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How to launch default web browser from the terminal?
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I was wondering what's the terminal command to open the default web browser.
command-line
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
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add a comment
|
I was wondering what's the terminal command to open the default web browser.
command-line
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
add a comment
|
I was wondering what's the terminal command to open the default web browser.
command-line
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
I was wondering what's the terminal command to open the default web browser.
command-line
command-line
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
edited Apr 25 '14 at 12:41
Braiam
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
54.4k21 gold badges146 silver badges230 bronze badges
asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
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asked Oct 19 '10 at 10:39
LucaLuca
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add a comment
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6 Answers
6
active
oldest
votes
sensible-browser is the command you're looking for.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
What about the differences betweensensible-utilspackage and the system of alternatives found in/etc/alternativesand modified byupdate-alternatives?
– enzotib
Oct 19 '10 at 12:59
7
For mesensible-browseropens Opera instead pf default Chrome.xdg-openworks as expected.
– incrop
Jun 17 '14 at 15:12
2
what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:58
2
sensible-browserdoesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre.xdg-opendoes.
– Tankman六四
Feb 5 '18 at 0:58
add a comment
|
Searching on Google I found the answer.
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.
xdg-open is part of xdg-utils package and it's already installed on Ubuntu 10.10.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.
– Thupten
Jul 13 '14 at 14:42
1
XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org
– Luca
Jul 13 '14 at 19:05
Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 11:20
1
if the user once configured to open html files with a text editor by default, this will not work. OP asks for a way to open the web browser, not the default application for html files (even though by default it's the same)
– Blauhirn
Jun 29 '17 at 16:48
This will work on any gnu/linux distro that has x-server window manager (that is just about all of them - eg debian, *buntu, fedora, manjaro, Arch etc)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:58
|
show 1 more comment
You can also use:
x-www-browser http://some-url.org
And it will open the URL in the default browser.
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
2
for me, in Ubuntu 16.04, this will open Firefox even though Chromium is set as the default browser in the "Default Applications" setting.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:56
add a comment
|
With default Ubuntu setup only gnome-open command comes to mind.
gnome-open http://askubuntu.com
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
4
With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.
– marenostrum
Oct 19 '10 at 12:38
1
The advantage is that you can usegnome-openfor almost all file-types, URIs and directories. It's one command to learn, instead of trying to remember about obscure commands likesensible-browser
– Stefan Lasiewski
Oct 21 '10 at 18:19
6
@Stefan Lasiewski:xdg-openshould do the same thing - actually, it will callgnome-open, orkde-open, or whatever, depending on your desktop environment. Thus it's more portable.
– Piskvor
Aug 22 '11 at 14:37
in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:55
1
gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:59
add a comment
|
I played around this a little.
There is a problem with gnome-open — it won't invoke the default web browser unless you specify a url.
That's a problem if you want to set up an icon or a shortcut that will always launch the browser that is set as default.
Other times you might need to set it as a parameter for some programs that require a link to a web browser and don't work well with gnome-open (e.g.: acroread).
You might solve this by using either x-www-browser or gnome-www-browser system links that you can set up through update-alternatives, but those are system wide settings, not user specific (and they are not synchronized with the values set through gnome-default-applications-properties.
All this can be solved by opening the sensible-browserexecutable (which is actually a script):
sudo gedit $(which sensible-browser)
and adding this at the beginning:
#!/bin/bash
BROWSER=$(gconftool -g /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command)
export BROWSER="$BROWSER//""%s""/"
That will make sensible-browser always launch the user-specified default web browser.
(I found out that gnome-default-applications-properties changes some gconf keys according to the browser that is currently set. The default browser value can be obtained from any of these keys so I went for /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command and used it to fill the $BROWSER variable (the value is stripped of the "%s" part). )
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
1
I wouldn't recommend editing/usr/bin/sensible-browseras this answer recommends. This change will be overwritten on a system upgrade.
– Gilles
Feb 21 '14 at 11:53
rather than try to install a modified script on a users system, a more realistic solution is to use xdg-open as per Luca's answer. If you specify a html file or a URL it WILL open the browser - if you supply something else it will open an appropriate application for that type of resource. I doubt there is any good reason to open some file with a browser when it will be better handled by some other application, either by default or in accordance with the users explicit choice. If you must, you can force the browser to open it with x-www-browser (see Benjamin's answer)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 20:34
add a comment
|
Just that you may find it useful. A fallback approach, and one liner.
