Why can’t I pipe `pwd` to `open` on macOS

macospipe

This is macOS specific, but seems too unixy to go in the Ask Different community.

In Terminal, I can pwd, copy the result, and type open and paste the result and the folder will open in the Finder, but

pwd | open

prints the help documentation for open. Why doesn't piping work but pasting does?

Best Answer

I don't have a Mac so I can't test it, but the solution should be something like:

open "`pwd`"

Not all programs take their input from stdin which would be necessary for the pipe to work.

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