AppImage is a popular way for software developers to package and distribute applications to Linux users, without needing to worry which distribution they use.
Portability is the USP as AppImages bundle everything they need to run in a single executable, making it a fuss-free for users to try software: download an .appimage file, give it permission to run, then double-click to open.
But there are some downsides to that approach.
As AppImages are portable and not “installed” in a traditional manner or located in a specific folder, they can’t be opened from app menus/launchers without first manually creating a .desktop file — and not moving the AppImage after!
It’s not a hardship, but it is a bit of a hassle.
But a new utility called AppImageLauncher can help.
It will create app menu shortcuts for AppImages on Ubuntu (e.g., so you can open your favourite AppImage apps from the same application luncher as other apps).
Better yet, AppImageLauncher also supports running AppImages without having to make them executable — a security boon, if nothing else.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Let’s look at the app in action.
AppImageLauncher Utility
Go to the AppImageLauncher “Releases” page on GitHub, unfurl the “assets” option underneath the latest continuous release, and download the corresponding .deb installer for your system (pay attention between ARM64 and AMD64 builds).
Although a Lite version of this utility is available (as an AppImage, no less) the developers of the tool recommended using the “full” version. This is provided as a .deb or .rpm installer and offers the best experience, with the most assurance.
Once downloaded, install the .deb using your preferred method (I use sudo apt install ./foo.deb from the CLI).
The next time you run an AppImage you’ll be asked if you want to create a system launcher for it, and relocate the runtime to a safe folder (you can control the location of this folder through the bundled settings app).
AppImages desktop shortcuts will show the correct app icon in the Ubuntu Dock, which is something that’s been hit and miss with AppImages I’ve used in the past – but this method ensures that the correct app icon appears.
You can configure the tool’s settings via the AppImageLauncher Settings shortcut (added during install of the deb version). This has options to: show the integration dialog when running new AppImages; set the location to move AppImages to; whether to run the integration daemon on start-up; and more.
You can also specify a directory to ‘watch’ for new .AppImage files, which is handy.
Want to try it out? Kdenlive is one of the best Linux video editors and its developers release new builds in the AppImage format regularly. Another popular AppImage is Balena Etcher, an image writing tool that’s super easy to use.
For more AppImages, check out of the AppImage Hub.