# Open URL
> Open a URL.
## Usage
```javascript
var openURL = require( '@stdlib/utils/open-url' );
```
#### openURL( url )
Opens a URL in a user's default browser.
```javascript
var proc = openURL( 'https://google.com' );
```
The returned child process is unreferenced, and, thus, the calling process will not wait for the child process to end before exiting. To try and end the child process, send an appropriate `kill` signal.
```javascript
var proc = openURL( 'https://google.com' );
function close() {
proc.kill( 'SIGINT' );
}
setTimeout( close, 1000 );
```
### Web Browser
In a web browser, `openURL` defers to the [`window.open()`][window-open] method.
#### openURL( url )
Opens a URL either in a new tab or window (based on the web browser and/or user preferences), returning a reference to a `window` object.
```javascript
var win = openURL( 'https://google.com' );
```
## Examples
```javascript
var openURL = require( '@stdlib/utils/open-url' );
// Open a URL:
var proc = openURL( 'https://github.com' );
// After some time, kill the spawned process...
function close() {
proc.kill( 'SIGINT' );
}
setTimeout( close, 5000 );
```
* * *
## CLI
### Usage
```text
Usage: open-url [options]
Options:
-h, --help Print this message.
-V, --version Print the package version.
```
### Examples
```bash
$ open-url https://github.com
```
[window-open]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/open