xdg-open/how to/add custom protocol

How To

custom protocol

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

According to ChatGPT (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 .desktop extension and are located in the /usr/share/applications/ directory or ~/.local/share/applications/ for user-specific settings.

Example (custom-protocol.desktop):

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Custom Protocol Handler
Exec=/path/to/your/custom-protocol-handler %U
Terminal=false
Type=Application
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/custom-protocol;

Customize the Exec line to point to the executable that will handle your custom protocol.

• Update MIME types:

Open the file /usr/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache or ~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache and add the following line:

x-scheme-handler/custom-protocol=custom-protocol.desktop;

If the mimeinfo.cache file doesn't exist, you may need to create it.

• Update the MIME database:

Run the following command to update the MIME database:

update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/

If you added the desktop file to the system-wide directory (/usr/share/applications/), you might need to run the command with superuser privileges:

sudo update-desktop-database /usr/share/applications/

• Test your custom protocol:

After completing the above steps, you should be able to use xdg-open with your custom protocol. For example:

xdg-open custom-protocol://example

This should launch the specified handler for your custom protocol.

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 xdg-open, these general steps should work.