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XDG-MIME(1)			xdg-mime Manual			   XDG-MIME(1)

NAME
       xdg-mime	- command line tool for	querying information about file	type
       handling	and adding descriptions	for new	file types

SYNOPSIS

       xdg-mime	query {filetype	FILE | default mimetype}

       xdg-mime	default	application mimetype(s)

       xdg-mime	install	[--mode	mode] [--novendor] mimetypes-file

       xdg-mime	uninstall [--mode mode]	mimetypes-file

       xdg-mime	{--help	| --manual | --version}

DESCRIPTION
       The xdg-mime program can	be used	to query information about file	types
       and to add descriptions for new file types.

COMMANDS
       query file
	   Returns the file type of FILE in the	form of	a MIME type.

	   Please note that FILE names starting	with a - will be rejected,
	   this	can be mitigated:

	   •   Pass absolute paths, i.e. by using realpath as a	preprocessor.

	   •   Prefix known relative filepaths with a "./". For	example	using
	       sed -E 's|^[^/]|./\0|' as a preprocessor.

	   The query file option is for	use inside a desktop session only. It
	   is not recommended to use xdg-mime query file as root.

       query default
	   Returns the default application that	the desktop environment	uses
	   for opening files of	type mimetype. The default application is
	   identified by its *.desktop file.

	   The value returned by this command may or may not match the
	   application launched	by xdg-open as xdg-open	hands over to desktop
	   specific openers most of the	time which may implement their own
	   logic.

	   The query default option is for use inside a	desktop	session	only.
	   It is not recommended to use	xdg-mime query default as root.

       default
	   Ask the desktop environment to make application the default
	   application for opening files of type mimetype. An application can
	   be made the default for several file	types by specifying multiple
	   mimetypes.

	   application is the desktop file id of the application and has the
	   form	vendor-name.desktop.  application must already be installed in
	   the desktop menu before it can be made the default handler. The
	   application's desktop file must list	support	for all	the MIME types
	   that	it wishes to be	the default handler for.

	   Requests to make an application a default handler may be subject to
	   system policy or approval by	the end-user. xdg-mime query can be
	   used	to verify whether an application is the	actual default handler
	   for a specific file type.

	   Security Note: Never	set a handler that will	blindly	execute	code
	   or commands from the	file being handled. Such behaviour will	sooner
	   than	later lead to unintended code execution	i.e. through a curious
	   user	trying to inspect a freshly downloaded file but	running	it by
	   accident.

	   Keeping opening and executing separate actions helps	with people
	   protecting themselves from malware, the default handler is an
	   opener, not a runner.

	   The default option is for use inside	a desktop session only.	It is
	   not recommended to use xdg-mime default as root.

       install
	   Adds	the file type descriptions provided in mimetypes-file to the
	   desktop environment.	 mimetypes-file	must be	a XML file that
	   follows the freedesktop.org Shared MIME-info	Database specification
	   and that has	a mime-info element as its document root. For each new
	   file	type one or more icons with name type-subtype must be
	   installed with the xdg-icon-resource	command	in the mimetypes
	   context. For	example	the filetype
	   application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text requires an icon named
	   application-vnd.oasis.opendocument.text to be installed (unless the
	   file	type recommends	another	icon name).

       uninstall
	   Removes the file type descriptions provided in mimetypes-file and
	   previously added with xdg-mime install from the desktop
	   environment.	 mimetypes-file	must be	a XML file that	follows	the
	   freedesktop.org Shared MIME-info Database specification and that
	   has a mime-info element as its document root.

OPTIONS
       --mode mode
	   mode	can be user or system. In user mode the	file is	(un)installed
	   for the current user	only. In system	mode the file is (un)installed
	   for all users on the	system.	Usually	only root is allowed to
	   install in system mode.

	   The default is to use system	mode when called by root and to	use
	   user	mode when called by a non-root user.

       --novendor
	   Normally, xdg-mime checks to	ensure that the	mimetypes-file to be
	   installed has a proper vendor prefix. This option can be used to
	   disable that	check.

	   A vendor prefix consists of alpha characters	([a-zA-Z]) and is
	   terminated with a dash ("-"). Companies and organizations are
	   encouraged to use a word or phrase, preferably the organizations
	   name, for which they	hold a trademark as their vendor prefix. The
	   purpose of the vendor prefix	is to prevent name conflicts.

       --help
	   Show	command	synopsis.

       --manual
	   Show	this manual page.

       --version
	   Show	the xdg-utils version information.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       xdg-mime	honours	the following environment variables:

       XDG_UTILS_DEBUG_LEVEL
	   Setting this	environment variable to	a non-zero numerical value
	   makes xdg-mime do more verbose reporting on stderr. Setting a
	   higher value	increases the verbosity.

       XDG_UTILS_INSTALL_MODE
	   This	environment variable can be used by the	user or	administrator
	   to override the installation	mode. Valid values are user and
	   system.

EXIT CODES
       An exit code of 0 indicates success while a non-zero exit code
       indicates failure. The following	failure	codes can be returned:

       1
	   Error in command line syntax.

       2
	   One of the files passed on the command line did not exist.

       3
	   A required tool could not be	found.

       4
	   The action failed.

       5
	   No permission to read one of	the files passed on the	command	line.

SEE ALSO
       xdg-icon-resource(1), xdg-desktop-menu(1), Shared MIME database
       specification[1], MIME applications associations	specification[2]

EXAMPLES
	   xdg-mime query filetype /tmp/foobar.png

       Prints the MIME type of the file	/tmp/foobar.png, in this case
       image/png

	   xdg-mime query default image/png

       Prints the .desktop filename of the application which is	registered to
       open PNG	files.

	   xdg-mime install shinythings-shiny.xml

       Adds a file type	description for	"shiny"-files. "shinythings-" is used
       as the vendor prefix. The file type description could look as follows.

	   shinythings-shiny.xml:

	   <?xml version="1.0"?>
	   <mime-info xmlns='http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/shared-mime-info'>
	     <mime-type	type="text/x-shiny">
	       <comment>Shiny new file type</comment>
	       <glob pattern="*.shiny"/>
	       <glob pattern="*.shi"/>
	     </mime-type>
	   </mime-info>

       An icon for this	new file type must also	be installed, for example
       with:

	   xdg-icon-resource install --context mimetypes --size	64 shiny-file-icon.png text-x-shiny

AUTHORS
       Kevin Krammer
	   Author.

       Jeremy White
	   Author.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (C) 2006

NOTES
	1. Shared MIME database	specification
	   http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/shared-mime-info-spec/

	2. MIME	applications associations specification
	   http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/mime-apps-spec/

xdg-utils 1.0			  04/12/2025			   XDG-MIME(1)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
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