---
name: "xdg-desktop-icon"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "xdg-utils"
version: "1.2.1-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/xdg-desktop-icon"
---

# xdg-desktop-icon(1)

command line tool for (un)installing icons to the desktop

## NAME

xdg-desktop-icon - command line tool for (un)installing icons to the desktop

## SYNOPSIS

**xdg-desktop-icon** install \[**--novendor**\] *FILE*

**xdg-desktop-icon** uninstall *FILE*

**xdg-desktop-icon** {**--help** \| **--manual** \| **--version**}

## DESCRIPTION

The xdg-desktop-icon program can be used to install an application launcher or other file on the desktop of the current user.

An application launcher is represented by a \*.desktop file. Desktop files are defined by the freedesktop.org Desktop Entry Specification. The most important aspects of \*.desktop files are summarized below.

## COMMANDS

install

Installs *FILE* to the desktop of the current user. *FILE* can be a \*.desktop file or any other type of file.

uninstall

Removes *FILE* from the desktop of the current user.

## OPTIONS

- **--novendor**

  Normally, xdg-desktop-icon checks to ensure that a \*.desktop file to be installed has a vendor prefix. This option can be used to disable that check.

  A vendor prefix consists of alpha characters (\[a-zA-Z\]) and is terminated with a dash ("-"). Companies and organizations are encouraged to use a word or phrase, preferably the organizations name, for which they hold a trademark as their vendor prefix. The purpose of the vendor prefix is to prevent name conflicts.

- **--help**

  Show command synopsis.

- **--manual**

  Show this manual page.

- **--version**

  Show the xdg-utils version information.

## DESKTOP FILES

An application launcher can be added to the desktop by installing a \*.desktop file. A \*.desktop file consists of a *\[Desktop Entry\]* header followed by several *Key*=*Value* lines.

A \*.desktop file can provide a name and description for an application in several different languages. This is done by adding a language code as used by LC\_MESSAGES in square brackets behind the *Key*. This way one can specify different values for the same *Key* depending on the currently selected language.

The following keys are often used:

Type=Application

This is a mandatory field that indicates that the \*.desktop file describes an application launcher.

Name=*Application Name*

The name of the application. For example *Mozilla*

GenericName=*Generic Name*

A generic description of the application. For example *Web Browser*

Comment=*Comment*

Optional field to specify a tooltip for the application. For example *Visit websites on the Internet*

Icon=*Icon File*

The icon to use for the application. This can either be an absolute path to an image file or an icon-name. If an icon-name is provided an image lookup by name is done in the user's current icon theme. The **xdg-icon-resource** command can be used to install image files into icon themes. The advantage of using an icon-name instead of an absolute path is that with an icon-name the application icon can be provided in several different sizes as well as in several differently themed styles.

Exec=*Command Line*

The command line to start the application. If the application can open files the %f placeholder should be specified. When a file is dropped on the application launcher the %f is replaced with the file path of the dropped file. If multiple files can be specified on the command line the %F placeholder should be used instead of %f. If the application is able to open URLs in addition to local files then %u or %U can be used instead of %f or %F.

For a complete overview of the \*.desktop file format please visit **http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/desktop-entry-spec**

## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

xdg-desktop-icon honours the following environment variables:

XDG\_UTILS\_DEBUG\_LEVEL

Setting this environment variable to a non-zero numerical value makes xdg-desktop-icon do more verbose reporting on stderr. Setting a higher value increases the verbosity.

## EXIT CODES

An exit code of 0 indicates success while a non-zero exit code indicates failure. The following failure codes can be returned:

**1**

Error in command line syntax.

**2**

One of the files passed on the command line did not exist.

**3**

A required tool could not be found.

**4**

The action failed.

**5**

No permission to read one of the files passed on the command line.

## SEE ALSO

[**xdg-icon-resource**(1)](/xdg-icon-resource/1.md)

## EXAMPLES

The company ShinyThings Inc. has developed an application named "WebMirror" and would like to add a launcher for for on the desktop. The company will use "shinythings" as its vendor id. In order to add the application to the desktop there needs to be a .desktop file for the application:

```
shinythings-webmirror.desktop:
  [Desktop Entry]
  Encoding=UTF-8
  Type=Application
  Exec=webmirror
  Icon=shinythings-webmirror
  Name=WebMirror
  Name[nl]=WebSpiegel
```

Now the xdg-desktop-icon tool can be used to add the webmirror.desktop file to the desktop:

```
xdg-desktop-icon install ./shinythings-webmirror.desktop
```

To add a README file to the desktop as well, the following command can be used:

```
xdg-desktop-icon install ./shinythings-README
```

## AUTHORS

**Kevin Krammer**

Author.

**Jeremy White**

Author.

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2006\