AppImages are a popular way to distribute software on Linux systems. They are self-contained executable files that can run on most Linux distributions without installation.
Creating a desktop shortcut for an AppImage and adding it to your panel is a great way to quickly access your favorite applications.
In this guide, we will use FreeTube as an example to demonstrate how to create a desktop shortcut for an AppImage and add it to the panel for quick access.
Step 1: Download FreeTube AppImage
Go to the FreeTube website and download the AppImage file, which usually have a name like FreeTube-x.x.x.AppImage, where x.x.x is the version number.
Once downloaded, you need to make the FreeTube AppImage file executable, simply right-click on the file, select Properties, navigate to the Permissions tab, and check the box that says Allow executing file as program, which will enables you to run the AppImage file as a program.
Alternatively, you can use the terminal:
chmod +x ~/Downloads/FreeTube-x.x.x.AppImage
Step 2: Create a Desktop Shortcut
Open a simple text editor like Gedit, Nano, or any other you prefer and copy and paste the following content into the text editor:
[Desktop Entry] Name=FreeTube Comment=Watch YouTube videos without ads and tracking Exec=/path/to/FreeTube-x.x.x.AppImage Icon=/path/to/freetube/icon.png Terminal=false Type=Application
- Replace /path/to/FreeTube-x.x.x.AppImage with the actual path to your FreeTube AppImage file.
- Replace /path/to/freetube/icon.png with the path to an icon image you want to use.
Save this file as FreeTube.desktop on your desktop.
Step 3: Add FreeTube to the Dash or Panel
Some desktop environments might require the shortcut to be in a specific directory like ~/.local/share/applications/ to appear in the menu.
Move the FreeTube.desktop file there:
mv ~/Desktop/FreeTube.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
Find FreeTube in your application menu, then right-click on the FreeTube icon and add to Panel or Add to Dash depending on your desktop environment (e.g., GNOME, KDE, XFCE).
Conclusion
You’ve successfully created a desktop shortcut for FreeTube and added it to your panel or dash. Now you can quickly access FreeTube with just a click on your desktop or panel.
These steps can be applied to other AppImages by simply replacing the relevant paths and names.
