How do I open a plain text file in any Linux?
 

I am not sure, but I believe in Windows you can run

on a terminal and Windows will open the text file with whatever program is configured as the default one for opening .txt files.

Whether that is true or not, is there such a thing on Linux?

I remember there used to be such a command for KDE a very long time ago (like 15 years ago), but I don't know if it is still used and, anyway, I need some command that does not rely on KDE. It just has to assume the user has a graphical environment. Is that possible?

TIA

Wow! there are SO many ways to open a text file!
Do you mean to read, or to edit?
If the file is names "file.txt" one could display it withorororor possibly a dozen or more additional options.

One might open it for editing with orororororor any of many other options depending upon what text editors you might have installed.

If you have a file manager installed, you can open that (generally it is an Xwindows program dso you open it in your gui desktop interface from the menu system) and click on the txt file and it will might in your default text editor - however you have that set at the time.


What is it you really want to do?

Should be possible. I don't know if any such command that exists but fairly easy to create a script i.e. find the mime type via the find command and then find what application is associated with that type by searching the mimeapps.list file.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/XDG_MIME_Applications

You can set the $EDITOR variable in Linux, technically you can name this variable whatever you want, just make sure you are not interfering with existing variables.

Can also do alias's. I don't use them but many do. Then you can type in whatever you want.

https://vitux.com/how-to-create-alia...nds-in-debian/

example

or any other command you can pass.

GUI, Folks!

If there is a taskbar with a kind of “start”-button, the “utilities” should comprise some text-editor.
Alternatively there should be a “run” function, although there is no obligation, as far as I know: Usually you hit Alt+F2 and name the program or command-line that you wish to start.
Examples are listed above in this thread, but the command-line editors need to be preceded by the call to a terminal application, like:
Compared to your Windows-command that you state to use “in a terminal application”, the procedure is identical on Linux. Open a terminal and use one of the calls in post #2, above.

Many distros will check a file and then launch the appropriate graphical program if you run xdg-open with the file name as the first option.

Otherwise, you'll have to know or guess whether to use geany, kate, gedit, mousepad, leafpad, etc. and use one of them by name. I have a script which is on many different desktops, each with a different distro, and it does just that.

Completely forgot about xdg-open. It uses the mime type to determine what application to use.

As a senior member this seems a bit odd, however:

https://googlethatforyou.com?q=How%2...any%20Linux%3F

I do not believe this is specifically true. Using start in the Windows command prompt should attempt to run a program and unless the file is a script or executable, this will not work.

Linux:
Well many have answered. Do we misunderstand your question? Because you obviously know Linux. wpeckham very much covered it.

And you do not require a graphical environment.

Nope, it will work:

Probably because of the poorly worded title, many misunderstood what was being asked.

I'm pretty sure Turbocapitalist answered the actual question - i.e: xdg-open is the equivalent to the above behaviour.

(A search for "linux open file in default application" contains many results saying the same thing...)

xdg-open is just what the doctor ordered. Thank you.

The only question now is whether it is available in a large enough number of installations.

I think I will embed a basic text editor in my application. I guess it's the only foolproof way.

If those are solutions, then mimetype and mimeopen might also be useful!

As mentioned, once you find the command you want to use one could alias "start" to be an alias for that command.

If this is a GTK application, you can use the built-in editor, GtkTextView.
Ed

Just going to add that the OSX equivalent to "start" and "xdg-open" is "open".