How to create a desktop entry in linux?

Harsh Sharma — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 00:27:21 +0000

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 or vim 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 to `application`
- `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 to `false` if the application doesn't require terminal.
- `StartupNotify` : Set it to `true` to show a notification when the application starts.

### Set permissions
- Make the `.desktop` file executable using the `chmod` 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:
![Desktop Entry Properties](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/nhcirbal53mzfkfbnonu.png)
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.

DEV Community: Harsh Sharma

How to create a desktop entry in linux?

Create a new .desktop file