XDG-OPEN(1) xdg-open Manual XDG-OPEN(1)

.SH "NAME" xdg-open - opens a file or URL in the user's preferred application

.SH "SYNOPSIS"

.HP 216u

**xdg-open**  
{  
| **file**  
| **URL**  
}

.HP 216u

**xdg-open**  
{  
| **--help**  
| **--manual**  
| **--version**  
}

.SH "DESCRIPTION"

.PP xdg-open opens a file or URL in the user's preferred application. If a URL is provided the URL will be opened in the user's preferred web browser. If a file is provided the file will be opened in the preferred application for files of that type. xdg-open supports file, ftp, http and https URLs.

.PP xdg-open is for use inside a desktop session only. It is not recommended to use xdg-open as root.

.PP As xdg-open can not handle arguments that begin with a “-” it is recommended to pass filepaths in one of the following ways:

•Pass absolute paths, i.e. by using **realpath** as a preprocessor.

•Prefix known relative filepaths with a “./”. For example using sed -E 's|^\[^/]|./\\0|'.

•Pass a file URL.

.SH "OPTIONS"

.PP **--help**

Show command synopsis.

.RE

.PP **--manual**

Show this manual page.

.RE

.PP **--version**

Show the xdg-utils version information.

.RE

.SH "EXIT CODES"

.PP An exit code of 0 indicates success while a non-zero exit code indicates failure. The following failure codes can be returned:

.PP **1**

Error in command line syntax.

.RE  
.PP **2**

One of the files passed on the command line did not exist.

.RE  
.PP **3**

A required tool could not be found.

.RE  
.PP **4**

The action failed.

.RE

.PP In case of success the process launched from the .desktop file will not be forked off and therefore may result in xdg-open running for a very long time. This behaviour intentionally differs from most desktop specific openers to allow terminal based applications to run using the same terminal xdg-open was called from.

.SH "REPORTING ISSUES"

.PP Please keep in mind **xdg-open** inherits most of the flaws of its configuration and the underlying opener.

.PP In case the command xdg-mime query default "$(xdg-mime query filetype path/to/troublesome\_file)" names the program responsible for any unexpected behaviour you can fix that by setting a different handler. (If the program is broken let the developers know)

.PP Also see the security note on [**xdg-mime**(1)](/man/os/xdg-utils/xdg-mime.1) for the default subcommand.

.PP If a flaw is reproducible using the desktop specific opener (and isn't a configuration issue): Please report to whoever is responsible for that first (reporting to xdg-utils is better than not reporting at all, but since the xdg-utils are maintained in very little spare time a fix will take much longer)

.PP In case an issue specific to xdg-open please report it to https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils/-/issues .

.SH "SEE ALSO"

.PP [**xdg-mime**(1)](/man/os/xdg-utils/xdg-mime.1), [**xdg-settings**(1)](/man/os/xdg-utils/xdg-settings.1), **MIME applications associations specification**\[1]

.SH "EXAMPLES"

.PP

```
xdg-open 'http://www.freedesktop.org/'
```

Opens the freedesktop.org website in the user's default browser.

.PP

```
xdg-open /tmp/foobar.png
```

Opens the PNG image file /tmp/foobar.png in the user's default image viewing application.

# [AUTHORS](#AUTHORS)

**Kevin Krammer**

Author.

**Jeremy White**

Author.

# [COPYRIGHT](#COPYRIGHT)

Copyright © 2006

# [NOTES](#NOTES)

1\.

MIME applications associations specification

http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/mime-apps-spec/

04/02/2026 xdg-utils 1.0

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Document: xdg-open(1) from xdg-utils 1.2.1-r8 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils