How to Create Clickable Links in Clion Console to Open Any Tool (e.g., ‘clion64 diff’) with Arguments?
I'm trying to create a solution to make clickable links to any tool with arguments in the Clion console output. However, I’ve encountered some challenges with passing argument. Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
-
Using a .bat file:
This approach doesn’t work as expected—it only opens the .bat file itself, not the tool with the arguments. -
Using a hyperlink to open a web page and use an online JS utility:
Another approach I tried was creating a hyperlink in the console output that opens a web page with an online JS utility to compare the files. The link could look like this:http://someonlinetool.com/diff?first=CONTENT_OF_FILE_1&second=CONTENT_OF_FILE_2
WhereCONTENT_OF_FILE_1
andCONTENT_OF_FILE_2
are the contents of the.json
files, encoded in URL format. However, this method is inpractible because GET requests have a length limitation, which makes it impossible for large files or long contents to be compared. -
Using an external HTTP service:
I’ve set up an HTTP service that waits for a request at the/diff
endpoint. When a request is received, it launches a local utility with the specified arguments. For example, a link like:http://localhost:5555/diff?irst=C:/path/to/file1.json&second=C:/path/to/file2.json
While this works, it involves a browser, which makes the process less convenient. -
Creating a small C++ utility:
I created a template.exe
file, which I then copy and patch by replacing placeholders with the paths to the.json
files I want to compare. This generates a console-friendly link like:file:///path/to/diffs/launch_diff_file1_and_file2
While this allows the user to click the link, it feels hacky.
My Question:
What other approaches can I try to achieve this? Ideally, I want a solution where users can click a link in the Clion console output, and the tool (e.g., clion64 diff
or others) opens directly with the provided arguments—without relying on a browser or overly complex workarounds.
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