GIO(1)

NAME
gio - GIO commandline tool

SYNOPSIS

gio help [COMMAND]

gio version

gio cat LOCATION...

gio copy [OPTION...] SOURCE... DESTINATION

gio info [OPTION...] LOCATION...

gio launch DESKTOP-FILE [FILE-ARG...]

gio list [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]

gio mime MIMETYPE [HANDLER]

gio mkdir [OPTION...] LOCATION...

gio monitor [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]

gio mount [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]

gio move [OPTION...] SOURCE... DESTINATION

gio open LOCATION...

gio rename LOCATION NAME

gio remove [OPTION...] LOCATION...

gio save [OPTION...] DESTINATION

gio set [OPTION...] LOCATION ATTRIBUTE VALUE...

gio trash [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]

gio tree [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]

DESCRIPTION

gio is a utility that makes many of the GIO features available from the commandline. In doing so, it provides commands that are similar to traditional utilities, but let you use GIO locations instead of local files: for example you can use something like smb://server/resource/file.txt as a location.

Plain filenames which contain a colon will be interpreted as URIs with an unknown protocol. To avoid this, prefix them with a path such as ./, or with the file: protocol.

COMMANDS

help [COMMAND]
    Displays a short synopsis of the available commands or provides detailed help on a specific command.

version
    Prints the GLib version to which gio belongs.

cat LOCATION...
    Concatenates the given files and prints them to the standard output.

    The cat command works just like the traditional cat utility.

    Note: just pipe through cat if you need its formatting options like -n, -T or other.

copy [OPTION...] SOURCE... DESTINATION
    Copies one or more files from SOURCE to DESTINATION. If more than one source is specified, the destination must be a directory.

    The copy command is similar to the traditional cp utility.

    Options

        -T, --no-target-directory
            Don’t copy into DESTINATION even if it is a directory.

        -p, --progress
            Show progress.

        -i, --interactive
            Prompt for confirmation before overwriting files.

        --preserve
            Preserve all attributes of copied files.

        -b, --backup
            Create backups of existing destination files.

        -P, --no-dereference
            Never follow symbolic links.

        --default-permissions
            Use the default permissions of the current process for the destination file, rather than copying the permissions of the source file.

info [OPTION...] LOCATION...
    Shows information about the given locations.

    The info command is similar to the traditional ls utility.

    Options

        -w, --query-writable
            List writable attributes.

        -f, --filesystem
            Show information about the filesystem that the given locations reside on.

        -a --attributes=ATTRIBUTES
            The attributes to get.

            Attributes can be specified with their GIO name, e.g. standard::icon, or just by namespace, e.g. unix, or by *, which matches all attributes. Several attributes or groups of attributes can be specified, separated by comma.

            By default, all attributes are listed.

        -n, --nofollow-symlinks
            Don’t follow symbolic links.

launch DESKTOP-FILE [FILE-ARG...]
    Launch a desktop file from any location given.

    The launch command extends the behavior of the open command by allowing any desktop file to be launched, not only those registered as file handlers.

list [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]
    Lists the contents of the given locations. If no location is given, the contents of the current directory are shown.

    The list command is similar to the traditional ls utility.

    Options

        -a --attributes=ATTRIBUTES
            The attributes to get.

            Attributes can be specified with their GIO name, e.g. standard::icon, or just by namespace, e.g. unix, or by *, which matches all attributes. Several attributes or groups of attributes can be specified, separated by comma.

            By default, all attributes are listed.

        -h, --hidden
            Show hidden files.

        -l, --long
            Use a long listing format.

        -n, --nofollow-symlinks
            Don’t follow symbolic links.

        -d, --print-display-names
            Print display names.

        -u, --print-uris
            Print full URIs.

mime MIMETYPE [HANDLER]
    If no handler is given, the mime command lists the registered and recommended applications for the mimetype. If a handler is given, it is set as the default handler for the mimetype.

    Handlers must be specified by their desktop file name, including the extension. Example: org.gnome.gedit.desktop.

mkdir [OPTION...] LOCATION...
    Creates directories.

    The mkdir command is similar to the traditional mkdir utility.

    Options

        -p, --parent
            Create parent directories when necessary.

monitor [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]
    Monitors files or directories for changes, such as creation deletion, content and attribute changes, and mount and unmount operations affecting the monitored locations.

    The monitor command uses the GIO file monitoring APIs to do its job. GIO has different implementations for different platforms. The most common implementation on Linux uses inotify.

    Options

        -d, --dir=LOCATION
            Monitor the given location as a directory. Normally, the file type is used to determine whether to monitor a file or directory.

        -f, --file=LOCATION
            Monitor the given location as a file. Normally, the file type is used to determine whether to monitor a file or directory.

        -D, --direct=LOCATION
            Monitor the file directly. This allows changes made via hardlinks to be captured.

        -s, --silent=LOCATION
            Monitor the file directly, but don’t report changes.

        -n, --no-moves
            Report moves and renames as simple deleted/created events.

        -m, --mounts
            Watch for mount events.

mount [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]
    Provides commandline access to various aspects of GIO’s mounting functionality.

