified text.

--inputbox []
    Displays an input box with the specified text. The optional value is pre-filled in the text field.

--textbox
    Displays the contents of the specified file in a text box.

--menu ...
    Displays a menu with the specified options.

--checklist ...
    Displays a checklist with the specified items and initial status (on/off).

--radiolist ...
    Displays a radio button list with the specified items and initial status (on/off).

--getopenfilename [] []
    Displays a file selection dialog for opening a file. The optional and arguments can be used.

--getsavefilename [] []
    Displays a file selection dialog for saving a file. The optional and arguments can be used.

--getexistingdirectory []
    Displays a directory selection dialog. The optional can be used.

--color
    Displays a color selection dialog.

--password
    Displays a password input box.

--progressbar []
    Displays a progress bar.

--error
    Displays an error message box.

--warning
    Displays a warning message box.

--info
    Displays an information message box.

--yesno
    Displays a yes/no question dialog box.

--ok-cancel
    Displays an ok/cancel dialog box.

kdialog is a powerful command-line utility that allows you to display KDE dialog boxes from within shell scripts. It provides a simple way to interact with the user graphically, without needing to write complex GUI code. kdialog can be used to create a wide variety of dialogs, including message boxes, input dialogs, file selection dialogs, color selection dialogs, and more. This makes it a versatile tool for creating interactive shell scripts, system administration tools, and other applications where user input is required.

kdialog relies on the KDE libraries being installed, which is generally the case in KDE Plasma Desktop environments or systems with KDE applications installed. When executed, kdialog communicates with the X server to create and display the dialog box. The user's interaction with the dialog (e.g., clicking a button, entering text) results in kdialog returning a specific exit code or printing data to standard output, which the calling script can then process.

kdialog requires the KDE libraries to be installed and a running X server. It might not work as expected in environments without KDE or a graphical interface.

The appearance and behavior of the dialogs may vary depending on the KDE theme and settings.

kdialog returns different exit codes based on the user's action:
0: Ok/Yes was pressed
1: Cancel/No was pressed
255: An error occurred

kdialog can be effectively used with pipes. For instance, you can pipe the output of a command into a kdialog textbox. Example:
ls -l | kdialog --textbox -

kdialog has been part of the KDE project for a long time, providing a convenient way to integrate graphical dialogs into shell scripts. It has evolved over the years, with new dialog types and options added to enhance its functionality.