subl

Open a file in Sublime Text

$ subl [path/to/file]

$ subl [path/to/file]:[line]:[column]

$ subl [path/to/directory]

$ subl -n [file1] [file2]

$ subl -a [path/to/directory]

$ subl -w [path/to/file]

$ subl -d [file1] [file2]

$ echo "[text]" | subl -

subl [options] [files] [directories]

subl is the command-line interface for Sublime Text, a popular cross-platform text editor. It allows opening files and directories, comparing files, and integrating with Unix tools like git and subversion.
Files can include a :line or :line:column suffix to open at a specific location (1-based). The tool can read from stdin using - and write edits to stdout. When used with -w, it blocks until files are closed, making it suitable as an external editor for version control systems.

-n, --new-window

Open a new window instead of reusing an existing instance.

Add folders to the current window instead of opening a new window.

Wait for the files to be closed before returning. Useful for version control editors.

Open files without activating the application window.

Compare two files side-by-side, highlighting differences.

Load a specific .sublime-project or .sublime-workspace file.

Execute a Sublime Text internal command (e.g., save_all, build).

Specify character encoding when opening files (e.g., utf-8, latin1).

Launch in a sandboxed clean environment without plugins.

Only open a new window if the application is already running.

Print version information and exit.

Display help message and exit.

The subl command requires Sublime Text to be installed. On manual installations, you may need to create a symlink: ln -s /opt/sublime_text/sublime_text /usr/local/bin/subl. Package manager installations typically create this symlink automatically in /usr/bin/.

Sublime Text was created by Jon Skinner and first released in January 2008. The command-line helper subl has been part of Sublime Text since version 2, enabling terminal-based workflows. Sublime Text 3 was released in 2013, and Sublime Text 4 followed in 2021 with GPU rendering and improved performance.

code(1), vim(1), nano(1), emacs(1), atom(1)