How to launch default web browser from the terminal?

Question

I was wondering what's the terminal command to open the default web browser.

Solution 1

sensible-browser is the command you're looking for.

Or:

xdg-open <URL>.

Solution 2

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.

Solution 3

You can also use:

x-www-browser http://some-url.org

And it will open the URL in the default browser.

Solution 4

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

Solution 5

With default Ubuntu setup only gnome-open command comes to mind.

gnome-open http://askubuntu.com

View more solutions

Comments

[marenostrum]

With default Ubuntu setup, sensible-browser and xdg-open commands work as well.

[enzotib]

What about the differences between sensible-utils package and the system of alternatives found in /etc/alternatives and modified by update-alternatives?

[yop83]

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

[Piskvor left the building]

@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.

[incrop]

For me sensible-browser opens Opera instead pf default Chrome. xdg-open works as expected.

[Thupten]

what does xdg stand for? Its hard to remember without knowing that.

[Luca]

XDG stands for X Desktop Group aka freedesktop.org

[Andreas Hacker]

in Ubuntu 16.04, gnome-open is not installed by default

[Andreas Hacker]

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]

what @Incrop said is still true for Ubuntu 16.04, this opens Firefox instead of my default browser Chromium.

[Andreas Hacker]

Still still works on a default Ubuntu 16.04 installation.

[phil294]

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)

[flurbius]

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]

gnome-open is dependent on gnome desktop, better off using xdg as its more common

[Tankman六四]

sensible-browser doesn't follow user preference configured in unity-control-centre. xdg-open does.

[AlwaysTalkingAboutMyDog]

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).

[Mohamed Allal]

@Zzzach...done! and i get the point. Though it was a simple matter.

[Mike]

Looks like xdg-open is deprecated. Use gio open <filename>, instead.

[NeoShow]

Although my default (gnome) browser is Firefox, sensible-browser opens Chrome.

[NeoShow]

gnome-open is not installed by default lately.

[pyrsmk]

For me, under Linux Mint, sensible-browser opens the right one, and xdg-open opens the wrong one.

[ram0nvaldez]

this one opens chrome despite another browser is the default

[ram0nvaldez]

this one is nice

[Vik]

@Mike it isn't deprecated. reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/8mniks/…