Launch Services | Apple Developer Documentation
Archived: 2026-04-02 11:24:33 UTC
Core Services
Launch Services
Launch and open documents in other apps from your current app process.
Overview
macOS Launch Services is an API that enables a running app to open other apps or their document files, similar to
the Finder or the Dock. Using Launch Services, an app can perform such tasks as:
Open (launch or activate) another app
Open a document or a URL in another app
Identify the preferred app for opening a document or URL
Register information about the kinds of document files and URLs an app can open
Obtain information for displaying a file or URL on the screen, such as its icon, display name, and kind
string
Maintain and update the contents of the Recent Items menu
Launch Services eliminates apps having to query the Finder to open an app, document, or URL for them. The
macOS Finder itself uses Launch Services to perform such tasks. Because the Finder performs no additional
processing beyond calling Launch Services, any client using Launch Services for these purposes behaves
identically to the Finder.
Topics
Locating an App
The functions in this section locate and test the preferred app for opening an item or a family of items, or the app
that matches a set of defining characteristics.
Opening Items
The functions in this section open a designated item or a collection of items, or launch or activate a designated
app.
struct LSLaunchURLSpec
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreservices/launch_services
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The specification for launching an app, opening items, or both, along with related information.
Registering an App
The functions in this section register an app in the Launch Services database.
Working with Role Handlers
The functions in this section get and set bundle identifiers for handlers of specified content types and URL
schemes.
struct LSRolesMask
The specification that sets the desired role or roles for an app to claim for an item or a family of items.
Constants
This section describes the constants in the Launch Services API.
Result Codes
This section lists the most common result codes that Launch Services functions return.
Current page is Launch Services
Source: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreservices/launch_services
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreservices/launch_services
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