diff --git a/app/urlinfo.h b/app/urlinfo.h
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/urlinfo.h
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+/* This file is part of the KDE project
+   Copyright (C) 2015 Milian Wolff <mail@milianw.de>
+
+   This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+   modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+   version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) version 3, or any
+   later version accepted by the membership of KDE e.V. (or its
+   successor approved by the membership of KDE e.V.), which shall
+   act as a proxy defined in Section 6 of version 3 of the license.
+
+   This library 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
+   Lesser General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+#ifndef URLINFO_H
+#define URLINFO_H
+
+#include <KTextEditor/Cursor>
+
+#include <QRegularExpression>
+#include <QDataStream>
+#include <QDir>
+#include <QString>
+#include <QUrl>
+
+/**
+ * Represents a file to be opened, consisting of its URL and the cursor to jump to.
+ */
+class UrlInfo
+{
+public:
+    /**
+     * Parses a file path argument and determines its line number and column and full path
+     * @param path path passed on e.g. command line to parse into an URL
+     */
+    UrlInfo(QString path = QString())
+        : cursor(KTextEditor::Cursor::invalid())
+    {
+        /**
+         * construct url:
+         *   - make relative paths absolute using the current working directory
+         *   - prefer local file, if in doubt!
+         */
+        url = QUrl::fromUserInput(path, QDir::currentPath(), QUrl::AssumeLocalFile);
+
+        /**
+         * in some cases, this will fail, e.g. if you have line/column specs like test.c:10:1
+         * => fallback: assume a local file and just convert it to an url
+         */
+        if (!url.isValid()) {
+            /**
+             * create absolute file path, we will e.g. pass this over dbus to other processes
+             */
+            url = QUrl::fromLocalFile(QDir::current().absoluteFilePath(path));
+        }
+
+        /**
+         * Allow opening specific lines in documents, like mydoc.cpp:10
+         * also supports columns, i.e. mydoc.cpp:10:42
+         * ignores trailing colons, as compile errors often use that format
+         */
+        if (url.isLocalFile() && !QFile::exists(url.toLocalFile())) {
+            /**
+             * update path from url, might have been file://...
+             */
+            path = url.toLocalFile();
+
+            /**
+             * try to match the line/colum spec, else we are done here
+             */
+            const auto match = QRegularExpression(QStringLiteral(":(\\d+)(?::(\\d+))?:?$")).match(path);
+            if (!match.isValid())
+                return;
+
+            /**
+             * cut away the line/column specification from the path and update the url
+             */
+            path.chop(match.capturedLength());
+            url = QUrl::fromLocalFile(path);
+
+            /**
+             * set right cursor position
+             */
+            int line = match.captured(1).toInt() - 1;
+            // don't use an invalid column when the line is valid
+            int column = qMax(0, match.captured(2).toInt() - 1);
+            cursor = {line, column};
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * url computed out of the passed path
+     */
+    QUrl url;
+
+    /**
+     * initial cursor position, if any found inside the path as line/colum specification at the end
+     */
+    KTextEditor::Cursor cursor;
+};
+
+QDataStream& operator<<(QDataStream& stream, const UrlInfo& info)
+{
+    stream << info.url;
+    stream << info.cursor.line();
+    stream << info.cursor.column();
+    return stream;
+}
+
+QDataStream& operator>>(QDataStream& stream, UrlInfo& info)
+{
+    stream >> info.url;
+    int line, column;
+    stream >> line;
+    stream >> column;
+    info.cursor.setLine(line);
+    info.cursor.setColumn(column);
+    return stream;
+}
+
+#endif // URLINFO_H