Linux xdg-open Command with Practical Examples

Introduction

In this lab, you will learn how to use the xdg-open command, a standard way to open files and directories with their default applications in Linux. You will understand the purpose of the xdg-open command, which is part of the XDG Base Directory Specification, and how to use it to open files and directories with their default applications. Additionally, you will learn how to customize the default applications for different file types and directories using xdg-open. The lab provides practical examples to help you integrate your Linux desktop with various applications and file types.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet

Skills Graph

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Understand the xdg-open Command

In this step, you will learn about the xdg-open command, which is a standard way to open files and directories with their default applications in Linux.

The xdg-open command is part of the XDG Base Directory Specification, which is a set of conventions that define the locations of user data, configuration, and cache files in a Linux system. The xdg-open command is used to open a file or directory with the default application associated with that file type or directory.

Let's start by checking the version of xdg-open installed on your system:

xdg-open --version

Example output:

xdg-open 2.28.0

The xdg-open command can be used to open a file or directory with its default application. For example, to open a text file with the default text editor, you can run:

xdg-open ~/project/example.txt

This will open the example.txt file in the default text editor application on your system.

Similarly, to open a directory with the default file manager, you can run:

xdg-open ~/project

This will open the ~/project directory in the default file manager application on your system.

The xdg-open command is a versatile tool that can be used to integrate your Linux desktop with various applications and file types. In the next step, you will learn how to use xdg-open to customize the default applications for different file types and directories.

Open Files and Directories with xdg-open

In this step, you will learn how to use the xdg-open command to open files and directories with their default applications.

First, let's create a sample text file in the ~/project directory:

echo "This is a sample text file." > ~/project/sample.txt

Now, you can use the xdg-open command to open the file with the default text editor:

xdg-open ~/project/sample.txt

This will open the sample.txt file in the default text editor application on your system.

Similarly, you can use xdg-open to open directories with the default file manager:

xdg-open ~/project

This will open the ~/project directory in the default file manager application on your system.

You can also use xdg-open to open files and directories with specific applications. For example, to open the sample.txt file with the nano text editor, you can run:

xdg-open -a nano ~/project/sample.txt

This will open the sample.txt file in the nano text editor.

The xdg-open command is a versatile tool that can be used to integrate your Linux desktop with various applications and file types. In the next step, you will learn how to customize the default applications for different file types and directories.

Customize the Default Applications with xdg-open

In this step, you will learn how to use the xdg-open command to customize the default applications for different file types and directories.

The xdg-open command uses a set of configuration files to determine the default applications for different file types and directories. These configuration files are located in the user's home directory and can be modified to change the default applications.

Let's start by creating a new text file and associating it with a specific application:

touch ~/project/custom.txt
xdg-open -a gedit ~/project/custom.txt

This will open the custom.txt file in the gedit text editor, and also set gedit as the default application for .txt files.

You can also set the default application for a directory. For example, to set the default file manager for the ~/project directory, you can run:

xdg-open -d -a nautilus ~/project

This will set the nautilus file manager as the default application for the ~/project directory.

To view the current default applications, you can use the xdg-mime command:

xdg-mime query default text/plain
xdg-mime query default inode/directory

This will show the default applications for text files and directories, respectively.

You can also use the xdg-settings command to manage other desktop-related settings, such as the default web browser, email client, and more.

In the next step, you will learn how to use the xdg-open command to integrate your Linux desktop with various applications and file types.

Summary

In this lab, you learned about the xdg-open command, which is a standard way to open files and directories with their default applications in Linux. You explored how to use xdg-open to open text files, directories, and customize the default applications for different file types and directories. The xdg-open command is a versatile tool that can be used to integrate your Linux desktop with various applications and file types.