URL="https://www.url.com/some"; xdg-open $URL || sensible-browser $URL || x-www-browser $URL || gnome-open $URL
Good reading for the no familiar with the logical operators
https://www.howtogeek.com/269509/how-to-run-two-or-more-terminal-commands-at-once-in-linux/.
; => run in all cases,
|| => run if the precedent command failed (or)
&& => run only if the precedent command succeed
and
var=someval -> set a variable
$var -> invoke the variable
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
1
Consider explaining what this command does so that others that see this know more about your answer. Links are good, but you need to ensure the key content of the link is in your answer if it is part of your answer (incase the link dies in the future).
– Zzzach...
Apr 18 at 3:23
1
@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.
– Mohamed Allal
Apr 18 at 3:31
add a comment
|
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6 Answers
6
active
oldest
votes
6 Answers
6
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
sensible-browser is the command you're looking for.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
What about the differences betweensensible-utilspackage and the system of alternatives found in/etc/alternativesand modified byupdate-alternatives?
– enzotib
Oct 19 '10 at 12:59
7
For mesensible-browseropens Opera instead pf default Chrome.xdg-openworks as expected.
– incrop
Jun 17 '14 at 15:12
2
what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:58
2
sensible-browserdoesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre.xdg-opendoes.
– Tankman六四
Feb 5 '18 at 0:58
add a comment
|
sensible-browser is the command you're looking for.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
What about the differences betweensensible-utilspackage and the system of alternatives found in/etc/alternativesand modified byupdate-alternatives?
– enzotib
Oct 19 '10 at 12:59
7
For mesensible-browseropens Opera instead pf default Chrome.xdg-openworks as expected.
– incrop
Jun 17 '14 at 15:12
2
what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:58
2
sensible-browserdoesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre.xdg-opendoes.
– Tankman六四
Feb 5 '18 at 0:58
add a comment
|
sensible-browser is the command you're looking for.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
sensible-browser is the command you're looking for.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
EvanEvan
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
4,35819 silver badges18 bronze badges
What about the differences betweensensible-utilspackage and the system of alternatives found in/etc/alternativesand modified byupdate-alternatives?
– enzotib
Oct 19 '10 at 12:59
7
For mesensible-browseropens Opera instead pf default Chrome.xdg-openworks as expected.
– incrop
Jun 17 '14 at 15:12
2
what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:58
2
sensible-browserdoesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre.xdg-opendoes.
– Tankman六四
Feb 5 '18 at 0:58
add a comment
|
What about the differences betweensensible-utilspackage and the system of alternatives found in/etc/alternativesand modified byupdate-alternatives?
– enzotib
Oct 19 '10 at 12:59
7
For mesensible-browseropens Opera instead pf default Chrome.xdg-openworks as expected.
– incrop
Jun 17 '14 at 15:12
2
what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:58
2
sensible-browserdoesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre.xdg-opendoes.
– Tankman六四
Feb 5 '18 at 0:58
What about the differences between
sensible-utils package and the system of alternatives found in /etc/alternatives and modified by update-alternatives?– enzotib
Oct 19 '10 at 12:59
What about the differences between
sensible-utils package and the system of alternatives found in /etc/alternatives and modified by update-alternatives?– enzotib
Oct 19 '10 at 12:59
7
7
For me
sensible-browser opens Opera instead pf default Chrome. xdg-open works as expected.– incrop
Jun 17 '14 at 15:12
For me
sensible-browser opens Opera instead pf default Chrome. xdg-open works as expected.– incrop
Jun 17 '14 at 15:12
2
2
what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:58
what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:58
2
2
sensible-browser doesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre. xdg-open does.– Tankman六四
Feb 5 '18 at 0:58
sensible-browser doesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre. xdg-open does.– Tankman六四
Feb 5 '18 at 0:58
add a comment
|
Searching on Google I found the answer.
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.
xdg-open is part of xdg-utils package and it's already installed on Ubuntu 10.10.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.
