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Show HN: TUI for managing XDG default applications

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Re: Show HN: TUI for managing XDG default applications

#11

Post by forgotpwd16 »

cda2100 wrote: post #2

[flagged]

Ackchyually XDG default applications aren't set via env vars but through the `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/mimeapps.list` file manipulated (either via text editor if track desktop files yourself or, better) via `xdg-mime {query|default}` tool. This TUI is a replacement (doesn't wrap it) to this tool for this functionality, with twist that does multiple-defaults category-wise rather one-by-one ("word processor documents" rather odt/doc/docx).

Compared to what slopcalypse has brought, this one (project; vibe coded maybe, certainly not slop) at very least is useful (also is quite short; within a sea of thousand LOC generated in 1s this is refreshing).

Re: Show HN: TUI for managing XDG default applications

#13

Post by forgotpwd16 »

nickjj wrote: post #9
sourcegrift wrote: post #6

No one on earth has so far managed to get xdg default apps work on Linux. I've been failing since 19 years personally. If you've really succeded then congratulations!

> No one on earth has so far managed to get xdg default apps work on Linux. I've only been using Linux for a few weeks but what am I missing here? I set a bunch of mime types in `~/.config/mimeapps.list` which are assigned to desktop apps and they all open perfectly with `xdg-open` or when I launch them through a file manager. It is documented in the XDG specification https://specifications.freedesktop.org/mime-apps/…

For me currently, when trying to open a `text/markdown` file, there's a disassociation between what my file manager (Caja) runs (own bin/emacs script; was under the impression it was auto-creating a .desktop file), what mimeapps.list have (emacs.desktop), and what `xdg-open` runs (Firefox for some reason).

Re: Show HN: TUI for managing XDG default applications

#15

Post by mitjafelicijan »

sourcegrift wrote: post #6

No one on earth has so far managed to get xdg default apps work on Linux. I've been failing since 19 years personally. If you've really succeded then congratulations!

I probably haven't. :) They are a nightmare indeed. But it does help a little.

Re: Show HN: TUI for managing XDG default applications

#17

Post by mitjafelicijan »

jwrallie wrote: post #8

Just by reading the title, I’m sold! This should be very useful specially if you are not using a desktop environment that manages the default apps. I always alias open to xdg-open, it’s so useful to open a file directly from the terminal.

That was the exact reason for it. I made my own window manager for fun and was missing a simple way of changing default apps.

Re: Show HN: TUI for managing XDG default applications

#19

Post by saturn_vk »

sourcegrift wrote: post #6

No one on earth has so far managed to get xdg default apps work on Linux. I've been failing since 19 years personally. If you've really succeded then congratulations!

Great. I must be living on the moon then. I guess gnome work great there since it manages this part

Re: Show HN: TUI for managing XDG default applications

#20

Post by mitjafelicijan »

roman_soldier wrote: post #10

Nice, but problem with all these AI coded TUI's is we will have hundreds of them, best to stick to the built in linux commands, add aliases/abbreviations (fish) if required, do you need a TUI for everything? Sometimes the answer to "Should I write this?" Is no

I do agree with some of your sentiment. But by that logic, nothing would ever be made.

The same goes with aliases. Why not just use the actual commands. You give it your best shot, and sometimes something good comes out. And sometimes it's crap. That's life.

And I made it for fun and to learn something. And it wasn't AI coded. It's like 200 lines. I wanted to learn termbox2.h a bit more than I already had.

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