man open on macOS is super interesting. I have used open -a to launch specific apps for years, but I have never looked at all the other options. There

Read the Manual: open — Sympolymathesy, by Chris Krycho

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2024-09-19 18:30:07

man open on macOS is super interesting. I have used open -a to launch specific apps for years, but I have never looked at all the other options. There are many, and they are pretty cool! Here are just a few of the neat things you can do:

open -t opens in your default text editor — for me it’s BBEdit; but whatever you have configured will do. Note: this is not $EDITOR but LaunchServices: a macOS-ism.

There are a bunch of other neat little details like this. I never would have learned them if I had not taken the time to man open and learn a bit more about this tool. Now it’s a more useful tool in my toolbelt!

I am going to try to make a habit of doing these man page samplers every Thursday. They will be on both social media and on my website. Follow me wherever is convenient to see when I post them!

This entry was published in Journal: Read The Manual on September 19, 2024 .