feat(vim.ui): vim.ui.open, "gx" without netrw

Co-authored-by: Mathias Fußenegger <mfussenegger@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Justin M. Keyes <justinkz@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: ii14 <59243201+ii14@users.noreply.github.com>

3 files changed, 38 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/runtime/doc/lua.txt b/runtime/doc/lua.txt
index fb6cbca6e3..f180471bde 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/lua.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/lua.txt
@@ -2343,6 +2343,30 @@ input({opts}, {on_confirm})                                   *vim.ui.input()*
                       typed (it might be an empty string if nothing was
                       entered), or `nil` if the user aborted the dialog.
 
+open({path})                                                   *vim.ui.open()*
+    Opens a path in the system's default handler. This function utilizes
+    `xdg-open`, `wslview`, `explorer`, or `open` commands depending on the
+    system to open the provided path.
+
+    Notifies the user if unsuccessful
+
+    Example: >lua
+
+     vim.ui.open("https://neovim.io/")
+
+     vim.ui.open("/path/to/file")
+<
+
+    Parameters: ~
+      • {path}  (string) Path to be opened
+
+    Return: ~
+        SystemCompleted|nil result Result of command, if an appropriate one
+        could be found.
+
+    See also: ~
+      • |vim.system|
+
 select({items}, {opts}, {on_choice})                         *vim.ui.select()*
     Prompts the user to pick from a list of items, allowing arbitrary
     (potentially asynchronous) work until `on_choice`.
diff --git a/runtime/doc/news.txt b/runtime/doc/news.txt
index 61ae92296f..ed797f94ba 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/news.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/news.txt
@@ -107,6 +107,9 @@ The following new APIs and features were added.
 • Bundled treesitter parser and queries (highlight, folds) for Markdown,
 Python, and Bash.
 
+• |vim.ui.open()| opens URIs using the system default handler (macOS `open`,
+Windows `explorer`, Linux `xdg-open`, etc.)
+
 ==============================================================================
 CHANGED FEATURES                                                 *news-changed*
 
@@ -143,6 +146,9 @@ The following changes to existing APIs or features add new behavior.
 
 • |:Man| now respects 'wrapmargin'
 
+• The |gx| command now uses |vim.ui.open()| and not netrw. Continue using
+netrw with `vim.g.use_lua_gx = false`.
+
 ==============================================================================
 REMOVED FEATURES                                                 *news-removed*
 
diff --git a/runtime/doc/various.txt b/runtime/doc/various.txt
index 1b1dca321b..de1c21b310 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/various.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/various.txt
@@ -97,6 +97,14 @@ g8			Print the hex values of the bytes used in the
 			cursor is halfway through a multibyte character the
 			command won't move the cursor.
 
+							*gx*
+gx			Open the current path or URL under the cursor in the 
+			system's default handler with |vim.ui.open|.
+
+			To use the netrw keymap, set `use_lua_gx` to false:
+>lua
+    vim.g.use_lua_gx = false
+<
 						*:p* *:pr* *:print* *E749*
 :[range]p[rint] [flags]
 			Print [range] lines (default current line).