docs/reference/gio/gio.rst

.. _gio(1):
.. meta::
   :copyright: Copyright 2015, 2019, 2020 Red Hat, Inc.
   :copyright: Copyright 2018, 2019 Endless Mobile, Inc.
   :copyright: Copyright 2018 segfault
   :copyright: Copyright 2020 Frederic Martinsons
   :copyright: Copyright 2022 Marco Trevisan
   :license: LGPL-2.1-or-later
..
   This has to be duplicated from above to make it machine-readable by `reuse`:
   SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2015, 2019, 2020 Red Hat, Inc.
   SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2018, 2019 Endless Mobile, Inc.
   SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2018 segfault
   SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2020 Frederic Martinsons
   SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 Marco Trevisan
   SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later

===
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 *MIME-TYPE* [*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.

Volumes, drives and mounts are limited to the ones which are considered
interesting to the user, such as removable drives. System mounts will not be
shown, meaning the output from ``gio mount`` is not equivalent to the output
from tools like ``fdisk``, and ``gio monitor --mounts`` will only list events
relevant to selected mounts.

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.

  Mote: 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 commas.

    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
    commas.

    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`` *MIME-TYPE* [*HANDLER*]

  If no handler is given, the ``mime`` command lists the registered and
  recommended applications for the MIME type. If a handler is given, it is set
  as the default handler for the MIME type.

  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 as a file or as a directory.

  ``-f``, ``--file=<LOCATION>``

    Monitor the given location as a file. Normally, the file type is used to
    determine whether to monitor as a file or as a 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 MIME
  type.

  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`` [*OPTION*…] *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.

  ``-d``, ``--delete``

    Unsets an attribute (same as setting its type to ``unset``).

  ``-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) <man:cat(1)>`_, `cp(1) <man:cp(1)>`_, `ls(1) <man:ls(1)>`_,
`mkdir(1) <man:mkdir(1)>`_, `mv(1) <man:mv(1)>`_, `rm(1) <man:rm(1)>`_,
`tree(1) <man:tree(1)>`_