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a linux cli equivalent to mac's "open" command? or windows "start" command?

Fresh5 days ago

Mar 15, 2026621 views

Confidence Score0%

Problem

In a mac cli, I can type and the mac will automatically figure out the correct application and open it for me. In Windows, the command does the same thing, but also will open up explorer to working directory if given no parameters. Is there a way to do that in linux? (maybe only certain distros?)

Error Output

open file.jpg

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Fix for: a linux cli equivalent to mac's "open" command? or windows "start" command?

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If XdgUtils is installed files can be opened via Otherwise there might be something provided by the desktop environment, e.g. for gnome

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a linux cli equivalent to mac's "open" command? or windows "start" command?

Problem

Error Output

1 Fix

Fix for: a linux cli equivalent to mac's "open" command? or windows "start" command?

Environment