Default applications

This article desktop environments.]]

Setting the default application via file manager
In many cases it suffices to use file manager's capability to set default applications for specific file types (e.g. via right-click context menu). Please refer to the specific file manager manual.

Setting the default application via desktop environment
Bigger desktop environments like GNOME or KDE allow you to set default application by their own means. With the other desktop environments, you can run xfce4-mime-settings from.

Setting the default application via mimeapps.list files
MIME types describe the kind of content a file contains, which practically determines the applications to be used when opening or editing a file of a specific MIME type. While using a file manager or desktop environment to set default applications may work for the most basic cases (they edit mimeapps.list files for you), the most thorough way to associate file types and applications is by manually editing the MIME configuration files and using dedicated tools.

The location of mimeapps.list files and their precedence is specified by the Freedesktop standard

Setting the default application via xdg-settings
For example, if is the default web-browser, but you'd like it to become chromium use:

See for the list of applicable software on your system.

Looking up the default application of a specified MIME type
To find out the default application for directories use:

Looking up MIME types associated with a specific application
To look up MIME types Inkscape is capable of working with use:

Setting default MIME type for a specific application
A default application can be set to a MIME type with the by specifying the  file found in

For example to set the default application for a CSV file to Libre Office Calc:

Confirm default is set with previously described syntax:

Pitfalls
Few applications do not honor the Freedesktop standard.