– Thupten
Jul 13 '14 at 14:42
1
XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org
– Luca
Jul 13 '14 at 19:05
Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 11:20
1
if the user once configured to open html files with a text editor by default, this will not work. OP asks for a way to open the web browser, not the default application for html files (even though by default it's the same)
– Blauhirn
Jun 29 '17 at 16:48
This will work on any gnu/linux distro that has x-server window manager (that is just about all of them - eg debian, *buntu, fedora, manjaro, Arch etc)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:58
|
show 1 more comment
Searching on Google I found the answer.
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.
xdg-open is part of xdg-utils package and it's already installed on Ubuntu 10.10.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.
– Thupten
Jul 13 '14 at 14:42
1
XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org
– Luca
Jul 13 '14 at 19:05
Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 11:20
1
if the user once configured to open html files with a text editor by default, this will not work. OP asks for a way to open the web browser, not the default application for html files (even though by default it's the same)
– Blauhirn
Jun 29 '17 at 16:48
This will work on any gnu/linux distro that has x-server window manager (that is just about all of them - eg debian, *buntu, fedora, manjaro, Arch etc)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:58
|
show 1 more comment
Searching on Google I found the answer.
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.
xdg-open is part of xdg-utils package and it's already installed on Ubuntu 10.10.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
Searching on Google I found the answer.
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.
xdg-open is part of xdg-utils package and it's already installed on Ubuntu 10.10.
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:50
LucaLuca
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
1,3971 gold badge10 silver badges13 bronze badges
what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.
– Thupten
Jul 13 '14 at 14:42
1
XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org
– Luca
Jul 13 '14 at 19:05
Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 11:20
1
if the user once configured to open html files with a text editor by default, this will not work. OP asks for a way to open the web browser, not the default application for html files (even though by default it's the same)
– Blauhirn
Jun 29 '17 at 16:48
This will work on any gnu/linux distro that has x-server window manager (that is just about all of them - eg debian, *buntu, fedora, manjaro, Arch etc)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:58
|
show 1 more comment
what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.
– Thupten
Jul 13 '14 at 14:42
1
XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org
– Luca
Jul 13 '14 at 19:05
Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 11:20
1
if the user once configured to open html files with a text editor by default, this will not work. OP asks for a way to open the web browser, not the default application for html files (even though by default it's the same)
– Blauhirn
Jun 29 '17 at 16:48
This will work on any gnu/linux distro that has x-server window manager (that is just about all of them - eg debian, *buntu, fedora, manjaro, Arch etc)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:58
what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.
– Thupten
Jul 13 '14 at 14:42
what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.
– Thupten
Jul 13 '14 at 14:42
1
1
XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org
– Luca
Jul 13 '14 at 19:05
XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org
– Luca
Jul 13 '14 at 19:05
Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 11:20
Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 11:20
1
1
if the user once configured to open html files with a text editor by default, this will not work. OP asks for a way to open the web browser, not the default application for html files (even though by default it's the same)
– Blauhirn
Jun 29 '17 at 16:48
if the user once configured to open html files with a text editor by default, this will not work. OP asks for a way to open the web browser, not the default application for html files (even though by default it's the same)
– Blauhirn
Jun 29 '17 at 16:48
This will work on any gnu/linux distro that has x-server window manager (that is just about all of them - eg debian, *buntu, fedora, manjaro, Arch etc)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:58
This will work on any gnu/linux distro that has x-server window manager (that is just about all of them - eg debian, *buntu, fedora, manjaro, Arch etc)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:58
|
show 1 more comment
You can also use:
x-www-browser http://some-url.org
And it will open the URL in the default browser.
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
2
for me, in Ubuntu 16.04, this will open Firefox even though Chromium is set as the default browser in the "Default Applications" setting.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:56
add a comment
|
You can also use:
x-www-browser http://some-url.org
And it will open the URL in the default browser.
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
2
for me, in Ubuntu 16.04, this will open Firefox even though Chromium is set as the default browser in the "Default Applications" setting.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:56
add a comment
|
You can also use:
x-www-browser http://some-url.org
And it will open the URL in the default browser.
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
You can also use:
x-www-browser http://some-url.org
And it will open the URL in the default browser.
