xdg-open

Open files with preferred application

TLDR

Open current directory in file explorer

$ xdg-open .

Open a URL in default browser

$ xdg-open https://example.com

Open an image in default viewer

$ xdg-open path/to/image.png

Open a PDF in default viewer

$ xdg-open path/to/document.pdf

Open a video in default player

$ xdg-open path/to/video.mp4

xdg-open opens a file or URL in the user's preferred application. It is part of the xdg-utils package and works across different desktop environments by detecting which one is running and using the appropriate method.

PARAMETERS

--help

Display help message

--version

Display version information

SUPPORTED DESKTOP ENVIRONMENTS

xdg-open detects and uses the appropriate method for:- GNOME (gio open or gnome-open)- KDE (kde-open or kfmclient)- Xfce (exo-open)- MATE (mate-open)- Enlightenment (enlightenment_open)- Generic fallback (mimeopen)

CAVEATS

The file or URL is opened asynchronously; xdg-open returns immediately. The application chosen depends on the desktop's MIME type associations. On systems without a desktop environment, it may fall back to text-based alternatives.

HISTORY

xdg-open is part of xdg-utils, a set of scripts for desktop integration developed by the freedesktop.org project to provide consistent behavior across different Linux desktop environments.