How to Launch a URL from Terminal
Mac OS X provides the “open” command:
$ open http://lakedenman.com
And if you would like to have the url open in the background, just specify that with the -g option.
$ open -g http://lakedenman.com
Want to open it with a specific browser? Use the -a option to select an application:
$ open -g http://lakedenman.com -a Safari.app
Linux provides the following commands: “gnome-open”, “exo-open”, and the “xdg-open” commands.
Use gnome-open when you’re wanting a gnome preference, use exo-open when you want an xfce preference, and xdg-open when you’re wanting you’re preferences.
I prefer xdg since it’s set to use my specified preferences.
$ xdg-open http://lakedenman.com