If you use Linux, you might often find yourself using the terminal to run programs and scripts for your daily tasks. But it can be a bit of a hassle. Luckily, there's a alternative – creating something called a "Desktop Entry." A desktop entry lets you start programs from your start menu with just a few clicks. All you have to do is follow these simple steps, and you're good to go:
To start with creating Desktop Entry for a program , you have to mess up with terminal for a while.
All the desktop entries have
.desktop
as extension.
Create a new .desktop file
- Open your terminal or press
Ctrl+Alt+T
- Create a new desktop file using a text editor. You can use
nano
orvim
or any text editor you like. - The syntax of the command should be something like this :
vim application_name.desktop
Define Entry Properties
-
[Desktop Entry]
- Every desktop entry starts with this keyword. -
Name
: Name of the application. -
Exec
: Path of the executable file. -
Type
: Set it toapplication
-
Icon
: Path of the application logo.
Add optional information
-
Comment
: A brief description of the application. -
Categories
: Categories that describe the application(e.g., Development, Office) -
Terminal
: Set it tofalse
if the application doesn't require terminal. -
StartupNotify
: Set it totrue
to show a notification when the application starts.
Set permissions
- Make the
.desktop
file executable using thechmod
command:
chmod +x application_name.desktop
Move the file
-
For system-wide access : Move the file from current directory to
/usr/share/applications
-
For user-specific access : Move the file from current directy to
~/.local/share/applications
Refresh Desktop Environment
- If needed, refresh the desktop environment. Typically the command to refresh desktop is :
sudo update-desktop-database
Finally, your application_name.desktop
would look like this:
And there you have it! By following these steps, you'll have your very own application shortcut in the start menu using the magic of .desktop files.
Top comments (3)
was a good read!!
Keep them coming!!
sure!
thanks for this. it was very helpful