Using Windows URL files on Linux machines?

Gnostic · 2025-11-01 20:16:11

Folks on my local network like to bookmark websites by dragging & dropping from the browser address bar into their file manager.

On Windows machines that creates an Internet Shortcut URL file.
For example, for Pi-Hole it will contain this:

[InternetShortcut]
URL=https://pi-hole.net/

How to make that useful on a Linux machine?

I've written a tiny bit of Python that seems to work.

# UseDesktopLink.py
import sys
import webbrowser
script, filename = sys.argv
file_object = open(filename,'r')
for line in file_object:
#print(line)
if line[0:4]=="URL=":
url=line[4:]
#print("url=",url)
# just in case the line has msdos cr-lf, remove that
url=url.replace('\x0d\x0a', '')
# or just Linux LF
url=url.replace('\x0a', '')
webbrowser.open_new(url)
file_object.close()

I intended it to work with a right-click on the URL file and "Open with ..", "Set default application" then a custom command.

python UseDesktopLink.py %f

But it's not working.
What might I have forgotten to do?

JWM-Kit · 2025-11-01 20:48:30

wouldn't something like this be much simpler

#!/bin/sh
xdg-open $(grep -oP http.+ "${1}")

Gnostic · Today 00:10:35

@jwm-kit
Thanks, and please excuse my ignorance, how can I use that with "Open with" ?
Would it be "Open with other application" or "Set default application" ?
Or something else?

stargate-sg1-cheyenne-mtn · Today 05:56:23

man xdg-open

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#1 2025-11-01 20:16:11

Using Windows URL files on Linux machines?

#2 2025-11-01 20:48:30

Re: Using Windows URL files on Linux machines?

#3 Today 00:10:35

Re: Using Windows URL files on Linux machines?

#4 Today 05:56:23

Re: Using Windows URL files on Linux machines?

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