OPEN(1)                   BSD General Commands Manual                  OPEN(1)

NAME
     open -- open files and directories

SYNOPSIS
     open [-a application] file ...

     open [-b bundleidentifier] file ...

     open [-e] file ...

     open [-t] file ...

     open [-f]

DESCRIPTION
     The open command opens a file (or a directory or URL), just as if you had
     double-clicked the file's icon. If no application name is specified, the
     default application as determined via LaunchServices is used to open the
     specified files.

     If the file is in the form of a URL, the file will be opened as a URL.

     You can specify one or more file names (or pathnames), which are inter-
     preted relative to the shell or Terminal window's current working direc-
     tory. For example, the following command would open all Word files in the
     current working directory:

     open *.doc

     The options are as follows:

     -a application
         specifies the application to use for opening the file

     -b bundleindentifier
         specifies the bundle identifier for the application to use when open-
         ing the file

     -e  causes the file to be opened with /Applications/TextEdit

     -t  causes the file to be opened with the default text editor, as deter-
         mined via LaunchServices

     -f  Reads input from standard input and opens the results in the default
         text editor.  End input by sending EOF character (type Control-D).
         Also useful for piping output to open and having it open in the
         default text editor.

EXAMPLES
     "open '/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt'" opens the document in the default
     application for its type (as determined by LaunchServices).

     "open '/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Applications/'" opens that directory in the
     Finder.

     "open -a /Applications/TextEdit.app '/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt'"
     opens the document in the application specified (in this case, TextEdit).

     "open -b com.apple.TextEdit '/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt'" opens the
     document in the application specified (in this case, TextEdit).

     "open -e '/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt'" opens the document in TextEdit.

     "ls  open -f" writes the output of the 'ls' command to a file in /tmp
     and opens the file in the default text editor (as determined by Launch-
     Services).

     "open http:/www.apple.com/" opens the URL in the default browser.

     "open 'file:/localhost/Volumes/Macintosh HD/foo.txt'" opens the document
     in the default application for its type (as determined by LaunchSer-
     vices).

     "open 'file:/localhost/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Applications/'" opens that
     directory in the Finder.

HISTORY
     First appeared in NextStep.

Mac OS                         February 10, 2004                        Mac OS