Registering AppImage Files as a desktop app

Create a .desktop file that points to the application -- here is an example of a .desktop for minecraft:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Minecraft
Comment=Minecraft
Icon=/home/bram/Applications/Minecraft/icon.png
Exec=/home/bram/Applications/Minecraft/minecraft
Terminal=false
Categories=Minecraft;game

Put that file in ~/.local/share/applications


According to appimagekit, the proper method is to use appimaged for .AppImage file registration.

For 64-bit systems:

wget "https://github.com/AppImage/appimaged/releases/download/continuous/appimaged-x86_64.AppImage"
chmod +x appimaged-x86_64.AppImage
./appimaged-x86_64.AppImage --install

The binary will copy itself to /home/ubuntu/.local/bin/appimaged and then delete the downloaded copy upon install. Then you must logout and back in.

At time of reading, it will monitor and register the following locations:

~/Downloads
~/.local/bin
~/bin
/Applications
/isodevice/Applications
/isofrom/Applications
/run/archiso/img_dev/Applications
/opt
/usr/local/bin

To show in the menu, this assumes you've placed a desktop file in the correct location inside your .AppImage file, usually /usr/share/applications/<myproject>.desktop.

If you search in the application tray, you should find your application shortly. The daemon should also register any application-specific file associations assuming the mime xml is also bundled, usually /usr/share/mime/packages/<myproject>.xml. If the icon does not appear correctly, you may have to logout and back in a second time. This can happen if the icon was incorrectly cached while testing out images.


You can also use AppImageLauncher which provides desktop integration along with some additional features. Unlike appimaged, it:

  • asks for confirmation before creating desktop entry for an AppImage.
  • works with AppImages in any location
  • doesn't use a daemon for monitoring, so more efficient.

Specifics of how it works are explained in the wiki. It can be installed directly from the packages provided in the releases.

Tags:

Kde

Appimage

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