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Script to open files and folders on Mac
To open a file or folder on a Mac, the user will have to navigate to the location on the Finder application and click on the file or use the context menu ‘Open With’ option to open the file with the relevant application. This method is tedious for the device administrator when managing multiple endpoints and impractical when opening multiple files or folders with the non-default application or even when doing a batch operation. On the other hand, using a script to automate this process is easy, efficient, and effective. This doc includes shell scripts that you can run using Hexnode’s Execute Custom Script action to open files or folders on a Mac remotely.
Scripting language – Bash
File extension – .sh
The sample scripts provided below are adapted from third-party open-source sites.
Open file or folder
The open command can be used to open a file or folder. Some of the ways you can use the command are:
Open file:
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#!/bin/bash open ‘filename with extension and the complete path from root’ |
This script opens the specified file in the default application.
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#!/bin/bash open -b com.apple.TextEdit 'path to TextFile.txt' |
This script opens the file in the required application (in this case, TextEdit). Bundle identifier -b is used to mention the application on which the file has to be opened.
Open folder:
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#!/bin/bash open ‘folder name with the complete path from root' |
This script opens the folder in the Finder app.
- In Bash, before inserting space while defining file or folder names, we use a backslash
\to separate the characters. This will prevent the shell interpreter from interpreting the space as a separator and assuming they were two different arguments. Hence, if the path isNew Folder/myFile, we write it asNew\ Folder/myFileor use single quotes as'New Folder/myfile'instead. - It is recommended to manually validate the script execution on a system before executing the action in bulk.
- Hexnode will not be responsible for any damage/loss to the system on the behavior of the script.
- The commands used in the script are case-sensitive. Make sure the commands are written with the correct casing. If not, errors such as “command not found” may occur. For example, “echo” is different from “Echo” or “ECHO”.
