If you’re trying to use an AppImage in Ubuntu but can’t get it to open, here’s the fix.

On older versions of Ubuntu you could download an .appimage file, mark it executable (i.e., give it permission to run by right-clicking on it, selecting Properties, and checking a box), then double-click on the file to run it.

But if you double-click on the AppImage file in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or newer, nothing happens.

Nothing.

Why don’t AppImages work in the latest versions of Ubuntu? Is an ideological-driven limitation to make us all use snap apps?

Hah, no – thankfully not.

Recent versions of Ubuntu use a newer version of FUSE (the ‘Filesystem in User Space’ interface) than the version that AppImages need to run. Ubuntu now ships FUSE 3; AppImages require FUSE 2.

Discussions between the creators of AppImage, Linux distribution maintainers, and software vendors are ongoing to try and move the situation forward. Making AppImages use FUSE 3 isn’t trivial (or desired), and Linux distros don’t want to continue supporting FUSE 2.

No need to wait for the impasse to clear as you can make AppImages work in Ubuntu 24.04 by installing the FUSE 2 package manually (don’t worry, it’s easy).

How to Make AppImages Work in Ubuntu

installing libfuse2 in Ubuntu 23.04 from the command-line
Yup; it’s this simple to “solve” the issue

As said, installing FUSE 2 is all you need to do to make AppImages work in Ubuntu.

You won’t need to use a PPA, compile source code, or deal with package conflicts to install it either as the libfuse2 package is available in the Ubuntu repos (in universe, enabled by default in most cases, but if not, open Software Sources and check the box beside the option).

You can install FUSE 2 alongside FUSE 3 without any issues as it won’t downgrade or replace the package, and they can coexist happily (this is not the case for FUSE 1 so do not install that version – it will mess things up, and it won’t make AppImages work).

Note: A small number of people on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS are having issues which /may/ be related to installing FUSE2 and causes the login screen to not load. The “fix” is to drop to a TTY2 session (at the login that doesn’t load) and reinstall the login manager. However, a number of other users have hit the same problem in 24.04, who didn’t install FUSE2. I have FUSE2 installed on all my 24.04 installs with no issues – but be aware.

To install FUSE2 in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS open a new Terminal window and type (or paste) the following command:

sudo apt install libfuse2t64

Still on Ubuntu 23.04 or 23.10 (both are EOL, FYI)? The package name is just libfuse2 as Ubuntu 24.04 LTS was when all of the 64-bit t_time bug problems were tackled.

Press the enter/return key, enter your password to authenticate, and blink while the necessary library is downloaded, unpacked, and installed.

And that’s it!

Now when you double-click on an AppImage to launch it (assuming you’ve given it permission to run first, of course — if you haven’t do that first, then try) it will now open and run as intended.

Nice.

Scores of brilliant Linux apps are available as AppImage, including the Kdenlive video editor, Audacity audio editor, image writing tool BalenaEtcher, and slick system monitor tool Mission Center — so this “issue” is catching plenty of users off guard, not just you.

But by following the steps above you can run your favourite ones in Ubuntu without issue.