OpenApp CLI

A secure, cross-platform CLI tool to quickly open websites in your browser from the terminal. Save time with built-in shortcuts for 50+ popular websites and create your own custom shortcuts.

Features

• 50+ Built-in Shortcuts - Instantly open YouTube, Gmail, GitHub, LinkedIn, and many more
• Custom Shortcuts - Add your own shortcuts for any URL
• Cross-Platform - Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Multiple Browsers - Support for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Brave, and Opera
• Incognito Mode - Open links in private/incognito browsing mode
• Quick Search - Search Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo directly from terminal
• Secure by Design - URL validation, input sanitization, and no shell injection vulnerabilities

Installation

# Install globally via npm
npm install -g openapp-cli

# Or using yarn
yarn global add openapp-cli

Quick Start

# Open YouTube
openapp youtube

# Open Gmail
openapp gmail

# Open GitHub
openapp github

# Open in incognito mode
openapp youtube --incognito

# Search on Google
openapp search how to learn javascript

Usage

Open a Website

openapp <shortcut>

Examples:

openapp youtube      # Opens YouTube
openapp linkedin     # Opens LinkedIn
openapp github       # Opens GitHub
openapp gmail        # Opens Gmail

Open in Incognito/Private Mode

openapp <shortcut> --incognito
# or
openapp <shortcut> -i

Examples:

openapp youtube --incognito
openapp gmail -i

Search the Web

openapp search <query>

Options:

• -i, --incognito - Search in incognito mode
• -e, --engine <engine> - Choose search engine (google, bing, duckduckgo)

Examples:

openapp search javascript tutorials
openapp search react hooks --incognito
openapp search node.js best practices -e duckduckgo

Add Custom Shortcuts

openapp add <name> <url>

Examples:

openapp add myresume https://drive.google.com/file/d/abc123/view
openapp add portfolio https://myportfolio.com
openapp add company-wiki https://wiki.mycompany.com

Now you can use:

openapp myresume     # Opens your resume
openapp portfolio    # Opens your portfolio

Remove Custom Shortcuts

openapp remove <name>

Example:

openapp remove myresume

List All Shortcuts

# List all shortcuts
openapp list

# List only built-in shortcuts
openapp list --builtin

# List only custom shortcuts
openapp list --custom

Configure Browser

# Set Chrome as default
openapp config browser chrome

# Set Firefox as default
openapp config browser firefox

# Available browsers: chrome, firefox, safari, edge, brave, opera, default
openapp config browser default  # Use system default

View Configuration

openapp config show

Reset Configuration

openapp config reset

Built-in Shortcuts

Social Media

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | youtube | YouTube | | facebook | Facebook | | twitter | Twitter | | x | X (Twitter) | | instagram | Instagram | | linkedin | LinkedIn | | reddit | Reddit | | pinterest | Pinterest | | tiktok | TikTok | | snapchat | Snapchat |

Productivity & Work

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | gmail | Gmail | | outlook | Outlook | | drive | Google Drive | | docs | Google Docs | | sheets | Google Sheets | | slides | Google Slides | | calendar | Google Calendar | | notion | Notion | | trello | Trello | | slack | Slack | | discord | Discord | | zoom | Zoom | | meet | Google Meet | | teams | Microsoft Teams |

Development

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | github | GitHub | | gitlab | GitLab | | bitbucket | Bitbucket | | stackoverflow | Stack Overflow | | npm | npm | | codepen | CodePen | | codesandbox | CodeSandbox | | vercel | Vercel | | netlify | Netlify |

Entertainment

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | netflix | Netflix | | prime | Amazon Prime Video | | hotstar | Disney+ Hotstar | | spotify | Spotify | | twitch | Twitch |

Shopping

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | amazon | Amazon | | flipkart | Flipkart | | ebay | eBay |

Search & Information

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | google | Google | | bing | Bing | | duckduckgo | DuckDuckGo | | wikipedia | Wikipedia |

AI Tools

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | chatgpt | ChatGPT | | claude | Claude | | gemini | Gemini | | perplexity | Perplexity AI |

News & Blogs

| Shortcut | Website | |----------|---------| | hackernews | Hacker News | | medium | Medium | | devto | Dev.to |

Configuration File

OpenApp stores custom shortcuts and settings in ~/.openapprc.json in your home directory.

Example configuration:

{
  "customShortcuts": {
    "myresume": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/abc123/view",
    "portfolio": "https://myportfolio.com"
  },
  "settings": {
    "browser": "chrome"
  }
}

Security

OpenApp is built with security as a priority:

• URL Validation - All URLs are validated using the URL constructor to prevent malformed URLs
• Protocol Whitelist - Only http:// and https:// protocols are allowed. Dangerous protocols like javascript:, data:, file:, etc. are blocked
• Input Sanitization - Shortcut names can only contain alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores
• No Shell Injection - Uses the open package which properly escapes arguments
• Reserved Names Protection - Command names like add, remove, list cannot be used as shortcuts
• Safe JSON Handling - Proper error handling for configuration file operations

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18.0.0
• npm or yarn

Platform Support

| Platform | Supported | Notes | |----------|-----------|-------| | Windows | Yes | Uses system browser associations | | macOS | Yes | Full browser support including Safari | | Linux | Yes | Requires browser to be installed |

Browser Support

| Browser | Incognito Flag | Status | |---------|----------------|--------| | Chrome | --incognito | Full support | | Firefox | --private-window | Full support | | Edge | --inprivate | Full support | | Brave | --incognito | Full support | | Opera | --private | Full support | | Safari | N/A | No CLI incognito support |

Troubleshooting

Browser not opening?

1. Make sure the browser is installed on your system
2. Try setting a specific browser: openapp config browser chrome
3. Check if the browser path is in your system PATH

Custom shortcut not working?

1. Check the URL is valid: openapp list --custom
2. Make sure the shortcut name uses only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores
3. Verify the URL starts with http:// or https://

Incognito mode not working?

1. Set a specific browser: openapp config browser chrome
2. Note: Safari doesn't support command-line incognito mode

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Shubham Rawat

Changelog

v1.0.0

• Initial release
• 50+ built-in shortcuts
• Custom shortcut support
• Multi-browser support
• Incognito mode
• Search functionality
• Cross-platform support

Made with love for developers who live in the terminal.