command linetext-editortextedit
OSX seem to offer open -t command line shortcut to open arbitrary files in the system default text editor.
Where is this default text editor set?
Can I change it from the command line (if possible) or otherwise programmatically?
The default choice of TextEdit is limiting.
As a one-time thing,
open -a /Applications/TextWrangler.app myfile.txt
open -b com.barebones.textwrangler myfile.txt # same thing by ID
You can also create an alias for opening TextWrangler, that you would put on the .bash_profile file, which is an hidden file by default that is usually in your home directory.
This is the command that you could insert:
# Type 'tw' on the terminal to open TextWrangler
alias tw='open -a /Applications/TextWrangler.app'
To make TextWrangler the default:
The "foo.bar can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer" error is because of Gatekeeper. You can disable Gatekeeper from System Preferences:
Selecting "Always Open With" from the "Open With > Other..." dialog only changes the default application for the selected files. You can change the default application for all files of a type from a Show Info window:
You can add a context menu item for opening files in TextEdit by creating a service like this with Automator:
If you have the Powerpack for Alfred 2, you can also create a workflow like this:
You can use duti to make TextEdit the default application for plain text files without an extension and executable scripts. Install Homebrew, run brew install duti, save
com.apple.TextEdit public.plain-text all
com.apple.TextEdit public.unix-executable all
as ~/.duti, and then run /usr/local/bin/duti ~/.duti.
Best Answer
It's the default application for plain text (public.plain-text) files. You can change it from Finder's information panels or with duti.
You can also edit ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.launchservices.plist, but it requires restarting to apply the changes.
defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSHandlers -array-add '{LSHandlerContentType=public.plain-text;LSHandlerRoleAll=com.macromates.textmate;}'