# Ask Launcher vendors to scan .AppImage in \`~/Applications\`

**URL:** <https://discourse.appimage.org/t/ask-launcher-vendors-to-scan-appimage-in-applications/2807>\
**Category:** Using AppImages\
**Created:** [September 7, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/ask-launcher-vendors-to-scan-appimage-in-applications/2807 "2022-09-07T04:35:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![shenlebantongying](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/shenlebantongying/32/752_2.png) [@shenlebantongying](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/shenlebantongying)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/ask-launcher-vendors-to-scan-appimage-in-applications/2807/1 "2022-09-07T04:35:47Z")

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By launcher, I mean Start-menu, launchpad, Application Menu or whatever.

All launcher is a literal implementation of XDG’s Desktop Entry Specification which will scan `/usr/share/applications/` for `.desktop` files. Those files are usually installed via a pkg manager.

`.appimage` is downloaded by a user rather than through the package manager.

To have an icon on the launcher for `.AppImage `, a user must conduct extra steps to generate `.desktop` at that specific path (There are many HOW-TOs written for this mission).

What if launcher vendors can implement scanning of a special folder (`~/Applications` like macOS), and grab the desktop entry file automatically?

* * *

If this can be done, a program can just distribute a `.appimage` and tell the user to

> Download Nice.AppImage and move it to ~/Applications/

This will automatically give all benefits of having `.desktop` file:

- appear in the launcher as an icon
- pinnable to taskbar
- launch by typing names
- …

* * *

Talking is useless, this is just a dream.

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**Author:** ![probono](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/probono/32/81_2.png) [@probono](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/probono)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/ask-launcher-vendors-to-scan-appimage-in-applications/2807/2 "2022-09-25T13:19:55Z")

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You would have to ask this question to the authors of the launchers (“Start-menu, launchpad, Application Menu or whatever”).

In the meantime, you can use one of the workarounds listed here:

> <https://github.com/AppImageCommunity/awesome-appimage/blob/main/README.md#desktop-integration>