Editing Open Files in a GUI Editor from the Terminal

How to open files with your favorite editor from the terminal?

__TOC__

== How to open files with your favorite editor from the terminal on macOS ==

1. Open your shell config file:
<pre>
vi ~/.zshrc    # for zsh
vi ~/.bashrc   # for bash
</pre>

2. Add an alias for your editor:
<pre>
# VS Code
alias code="open -a 'Visual Studio Code'"
<pre>

Tip: Not sure of the exact app name? Run this to find it:
<pre>
ls /Applications/ | grep -i "visual\|cursor\|zed\|sublime"
</pre>

The name must exactly match the `.app` filename in `/Applications/` (without the `.app` extension).

3. Reload your config:
<pre>
source ~/.zshrc    # for zsh
source ~/.bashrc   # for bash
</pre>


One-liner shortcut:
<pre>
# Detect current shell and set the corresponding config file
RC_FILE="$HOME/.$(basename $SHELL)rc"

# Append the alias to the config file (>> appends without overwriting)
echo 'alias code="open -a Visual\ Studio\ Code"' >> "$RC_FILE"

# Reload the config file so the alias takes effect immediately
source "$RC_FILE"
</pre>

example usage
* [[Sublime_text#How_to_open_existing_text_files_with_Sublime_Text_from_terminal? | How to open existing text files with Sublime Text from terminal?]]

== How to open files with your favorite editor from the terminal on Ubuntu ==

Most GUI editors on Ubuntu install a CLI command automatically, so you can often skip straight to using them:

<pre>
code .      # VS Code
cursor .    # Cursor
zed .       # Zed
subl .      # Sublime Text
</pre>

If the command isn't found, follow the steps below.

1. Find the editor's executable path:
<pre>
which code
# or
find /usr/bin /usr/local/bin /snap/bin -name "code" 2>/dev/null
</pre>

2. Open your shell config file:
<pre>
vi ~/.bashrc   # for bash
vi ~/.zshrc    # for zsh
</pre>

3. Add an alias pointing to the executable:
<pre>
alias code="/usr/bin/code"
alias cursor="/usr/local/bin/cursor"
</pre>

4. Reload your config:
<pre>
source ~/.bashrc   # for bash
source ~/.zshrc    # for zsh
</pre>

One-liner shortcut:
<pre>
# Detect current shell and set the corresponding config file
RC_FILE="$HOME/.$(basename $SHELL)rc"

# Append the alias (replace the path with your actual executable path)
echo 'alias code="/usr/bin/code"' >> "$RC_FILE"

# Reload the config file so the alias takes effect immediately
source "$RC_FILE"
</pre>

Tip: Snap-installed editors (common on Ubuntu) are usually found under <code>/snap/bin/</code>. Run <code>ls /snap/bin/</code> to check.

== How to open files with your favorite editor from the terminal on Windows ==

On Windows, you can launch GUI editors from the terminal using either
'''Command Prompt''' or '''PowerShell'''. Most modern editors (VS Code, Cursor)
install a CLI command automatically during setup.

<pre>
code .      # VS Code
cursor .    # Cursor
zed .       # Zed
subl .      # Sublime Text
</pre>

If the command isn't found, follow the steps below.

1. Find the editor's executable path:

Open File Explorer and look under common install locations:
<pre>
C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\
C:\Program Files\
C:\Program Files (x86)\
</pre>

Or search from PowerShell:
<pre>
Get-Command code -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
# or
where.exe code
</pre>

2. Add the executable to your PATH (recommended):

# Open '''Start''' → search '''Environment Variables''' → click '''Edit the system environment variables'''
# Click '''Environment Variables...'''
# Under '''User variables''', select '''Path''' → click '''Edit'''
# Click '''New''' and paste the folder path containing the editor's <code>.exe</code>
# Click OK to save, then restart your terminal

3. (Optional) Add a PowerShell alias:

Open your PowerShell profile:
<pre>
notepad $PROFILE
</pre>

If the file doesn't exist yet, create it first:
<pre>
New-Item -ItemType File -Path $PROFILE -Force
</pre>

Add an alias:
<pre>
function code { & "C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin\code.cmd" @args }
</pre>

Save and reload:
<pre>
. $PROFILE
</pre>

One-liner shortcut (PowerShell):
<pre>
# Append alias to your PowerShell profile and reload it
Add-Content $PROFILE 'function code { & "C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin\code.cmd" @args }'
. $PROFILE
</pre>

Tip: Using '''Windows Terminal''' + '''PowerShell 7''' is recommended for the best
developer experience on Windows. Install both from the Microsoft Store.


[[Category: Software]]
[[Category: Text editor]]
[[Category: Revised with LLMs]]
[[Category: Developer environment]]