How do I remove apps from the "Open With..." menu?

[MacBH928]

I can't figure how to do this. Lots of junk in the Open With... contextual menu. How can I remove them? This is the list for a .txt file.

MacOS
Monterey 12.7

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't think that you can do that.

I reckon that the idea of the "open with" menu is to show you as many options as the finder thinks is possible. Not "fewer".

I could be wrong about that, and welcome correction from others.

A simple text file (.txt) is going to be "open-able" by MANY applications.

 

[HDFan]

You can rebuild the launch services database with a program such as OnyX. Don't know how to edit it though.

 

[bogdanw]

As far as I know, file associations are declared by each app in the Info.plist file. macOS’s lsregister service reads that and registers the association in the Open with menu.
Rebuilding “Open With” can get rid of duplicates
https://osxdaily.com/2013/01/22/fix-open-with-menu-mac-os-x/
Removing an app from the “Open With” menu requires editing the Info.plist file, which may invalidate the app's signature and render it unusable.

 

[MacBH928]

I reckon that the idea of the "open with" menu is to show you as many options as the finder thinks is possible. Not "fewer".


A simple text file (.txt) is going to be "open-able" by MANY applications.

yeah but it causes clutter. For example one of the app suggestion on a .jpeg is "ColorProfile" . Why would I want to open an image in that?

 

[bogdanw]

yeah but it causes clutter. For example one of the app suggestion on a .jpeg is "ColorProfile" . Why would I want to open an image in that?

You can temporary remove an app from the Open With menu, example for ColorSync Utility

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -f -u -v /System/Applications/Utilities/ColorSync\ Utility.app

It will be re-added when the lsregister service automatically scans again apps.