xdg-open/how to/add custom protocol - Revision history

Woozle: Woozle moved page xdg-open/notes to xdg-open/how to/add custom protocol without leaving a redirect: reorganizing, now that it's working

2024-01-03T00:46:53Z

Woozle moved page xdg-open/notes to xdg-open/how to/add custom protocol without leaving a redirect: reorganizing, now that it's working

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Woozle at 00:46, 3 January 2024

2024-01-03T00:46:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:46, 3 January 2024
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	==~~How To~~==		{{fmt/title\|How to add a custom protocol}}
	===custom protocol===		The following instructions were adapted from ChatGPT<ref name=chatgpt1 /> but tested and modified slightly for clarity.
	'''Q:''' ~~How can I add a custom protocol~~ to ~~xdg~~-~~open?~~		==Create a custom desktop file==
			Create a new desktop file for your custom protocol. Desktop files usually have a <code>.desktop</code> extension and are located in the <code>/usr/share/applications/</code> directory or <code>~/.local/share/applications/</code> for user-specific settings.</p><p>Example (<code>custom-protocol.desktop</code>):</p>
			[Desktop Entry]
			Name=Custom Protocol Handler
			Exec=/path/to/your/custom-protocol-handler %U
			Terminal=false
			Type=Application
			MimeType=x-scheme-handler/{{arg\|protocol name}};
			That is: if your custom protocol is (e.g.) "wooz://{{arg\|URI}}", then '''MimeType''' should be set to <code>x-scheme-handler/wooz</code>.

	~~According to ChatGPT<ref name=chatgpt1 /> (these instructions are either incomplete, incorrect, or misleading):~~

	* <strong>Create a custom desktop file:</strong>

	Create a new desktop file for your custom protocol. Desktop files usually have a <code>.desktop</code> extension and are located in the <code>/usr/share/applications/</code> directory or <code>~/.local/share/applications/</code> for user-specific settings.</p><p>Example (<code>custom-protocol.desktop</code>):</p>
	~~<syntaxhighlight lang=ini>~~
	~~[Desktop Entry]~~
	~~Name=Custom Protocol Handler~~
	~~Exec=/path/to/your/custom-protocol-handler %U~~
	~~Terminal=false~~
	~~Type=Application~~
	~~MimeType=x-scheme-handler/custom-protocol;~~
	~~</syntaxhighlight>~~
	Customize the <code>Exec</code> line to point to the executable that will handle your custom protocol.		Customize the <code>Exec</code> line to point to the executable that will handle your custom protocol.
	* <strong>Update MIME types~~:</strong>~~		==Update MIME types==
	Open the file <code>/usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache</code> or <code>~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache</code> and add the following line:		Open the file <code>/usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache</code> or <code>~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache</code> and add the following line:
	~~<blockquote>~~		x-scheme-handler/{{arg\|protocol name}}=custom-protocol.desktop;
	x-scheme-handler/~~custom-~~protocol=custom-protocol.desktop;
	~~</blockquote>~~
	If the <code>mimeinfo.cache</code> file doesn't exist, you may need to create it.		If the <code>mimeinfo.cache</code> file doesn't exist, you may need to create it.
	* <strong>Update the MIME database~~:</strong>~~		==Update the MIME database==
	Run the following command to update the MIME database:		Run the following command to update the MIME database:
	<syntaxhighlight lang=bash>		<syntaxhighlight lang=bash>
Line 32:		Line 26:
	sudo update-desktop-database /usr/share/applications/		sudo update-desktop-database /usr/share/applications/
	</syntaxhighlight>		</syntaxhighlight>
	* <strong>Test your custom protocol~~:</strong>~~		==Test your custom protocol==
	After completing the above steps, you should be able to use <code>xdg-open</code> with your custom protocol. For example:		After completing the above steps, you should be able to use <code>xdg-open</code> with your custom protocol. For example:
	~~<syntaxhighlight lang=bash>~~		xdg-open {{arg\|protocol name}}://example
	xdg-open ~~custom-~~protocol://example
	~~</syntaxhighlight>~~
	This should launch the specified handler for your custom protocol.</p></li></ol><p>Remember to replace "custom-protocol" with your actual protocol name and update file paths accordingly. Additionally, depending on your desktop environment, there may be slight variations in the steps. If your desktop environment supports <code>xdg-open</code>, these general steps should work.		This should launch the specified handler for your custom protocol.</p></li></ol><p>Remember to replace "custom-protocol" with your actual protocol name and update file paths accordingly. Additionally, depending on your desktop environment, there may be slight variations in the steps. If your desktop environment supports <code>xdg-open</code>, these general steps should work.
	==Footnotes==		==Footnotes==

Woozle: Created page with "==How To== ===custom protocol=== '''Q:''' How can I add a custom protocol to xdg-open? According to ChatGPT (these instructions are either incomplete, in..."

2024-01-02T16:49:24Z

Created page with "==How To== ===custom protocol=== '''Q:''' How can I add a custom protocol to xdg-open? According to ChatGPT<ref name=chatgpt1 /> (these instructions are either incomplete, in..."

New page

==How To==
===custom protocol===
'''Q:''' How can I add a custom protocol to xdg-open?

According to ChatGPT<ref name=chatgpt1 /> (these instructions are either incomplete, incorrect, or misleading):

* Create a custom desktop file:

Create a new desktop file for your custom protocol. Desktop files usually have a <code>.desktop</code> extension and are located in the <code>/usr/share/applications/</code> directory or <code>~/.local/share/applications/</code> for user-specific settings.Example (<code>custom-protocol.desktop</code>):
<syntaxhighlight lang=ini>
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Custom Protocol Handler
Exec=/path/to/your/custom-protocol-handler %U
Terminal=false
Type=Application
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/custom-protocol;
</syntaxhighlight>
Customize the <code>Exec</code> line to point to the executable that will handle your custom protocol.
* Update MIME types:
Open the file <code>/usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache</code> or <code>~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache</code> and add the following line:
<blockquote>
x-scheme-handler/custom-protocol=custom-protocol.desktop;
</blockquote>
If the <code>mimeinfo.cache</code> file doesn't exist, you may need to create it.
* Update the MIME database:
Run the following command to update the MIME database:
<syntaxhighlight lang=bash>
update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/
</syntaxhighlight>
If you added the desktop file to the system-wide directory (<code>/usr/share/applications/</code>), you might need to run the command with superuser privileges:
<syntaxhighlight lang=bash>
sudo update-desktop-database /usr/share/applications/
</syntaxhighlight>
* Test your custom protocol:
After completing the above steps, you should be able to use <code>xdg-open</code> with your custom protocol. For example:
<syntaxhighlight lang=bash>
xdg-open custom-protocol://example
</syntaxhighlight>
This should launch the specified handler for your custom protocol.</li></ol>Remember to replace "custom-protocol" with your actual protocol name and update file paths accordingly. Additionally, depending on your desktop environment, there may be slight variations in the steps. If your desktop environment supports <code>xdg-open</code>, these general steps should work.
==Footnotes==
<references>
<ref name=chatgpt1>'''2024-01-01''' ChatGPT 3.5, in response to "How can I add a custom protocol to xdg-open?"</ref>
</references>