diff --git a/common/include/common/open.h b/common/include/common/open.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1ad6299d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/include/common/open.h
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/**
+ * Looking Glass
+ * Copyright © 2017-2021 The Looking Glass Authors
+ * https://looking-glass.io
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
+ * Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
+ * any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
+ * more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+ * with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
+ * Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+ */
+
+#ifndef _LG_COMMON_OPEN_H_
+#define _LG_COMMON_OPEN_H_
+
+#include <stdbool.h>
+
+bool lgOpenURL(const char * url);
+
+#endif
diff --git a/common/src/platform/linux/CMakeLists.txt b/common/src/platform/linux/CMakeLists.txt
index 4cdf0bda..d303fec0 100644
--- a/common/src/platform/linux/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/common/src/platform/linux/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ add_library(lg_common_platform_code STATIC
     ivshmem.c
     time.c
     paths.c
+    open.c
 )
 
 if(ENABLE_BACKTRACE)
diff --git a/common/src/platform/linux/open.c b/common/src/platform/linux/open.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f42240af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/src/platform/linux/open.c
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/**
+ * Looking Glass
+ * Copyright © 2017-2021 The Looking Glass Authors
+ * https://looking-glass.io
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
+ * Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
+ * any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
+ * more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+ * with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
+ * Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+ */
+
+#include "common/open.h"
+#include "common/debug.h"
+
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <sys/wait.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+
+static bool xdgOpen(const char * path)
+{
+  pid_t pid = fork();
+  if (pid == 0)
+  {
+    execlp("xdg-open", "xdg-open", path, NULL);
+    _exit(127);
+  }
+  else if (pid < 0)
+  {
+    DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to launch xdg-open: %s", strerror(errno));
+    return false;
+  }
+  else
+  {
+    int status;
+    if (waitpid(pid, &status, 0) < 0)
+    {
+      DEBUG_ERROR("waitpid failed: %s", strerror(errno));
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    if (WIFEXITED(status) && WEXITSTATUS(status) == 0)
+      return true;
+
+    if (WIFEXITED(status))
+      DEBUG_ERROR("xdg-open exited with code %d", WEXITSTATUS(status));
+    else
+      DEBUG_ERROR("xdg-open exited with signal: %s", strsignal(WTERMSIG(status)));
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+bool lgOpenURL(const char * url)
+{
+  return xdgOpen(url);
+}