    Mounting refers to the traditional concept of arranging multiple file systems and devices in a single tree, rooted at /. Classical mounting happens in the kernel and is controlled by the mount utility. GIO expands this concept by introducing mount daemons that can make file systems available to GIO applications without kernel involvement.

    GIO mounts can require authentication, and the mount command may ask for user IDs, passwords, and so on, when required.

    Options

        -m, --mountable
            Mount as mountable.

        -d, --device=ID
            Mount volume with device file, or other identifier.

        -u, --unmount
            Unmount the location.

        -e, --eject
            Eject the location.

        -t, --stop=DEVICE
            Stop drive with device file.

        -s, --unmount-scheme=SCHEME
            Unmount all mounts with the given scheme.

        -f, --force
            Ignore outstanding file operations when unmounting or ejecting.

        -a, --anonymous
            Use an anonymous user when authenticating.

        -l, --list
            List all GIO mounts.

        -o, --monitor
            Monitor mount-related events.

        -i, --detail
            Show extra information.

        --tcrypt-pim
            The numeric PIM when unlocking a VeraCrypt volume.

        --tcrypt-hidden
            Mount a TCRYPT hidden volume.

        --tcrypt-system
            Mount a TCRYPT system volume.

move [OPTION...] SOURCE... DESTINATION
    Moves one or more files from SOURCE to DESTINATION. If more than one source is specified, the destination must be a directory.

    The move command is similar to the traditional mv utility.

    Options

        -T, --no-target-directory
            Don’t copy into DESTINATION even if it is a directory.

        -p, --progress
            Show progress.

        -i, --interactive
            Prompt for confirmation before overwriting files.

        -b, --backup
            Create backups of existing destination files.

        -C, --no-copy-fallback
            Don’t use copy and delete fallback.

open LOCATION...
    Opens files with the default application that is registered to handle files of this type.

    GIO obtains this information from the shared-mime-info database, with per-user overrides stored in $XDG_DATA_HOME/applications/mimeapps.list.

    The mime command can be used to change the default handler for a mimetype.

    Environment variables will not be set on the application, as it may be an existing process which is activated to handle the new file.

rename LOCATION NAME
    Renames a file.

    The rename command is similar to the traditional rename utility.

remove [OPTION...] LOCATION...
    Deletes each given file.

    This command removes files irreversibly. If you want a reversible way to remove files, see the trash command.

    Note that not all URI schemes that are supported by GIO may allow deletion of files.

    The remove command is similar to the traditional rm utility.

    Options

        -f, --force
            Ignore non-existent and non-deletable files.

save [OPTION...] DESTINATION
    Reads from standard input and saves the data to the given location.

    This is similar to just redirecting output to a file using traditional shell syntax, but the save command allows saving to location that GIO can write to.

    Options

        -b, --backup
            Back up existing destination files.

        -c, --create
            Only create the destination if it doesn’t exist yet.

        -a, --append
            Append to the end of the file.

        -p, --private
            When creating, restrict access to the current user.

        -u, --unlink
            When replacing, replace as if the destination did not exist.

        -v, --print-etag
            Print the new ETag in the end.

        -e, --etag=ETAG
            The ETag of the file that is overwritten.

set LOCATION ATTRIBUTE VALUE...
    Sets a file attribute on a file.

    File attributes can be specified with their GIO name, e.g standard::icon. Note that not all GIO file attributes are writable. Use the --query-writable option of the info command to list writable file attributes.

    If the TYPE is unset, VALUE does not have to be specified. If the TYPE is stringv, multiple values can be given.

    Options

        -t, --type=TYPE
            Specifies the type of the attribute. Supported types are string, stringv, bytestring, boolean, uint32, int32, uint64, int64 and unset.

            If the type is not specified, string is assumed.

        -n, --nofollow-symlinks
            Don’t follow symbolic links.

trash [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]
    Sends files or directories to the ‘Trashcan’ or restore them from ‘Trashcan’. This can be a different folder depending on where the file is located, and not all file systems support this concept. In the common case that the file lives inside a user’s home directory, the trash folder is $XDG_DATA_HOME/Trash.

    Note that moving files to the trash does not free up space on the file system until the ‘Trashcan’ is emptied. If you are interested in deleting a file irreversibly, see the remove command.

    Inspecting and emptying the ‘Trashcan’ is normally supported by graphical file managers such as Nautilus, but you can also see the trash with the command: gio trash --list or gio list trash://.

    Options

        -f, --force
            Ignore non-existent and non-deletable files.

        --empty
            Empty the trash.

        --list
            List files in the trash with their original locations

        --restore
            Restore a file from trash to its original location. A URI beginning with trash:// is expected here. If the original directory doesn't exist, it will be recreated.

tree [OPTION...] [LOCATION...]
    Lists the contents of the given locations recursively, in a tree-like format. If no location is given, it defaults to the current directory.

    The tree command is similar to the traditional tree utility.

    Options

        -h, --hidden
            Show hidden files.

        -l, --follow-symlinks
            Follow symbolic links.

EXIT STATUS

On success 0 is returned, a non-zero failure code otherwise.

SEE ALSO

cat(1), cp(1), ls(1), mkdir(1), mv(1), rm(1), tree(1).