system_open command cannot open certain types of files properly

[la1den]

Description

I use nvim-tree's system open on the Linux desktop, but some types of files cannot be opened, while others can.

Neovim version

NVIM v0.9.2
Build type: Release
LuaJIT 2.1.1694285958

Operating system and version

Linux 6.1.56-1-lts x86_64 rolling n/a

Windows variant

No response

nvim-tree version

16a0e3c

Clean room replication

-- disable netrw at the very start of your init.lua (strongly advised)
vim.g.loaded_netrw = 1
vim.g.loaded_netrwPlugin = 1
-- set termguicolors to enable highlight groups
vim.opt.termguicolors = true
-- empty setup using defaults
require("nvim-tree").setup()

Steps to reproduce

1. Use nvim-tree to open a directory with a js suffix for a file
2. Press s to attempt to open the JS file

Expected behavior

No response

Actual behavior

No response

[la1den]

I think it may be related to input and output, so I tried to disable output redirection and it worked properly, but I don't know why.

system-open-test.mp4

[alex-courtis]

That's... just how xdg-open works. nvim-tree will simply call system_open.cmd with the absolute file path as the argument.

Run xdg-open something.js directly from a terminal to see what is going on.

Long ago I overrode xdg-open and have never looked back:

: ; cat /usr/local/bin/xdg-open
#!/bin/sh

# Suppress any spurious output from noisy apps like chrome.
# Invoke /usr/bin/xdg-open directly for more interactive operations.

/usr/bin/xdg-open "${@}" > /dev/null 2>&1

[la1den]

nvim-tree.lua/lua/nvim-tree/actions/node/system-open.lua

Line 22 in 874ae6e

stdio = { nil, nil, process.stderr },

stdio = process.cmd == 'xdg-open' and {nil, nil, nil} or { nil, nil, process.stderr }
Compared to modifying the system's xdg-open command, is it better to determine whether the cmd is xdg-open in the system-open file ?If other applications of the system use xdg-open, will they be affected by the modified xdg-open?

[alex-courtis]

Safest way might be a wrapper script on the path instead of overriding. You could explicitly set that e.g.

system_open.cmd = "my-quiet-xdg-open"

[ensorpalacios]

Hi @alex-courtis

I think I have a related problem. On ubuntu I've changed default pdf viewer from Document Viewer to Okular, and now I cannot open pdf's anymore with system open. I've tried to change to xdg-open but again nothing happens when pressing s. Do you have any advise? This is my nvim-tree.lua

-- this is a local function
local function my_on_attach(bufnr)
  local api = require 'nvim-tree.api'

  local function opts(desc)
    return { desc = 'nvim-tree: ' .. desc, buffer = bufnr, noremap = true, silent = true, nowait = true }
  end

  -- default mappings
  api.config.mappings.default_on_attach(bufnr)

  -- custom mappings
  vim.keymap.set('n', 'u', api.tree.change_root_to_parent, opts 'Up') -- changed from default <C-t>
  vim.keymap.set('n', '?', api.tree.toggle_help, opts 'Help')
end

-- pass to setup along with your other options
return {
  'nvim-tree/nvim-tree.lua',
  version = '*',
  lazy = false,
  dependencies = {
    'nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons',
  },
  config = function()
    require('nvim-tree').setup {
      vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>st', '<cmd>NvimTreeOpen<cr>'),
      sort = {
        sorter = 'case_sensitive',
      },
      view = {
        width = 30,
      },
      renderer = {
        group_empty = true,
      },
      filters = {
        dotfiles = true,
      },
      on_attach = my_on_attach,
      system_open = {
        cmd = '/usr/bin/xdg-open',
      },
    }
  end,
}

Many thanks for the support

[ensorpalacios]

hi @gegoune

It gives me the following warning, but yes, I can open a pdf with that.

Warning: Ignoring XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland on Gnome. Use QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland to run on Wayland anyway.
Icon theme "breeze" not found.

[alex-courtis]

We are defaulting to the neovim native vim.ui.open as of 1.7.0

It will be used when system.open.cmd is not specified and is preferred, as it is more robust. Please remove system.open.cmd.

You can also test this via :lua vim.ui.open('foo.pdf')

[ensorpalacios]

@alex-courtis sorry but :lua vim.ui.open('foo.pdf') doesn't work either when setting okular as default (with Document viewer it does work)

[alex-courtis]

:lua print(vim.inspect(vim.ui.open('foo.pdf'))) doesn't provide any information beyond it's successfully starting the process.

Did you test with an actual pdf file? xdg won't open a pdf file that doesn't exist or is empty.

I'm afraid we have left the scope of nvim-tree, and I suspect it's an issue with your xdg-mime configuration which is not under neovim's control. You could raise this in a neovim forum.

[ensorpalacios]

No problem thank you anyway for the help