# sindresorhus/open

Open stuff like URLs, files, executables. Cross-platform.

Repository: https://github.com/sindresorhus/open
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/open
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-13T23:38:37+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 89/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 73, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4533, "days_push": 20, "days_rel": 20, "gap_med": 98.5, "n_releases_24m": 5}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3497, forks 257 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:07.392759+00:00)

## What it is
A Node.js library that opens URLs, files, and executables with the platform's default application, using `open` on macOS, `start` on Windows, and `xdg-open` on Linux. It supports specifying apps and arguments, waiting for the opened app to exit, and WSL paths.

## Use cases
- open a url in the default browser from a node script
- launch a file in its default application cross-platform
- open a url in a specific browser like firefox or chrome
- open chrome in incognito mode with arguments
- launch an executable or app from a cli tool
- wait for the opened app to quit before continuing

## When to choose
- you need to open URLs, files, or apps from a Node.js CLI tool or script
- you want cross-platform behavior without writing per-OS shell commands
- you need to pass arguments to the opened application or wait for it to exit

## When to avoid
- you are building an Electron app (use shell.openPath instead)
- your project uses CommonJS without dynamic import, since this package is ESM-only
- you need to open untrusted input without sanitizing it first

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: cross-platform, windows
- tags: open-url, open-files, default-app, xdg-open, esm, automation, nodejs, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- sindresorhus/open (main) score 89

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:07.392759+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:35:52.823303+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/sindresorhus/open (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:07.392759+00:00, sha cc710ca8546b)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/open (fetched 2026-08-29T09:30:06.152314+00:00, sha 33e2da27039a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.