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
answered Aug 22 '11 at 9:50
BenjaminBenjamin
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
1,8478 gold badges31 silver badges45 bronze badges
2
for me, in Ubuntu 16.04, this will open Firefox even though Chromium is set as the default browser in the "Default Applications" setting.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:56
add a comment
|
2
for me, in Ubuntu 16.04, this will open Firefox even though Chromium is set as the default browser in the "Default Applications" setting.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:56
2
2
for me, in Ubuntu 16.04, this will open Firefox even though Chromium is set as the default browser in the "Default Applications" setting.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:56
for me, in Ubuntu 16.04, this will open Firefox even though Chromium is set as the default browser in the "Default Applications" setting.
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:56
add a comment
|
With default Ubuntu setup only gnome-open command comes to mind.
gnome-open http://askubuntu.com
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
4
With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.
– marenostrum
Oct 19 '10 at 12:38
1
The advantage is that you can usegnome-openfor almost all file-types, URIs and directories. It's one command to learn, instead of trying to remember about obscure commands likesensible-browser
– Stefan Lasiewski
Oct 21 '10 at 18:19
6
@Stefan Lasiewski:xdg-openshould do the same thing - actually, it will callgnome-open, orkde-open, or whatever, depending on your desktop environment. Thus it's more portable.
– Piskvor
Aug 22 '11 at 14:37
in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:55
1
gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:59
add a comment
|
With default Ubuntu setup only gnome-open command comes to mind.
gnome-open http://askubuntu.com
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
4
With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.
– marenostrum
Oct 19 '10 at 12:38
1
The advantage is that you can usegnome-openfor almost all file-types, URIs and directories. It's one command to learn, instead of trying to remember about obscure commands likesensible-browser
– Stefan Lasiewski
Oct 21 '10 at 18:19
6
@Stefan Lasiewski:xdg-openshould do the same thing - actually, it will callgnome-open, orkde-open, or whatever, depending on your desktop environment. Thus it's more portable.
– Piskvor
Aug 22 '11 at 14:37
in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:55
1
gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:59
add a comment
|
With default Ubuntu setup only gnome-open command comes to mind.
gnome-open http://askubuntu.com
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
With default Ubuntu setup only gnome-open command comes to mind.
gnome-open http://askubuntu.com
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
answered Oct 19 '10 at 10:51
kounryusuikounryusui
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
8912 gold badges10 silver badges15 bronze badges
4
With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.
– marenostrum
Oct 19 '10 at 12:38
1
The advantage is that you can usegnome-openfor almost all file-types, URIs and directories. It's one command to learn, instead of trying to remember about obscure commands likesensible-browser
– Stefan Lasiewski
Oct 21 '10 at 18:19
6
@Stefan Lasiewski:xdg-openshould do the same thing - actually, it will callgnome-open, orkde-open, or whatever, depending on your desktop environment. Thus it's more portable.
– Piskvor
Aug 22 '11 at 14:37
in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:55
1
gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:59
add a comment
|
4
With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.
– marenostrum
Oct 19 '10 at 12:38
1
The advantage is that you can usegnome-openfor almost all file-types, URIs and directories. It's one command to learn, instead of trying to remember about obscure commands likesensible-browser
– Stefan Lasiewski
Oct 21 '10 at 18:19
6
@Stefan Lasiewski:xdg-openshould do the same thing - actually, it will callgnome-open, orkde-open, or whatever, depending on your desktop environment. Thus it's more portable.
– Piskvor
Aug 22 '11 at 14:37
in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:55
1
gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:59
4
4
With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.
– marenostrum
Oct 19 '10 at 12:38
With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.
– marenostrum
Oct 19 '10 at 12:38
1
1
The advantage is that you can use
gnome-open for almost all file-types, URIs and directories. It's one command to learn, instead of trying to remember about obscure commands like sensible-browser– Stefan Lasiewski
Oct 21 '10 at 18:19
The advantage is that you can use
gnome-open for almost all file-types, URIs and directories. It's one command to learn, instead of trying to remember about obscure commands like sensible-browser– Stefan Lasiewski
Oct 21 '10 at 18:19
6
6
@Stefan Lasiewski:
xdg-open should do the same thing - actually, it will call gnome-open, or kde-open, or whatever, depending on your desktop environment. Thus it's more portable.– Piskvor
Aug 22 '11 at 14:37
@Stefan Lasiewski:
xdg-open should do the same thing - actually, it will call gnome-open, or kde-open, or whatever, depending on your desktop environment. Thus it's more portable.– Piskvor
Aug 22 '11 at 14:37
in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:55
in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default
– Andreas Hacker
Mar 16 '17 at 10:55
1
1
gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:59
gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 19:59
add a comment
|
I played around this a little.
