How can I open a file in its default application from the command line in OS X?

Question

How can I open a file in its default application from the command line?

For example if I have a file foo.doc, can I type command ./foo.doc into the CLI and have that file open in Word?

Note: on my linux machine, I would use xdg-open but that doesn't work on my Mac.

score 21 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 06 '18 at 15:37

21

Use:

open foo.doc

or, alternatively:

open -n foo.doc

to force it to open a new instance if one is already open for that app.

edited Sep 06 '18 at 15:37

jaume

answered Aug 15 '12 at 16:04

Jason

4

open -n opens a new instance, not a window. – Lri Aug 15 '12 at 16:37
4

Also nice is open . (or any directory name in place of .), which opens Finder (the default application for a directory). – Nathan Long Aug 15 '12 at 17:03

1 Answers1