# phpman > man > gio(1) > **TLDR:** Handle local and virtual files (GVfs). > - Open a file with the default application (e.g. PDF, image): `gio open {{path/to/file}}` - List files in a directory: `gio list {{path/to/directory}}` - Show information about a file: `gio info {{path/to/file}}` - Copy a file: `gio copy {{path/to/source}} {{path/to/destination}}` - Send a file to the trash (reversible): `gio trash {{path/to/file}}` - Empty the trash: `gio trash --empty` - Launch an application from a `.desktop` file: `gio launch {{path/to/file}}.desktop` - Mark a `.desktop` file as trusted, allowing it to be executed: `gio set {{path/to/file}}.desktop metadata::trusted true` *Source: tldr-pages* --- [GIO(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIO/1/markdown) User Commands [GIO(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIO/1/markdown) ## 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](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/standard%3A%3Aicon/markdown), 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](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/standard%3A%3Aicon/markdown), 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](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/standard%3A%3Aicon/markdown). 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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/cat/1/markdown), [**cp**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/cp/1/markdown), [**ls**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ls/1/markdown), [**mkdir**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mkdir/1/markdown), [**mv**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mv/1/markdown), [**rm**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/rm/1/markdown), [**tree**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/tree/1/markdown). GIO [GIO(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIO/1/markdown)