Setting default application for filetypes via CLI? I have 150 Debian Jessie machines that open ODS files in Gnumeric when double-clicked despite LibreOffice Calc being installed. I know it is possible to change this by right-clicking the ODS file and changing its default program from the Properties window, but getting 150 users to do this is not an option. They all use xfce4 and thunar. I need to do this via CLI so I can do it across all workstations remotely. I have looked in `/usr/share/applications` and `~/.local/share/application/mimetypes.list` with no luck - comparing the files before and after changing it via GUI revealed no changes here. How can I use bash to make these workstations open ODS files with LibreOffice Calc by default? **EDIT** : Unlike the answers to this question, my Jessie installs do not have `~/.config/mimeapps.list` or `/usr/share/applications/defaults.list`

You can use `mimeopen` with `-d` option:

`man mimeopen` :


DESCRIPTION
This script tries to determine the mimetype of a file and open it with
the default desktop application. If no default application is
configured the user is prompted with an "open with" menu in the
terminal.


-d, --ask-default
Let the user choose a new default program for given files.


Example:


mimeopen -d file.mp4


sample output:


Please choose a default application for files of type video/mp4

1) VLC media player (vlc)
2) Other...


Verify it:


xdg-open file.mp4