Question about Snap desktop launchers

Ubuntu
1

I am trying to put a launcher on my desktop for a snap package. I am sure I have done this before - the launchers were located at /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications. I used to be able to browse to this location using nautilus but in Ubuntu 24.10 this does not seem to be possible.
It is not a problematic issue, I can launch the package in other ways, but I’m curious to find out why this has changed.

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2

Copilot says this will work. It looks correct to me. Hopefully it works for you.

How to create a custom .desktop file. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

  1. First, create a new .desktop file in your local applications directory:
touch ~/.local/share/applications/your-app-name.desktop
  1. Open the file with your preferred text editor. Here’s a basic template:
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Your App Name
Comment=Brief description of your app
Exec=snap run your-snap-package-name
Icon=/path/to/icon.png
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Utility;

Key fields to modify:

  • Name: The name that will appear under the icon
  • Comment: A brief description (optional)
  • Exec: The command to launch your snap app (use snap run package-name)
  • Icon: Path to the icon file (you can often find the icon in /snap/package-name/current/)
  • Categories: The menu categories where the app should appear
  1. Make the file executable:
chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/your-app-name.desktop
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3

Thanks for the response. I agree it looks as if it will work.
I suddenly had a thought myself and downloaded a different file manager (Nemo). This gives a “File System” option which enables me to browse to the required folder and copy the required launcher file to my desktop and it is a simple matter to make the file executable.

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