There is a problem with gnome-open — it won't invoke the default web browser unless you specify a url.
That's a problem if you want to set up an icon or a shortcut that will always launch the browser that is set as default.
Other times you might need to set it as a parameter for some programs that require a link to a web browser and don't work well with gnome-open (e.g.: acroread).
You might solve this by using either x-www-browser or gnome-www-browser system links that you can set up through update-alternatives, but those are system wide settings, not user specific (and they are not synchronized with the values set through gnome-default-applications-properties.
All this can be solved by opening the sensible-browserexecutable (which is actually a script):
sudo gedit $(which sensible-browser)
and adding this at the beginning:
#!/bin/bash
BROWSER=$(gconftool -g /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command)
export BROWSER="$BROWSER//""%s""/"
That will make sensible-browser always launch the user-specified default web browser.
(I found out that gnome-default-applications-properties changes some gconf keys according to the browser that is currently set. The default browser value can be obtained from any of these keys so I went for /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command and used it to fill the $BROWSER variable (the value is stripped of the "%s" part). )
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
1
I wouldn't recommend editing/usr/bin/sensible-browseras this answer recommends. This change will be overwritten on a system upgrade.
– Gilles
Feb 21 '14 at 11:53
rather than try to install a modified script on a users system, a more realistic solution is to use xdg-open as per Luca's answer. If you specify a html file or a URL it WILL open the browser - if you supply something else it will open an appropriate application for that type of resource. I doubt there is any good reason to open some file with a browser when it will be better handled by some other application, either by default or in accordance with the users explicit choice. If you must, you can force the browser to open it with x-www-browser (see Benjamin's answer)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 20:34
add a comment
|
I played around this a little.
There is a problem with gnome-open — it won't invoke the default web browser unless you specify a url.
That's a problem if you want to set up an icon or a shortcut that will always launch the browser that is set as default.
Other times you might need to set it as a parameter for some programs that require a link to a web browser and don't work well with gnome-open (e.g.: acroread).
You might solve this by using either x-www-browser or gnome-www-browser system links that you can set up through update-alternatives, but those are system wide settings, not user specific (and they are not synchronized with the values set through gnome-default-applications-properties.
All this can be solved by opening the sensible-browserexecutable (which is actually a script):
sudo gedit $(which sensible-browser)
and adding this at the beginning:
#!/bin/bash
BROWSER=$(gconftool -g /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command)
export BROWSER="$BROWSER//""%s""/"
That will make sensible-browser always launch the user-specified default web browser.
(I found out that gnome-default-applications-properties changes some gconf keys according to the browser that is currently set. The default browser value can be obtained from any of these keys so I went for /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command and used it to fill the $BROWSER variable (the value is stripped of the "%s" part). )
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
1
I wouldn't recommend editing/usr/bin/sensible-browseras this answer recommends. This change will be overwritten on a system upgrade.
– Gilles
Feb 21 '14 at 11:53
rather than try to install a modified script on a users system, a more realistic solution is to use xdg-open as per Luca's answer. If you specify a html file or a URL it WILL open the browser - if you supply something else it will open an appropriate application for that type of resource. I doubt there is any good reason to open some file with a browser when it will be better handled by some other application, either by default or in accordance with the users explicit choice. If you must, you can force the browser to open it with x-www-browser (see Benjamin's answer)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 20:34
add a comment
|
I played around this a little.
There is a problem with gnome-open — it won't invoke the default web browser unless you specify a url.
That's a problem if you want to set up an icon or a shortcut that will always launch the browser that is set as default.
Other times you might need to set it as a parameter for some programs that require a link to a web browser and don't work well with gnome-open (e.g.: acroread).
