There are .desktop files in Linux that are used to populate application lists and launchers. This is separate from grabbing a list of all executables in $PATH.
Specifically, it has more metadata like human-readable application names, icons and categories.
Useful links
- https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/latest/index.html
- https://specifications.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/latest/category-registry.html
- https://specifications.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/latest/additional-category-registry.html
- https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Desktop_entries
Citation
If you find this work useful, please cite it as:
@article{yaltirakli,
title = "Linux desktop entry",
author = "Yaltirakli, Gokberk",
journal = "gkbrk.com",
year = "2025",
url = "https://www.gkbrk.com/linux-desktop-entry"
} Not using BibTeX? Click here for more citation styles.
IEEE Citation Gokberk Yaltirakli, "Linux desktop entry", July, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.gkbrk.com/linux-desktop-entry. [Accessed Jul. 23, 2025].
APA Style Yaltirakli, G. (2025, July 23). Linux desktop entry. https://www.gkbrk.com/linux-desktop-entry
Bluebook Style Gokberk Yaltirakli, Linux desktop entry, GKBRK.COM (Jul. 23, 2025), https://www.gkbrk.com/linux-desktop-entry
