how do I get Terminal's Search with Google to open in the default browser?

Question

Scenario: working away in Terminal, get an error message. Want to google it so I select text and use right-click and "Search with Google". Opens Safari every time. Google Chrome is my default browser. I've restarted the machine twice since I confirmed that.

Answer 1

Search with Google is a service provided by Safari and has nothing to do with Terminal.

Google Chrome should provide its own service for this feature. It doesn't.

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Or you can write your own, e.g. using Automator and AppleScript:

Open Automator and select to create a new Service. At the top, select text and any application. Then, add a Run Shell Script action from the library to the workflow by drag&drop or double-clicking. Change its input to as arguments, and paste the following script in its main text area:

#!/bin/bash
function urlencode {
    echo -n "$@" | perl -MURI::Escape -ne 'print uri_escape($_)'
}
open "http://google.com/search?q=$( urlencode "$@" )"

This will open the URL http://google.com/search?q= followed by your URL-escaped text selection in your default browser.

Save as Search with Google in Default Browser and try again.