You might solve this by using either x-www-browser or gnome-www-browser system links that you can set up through update-alternatives, but those are system wide settings, not user specific (and they are not synchronized with the values set through gnome-default-applications-properties.
All this can be solved by opening the sensible-browserexecutable (which is actually a script):
sudo gedit $(which sensible-browser)
and adding this at the beginning:
#!/bin/bash
BROWSER=$(gconftool -g /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command)
export BROWSER="$BROWSER//""%s""/"
That will make sensible-browser always launch the user-specified default web browser.
(I found out that gnome-default-applications-properties changes some gconf keys according to the browser that is currently set. The default browser value can be obtained from any of these keys so I went for /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command and used it to fill the $BROWSER variable (the value is stripped of the "%s" part). )
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
I played around this a little.
There is a problem with gnome-open — it won't invoke the default web browser unless you specify a url.
That's a problem if you want to set up an icon or a shortcut that will always launch the browser that is set as default.
Other times you might need to set it as a parameter for some programs that require a link to a web browser and don't work well with gnome-open (e.g.: acroread).
You might solve this by using either x-www-browser or gnome-www-browser system links that you can set up through update-alternatives, but those are system wide settings, not user specific (and they are not synchronized with the values set through gnome-default-applications-properties.
All this can be solved by opening the sensible-browserexecutable (which is actually a script):
sudo gedit $(which sensible-browser)
and adding this at the beginning:
#!/bin/bash
BROWSER=$(gconftool -g /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command)
export BROWSER="$BROWSER//""%s""/"
That will make sensible-browser always launch the user-specified default web browser.
(I found out that gnome-default-applications-properties changes some gconf keys according to the browser that is currently set. The default browser value can be obtained from any of these keys so I went for /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/http/command and used it to fill the $BROWSER variable (the value is stripped of the "%s" part). )
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
edited Feb 21 '14 at 11:52
Gilles
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
47.7k13 gold badges107 silver badges145 bronze badges
answered Feb 25 '11 at 13:15
user11456
1
I wouldn't recommend editing/usr/bin/sensible-browseras this answer recommends. This change will be overwritten on a system upgrade.
– Gilles
Feb 21 '14 at 11:53
rather than try to install a modified script on a users system, a more realistic solution is to use xdg-open as per Luca's answer. If you specify a html file or a URL it WILL open the browser - if you supply something else it will open an appropriate application for that type of resource. I doubt there is any good reason to open some file with a browser when it will be better handled by some other application, either by default or in accordance with the users explicit choice. If you must, you can force the browser to open it with x-www-browser (see Benjamin's answer)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 20:34
add a comment
|
1
I wouldn't recommend editing/usr/bin/sensible-browseras this answer recommends. This change will be overwritten on a system upgrade.
– Gilles
Feb 21 '14 at 11:53
rather than try to install a modified script on a users system, a more realistic solution is to use xdg-open as per Luca's answer. If you specify a html file or a URL it WILL open the browser - if you supply something else it will open an appropriate application for that type of resource. I doubt there is any good reason to open some file with a browser when it will be better handled by some other application, either by default or in accordance with the users explicit choice. If you must, you can force the browser to open it with x-www-browser (see Benjamin's answer)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 20:34
1
1
I wouldn't recommend editing
/usr/bin/sensible-browser as this answer recommends. This change will be overwritten on a system upgrade.– Gilles
Feb 21 '14 at 11:53
I wouldn't recommend editing
/usr/bin/sensible-browser as this answer recommends. This change will be overwritten on a system upgrade.– Gilles
Feb 21 '14 at 11:53
rather than try to install a modified script on a users system, a more realistic solution is to use xdg-open as per Luca's answer. If you specify a html file or a URL it WILL open the browser - if you supply something else it will open an appropriate application for that type of resource. I doubt there is any good reason to open some file with a browser when it will be better handled by some other application, either by default or in accordance with the users explicit choice. If you must, you can force the browser to open it with x-www-browser (see Benjamin's answer)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 20:34
rather than try to install a modified script on a users system, a more realistic solution is to use xdg-open as per Luca's answer. If you specify a html file or a URL it WILL open the browser - if you supply something else it will open an appropriate application for that type of resource. I doubt there is any good reason to open some file with a browser when it will be better handled by some other application, either by default or in accordance with the users explicit choice. If you must, you can force the browser to open it with x-www-browser (see Benjamin's answer)
– flurbius
Dec 27 '17 at 20:34
add a comment
|
Just that you may find it useful. A fallback approach, and one liner.
