This program runs on the user’s machine and listens on a loopback address only (defaults to 127.0.0.1:8765). The plugin calls it to open a folder in the OS file manager.

What it does

Exposes GET /health for a simple health check.
Exposes GET /open?path=... and POST /open to open a folder.
Normalizes and validates the requested path:
- Accepts absolute paths only.
- If a file path is provided, it opens the containing directory.
- Accepts file://... URLs (handy when the caller passes a file URL).
Optionally restricts which folders can be opened via -allow prefixes.

Build

Requires Go 1.22+.

go build -o luxtools-client .

Run

./luxtools-client

Flags

-listen (default 127.0.0.1:8765): listen address (host:port). Must be loopback.
-allow (repeatable): allowed path prefix. If you specify one or more, the requested path must start with one of them.

Examples:

# Listen on a different local port
./luxtools-client -listen 127.0.0.1:9000

# Restrict opens to your home directory (repeat -allow as needed)
./luxtools-client -allow "$HOME"

Install as a service

The scripts below install (or update) the client as a service that starts automatically with the system. They assume the client binary already exists in the same folder as the scripts.

Linux (systemd)

Install / update:

./install-linux.sh

Optional flags:

# Change listen address (still must be loopback)
./install-linux.sh --listen 127.0.0.1:9000

# Restrict allowed folders (repeatable)
./install-linux.sh --allow "$HOME" --allow "/mnt/data"

Uninstall:

./uninstall-linux.sh

Keep config on uninstall:

./uninstall-linux.sh --keep-config

Notes:

Installs to ~/.local/share/luxtools-client/luxtools-client
Creates a systemd user unit at ~/.config/systemd/user/luxtools-client.service
Stores config in ~/.config/luxtools-client/luxtools-client.env

Windows (Scheduled Task at logon)

Because this tool needs to open File Explorer (a GUI app) in the current user session, it should run as a per-user Scheduled Task triggered “At log on” (similar to a systemd user service).

Install / update:

install-windows-task.bat

Optional flags:

install-windows-task.bat --listen 127.0.0.1:9000

REM Restrict allowed folders (repeatable)
install-windows-task.bat --allow "%USERPROFILE%" --allow "D:\Data"

Uninstall:

uninstall-windows-task.bat

Keep config on uninstall:

uninstall-windows-task.bat --keep-config

Notes:

Installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\luxtools-client\luxtools-client.exe
Stores config in %LOCALAPPDATA%\luxtools-client\config.json
Re-running the install script updates the EXE in place and restarts the task.

API

`GET /health`

Returns JSON:

{"ok": true, "time": "2026-01-05T12:34:56Z"}

`POST /open`

Request body:

{"path": "/absolute/path"}

Response:

{"ok": true, "message": "opened"}

Example:

curl -sS -X POST \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"path":"/tmp"}' \
  http://127.0.0.1:8765/open

`GET /open?path=...`

For GET callers, success returns 204 No Content (to reduce console noise in certain callers).

Example:

curl -i \
  'http://127.0.0.1:8765/open?path=/tmp'

OS support

Linux: uses xdg-open.
Windows: uses explorer.exe.

Notes / security

The server refuses to bind to non-loopback addresses.
Use -allow to prevent opening arbitrary folders if other local processes can reach the port.

README.md Unescape Escape

luxtools-client