This cross-platform Node.js package opens “stuff” like URLs, files, and executables from command-line tools and scripts. It uses the platform’s open mechanism (macOS open, Windows start, Linux xdg-open), supports selecting an app and passing app arguments, and can optionally wait for the opened app to exit (when possible).
Project status
- Actively maintained: GitHub upstream pushes and npm updates continued into 2025-11-15 (latest shown update: v11.0.0), with no long inactivity gap evident.
- Update cadence (approx): multiple updates spread across Apr to Nov 2025 (v10.1.1 to v11.0.0), with gaps of roughly 1 to 4 months between several recent updates.
AI summary generated
Recent updates
v11.0.0
v11.0.0 raises the minimum supported Node.js version to 20 and introduces better cross-platform launching behavior, especially around WSL PowerShell detection and browser selection. The implementation was refactored to support more robust fallbacks (now using AggregateError) and improved subprocess/spawn handling.
BreakingFeaturesv10.2.0
v10.2.0 adds Brave browser support, including app detection and incognito/private launch flags. The release notes only mention Brave, but the code diff also refactors WSL PowerShell path resolution and swaps a runtime dependency related to WSL detection.
Featuresv10.1.2
v10.1.2 updates the Windows default browser detection when running under WSL. The release notes describe a fix specifically for detecting the Windows default browser from WSL.
v10.1.1
v10.1.1 includes a targeted fix for macOS bundle ID handling so Microsoft Edge is detected/opened correctly. The code change extends the internal mapping of bundle identifiers to the expected app name for Edge.
v10.1.0
Release v10.1.0 updates the Linux `xdg-open` script to version 1.2.1, alongside a package version bump. While the release notes only mention the `xdg-open` update, the diff shows substantial changes to the shell script content (manual text) and multiple implementation details in the `xdg-open` wrapper logic.
v10.0.4
v10.0.4 makes a small compatibility fix to `openApp()` to support an additional form of the `name` argument. The only functional code change is in `index.js`, plus a package version bump.
v10.0.3
v10.0.3 contains a targeted fix for how the `target` option is handled on macOS. The change updates the ordering of spawned CLI arguments so `target` is passed after macOS-specific `--args` handling.
v10.0.2
Release v10.0.2 is described as a Linux compatibility fix. The code diff shows only minor version and devDependency bumps in package.json, but a very large update to the bundled xdg-open script (hundreds of lines added, many removed), which implies meaningful behavior changes beyond what is stated in the release notes.
v10.0.1
v10.0.1 updates the Windows command resolution logic to better handle systems where the SYSTEMROOT environment variable is missing. It also includes the normal package version bump from 10.0.0 to 10.0.1.
v10.0.0
v10.0.0 primarily raises the minimum supported Node.js version to 18. The diff also shows dependency bumps and a large internal change to the bundled xdg-open script, neither of which is mentioned in the release notes.
Breaking