URL="https://www.url.com/some"; xdg-open $URL || sensible-browser $URL || x-www-browser $URL || gnome-open $URL
Good reading for the no familiar with the logical operators
https://www.howtogeek.com/269509/how-to-run-two-or-more-terminal-commands-at-once-in-linux/.
; => run in all cases,
|| => run if the precedent command failed (or)
&& => run only if the precedent command succeed
and
var=someval -> set a variable
$var -> invoke the variable
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
1
Consider explaining what this command does so that others that see this know more about your answer. Links are good, but you need to ensure the key content of the link is in your answer if it is part of your answer (incase the link dies in the future).
– Zzzach...
Apr 18 at 3:23
1
@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.
– Mohamed Allal
Apr 18 at 3:31
add a comment
|
Just that you may find it useful. A fallback approach, and one liner.
URL="https://www.url.com/some"; xdg-open $URL || sensible-browser $URL || x-www-browser $URL || gnome-open $URL
Good reading for the no familiar with the logical operators
https://www.howtogeek.com/269509/how-to-run-two-or-more-terminal-commands-at-once-in-linux/.
; => run in all cases,
|| => run if the precedent command failed (or)
&& => run only if the precedent command succeed
and
var=someval -> set a variable
$var -> invoke the variable
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
1
Consider explaining what this command does so that others that see this know more about your answer. Links are good, but you need to ensure the key content of the link is in your answer if it is part of your answer (incase the link dies in the future).
– Zzzach...
Apr 18 at 3:23
1
@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.
– Mohamed Allal
Apr 18 at 3:31
add a comment
|
Just that you may find it useful. A fallback approach, and one liner.
URL="https://www.url.com/some"; xdg-open $URL || sensible-browser $URL || x-www-browser $URL || gnome-open $URL
Good reading for the no familiar with the logical operators
https://www.howtogeek.com/269509/how-to-run-two-or-more-terminal-commands-at-once-in-linux/.
; => run in all cases,
|| => run if the precedent command failed (or)
&& => run only if the precedent command succeed
and
var=someval -> set a variable
$var -> invoke the variable
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
Just that you may find it useful. A fallback approach, and one liner.
URL="https://www.url.com/some"; xdg-open $URL || sensible-browser $URL || x-www-browser $URL || gnome-open $URL
Good reading for the no familiar with the logical operators
https://www.howtogeek.com/269509/how-to-run-two-or-more-terminal-commands-at-once-in-linux/.
; => run in all cases,
|| => run if the precedent command failed (or)
&& => run only if the precedent command succeed
and
var=someval -> set a variable
$var -> invoke the variable
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
edited Apr 20 at 14:32
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
answered Apr 18 at 2:04
Mohamed AllalMohamed Allal
1114 bronze badges
1114 bronze badges
1
Consider explaining what this command does so that others that see this know more about your answer. Links are good, but you need to ensure the key content of the link is in your answer if it is part of your answer (incase the link dies in the future).
– Zzzach...
Apr 18 at 3:23
1
@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.
– Mohamed Allal
Apr 18 at 3:31
add a comment
|
1
Consider explaining what this command does so that others that see this know more about your answer. Links are good, but you need to ensure the key content of the link is in your answer if it is part of your answer (incase the link dies in the future).
– Zzzach...
Apr 18 at 3:23
1
@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.
– Mohamed Allal
Apr 18 at 3:31
1
1
Consider explaining what this command does so that others that see this know more about your answer. Links are good, but you need to ensure the key content of the link is in your answer if it is part of your answer (incase the link dies in the future).
– Zzzach...
Apr 18 at 3:23
Consider explaining what this command does so that others that see this know more about your answer. Links are good, but you need to ensure the key content of the link is in your answer if it is part of your answer (incase the link dies in the future).
– Zzzach...
Apr 18 at 3:23
1
1
@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.
– Mohamed Allal
Apr 18 at 3:31
@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.
– Mohamed Allal
Apr 18 at 3:31
add a comment
|
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