How to add flatpak installed apps to desktop

Support and Help
1

Ubuntu 24.04 new install
Gnome, X11
How can I add apps installed through Flatpak to my desktop? I went to /usr/share/applications and it’s not there, but it’s in Show Apps.

2

Have you tried looking in $HOME/.local/share/applications ? Flatpak should place new entries there. If they don’t appear there, check echo $XDG_DATA_DIRS to see every directory used for storing those files.

3

You might consider the Warehouse app also.

4

If you’re looking for the relevant .desktop file, they’re symlinked into /var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/applications for system-installed flatpaks, or ~/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share/applications for user-installed flatpaks

5

@eeyore thanks for this tip, is there any utility to create desktop launchers for apps installed through Flatpak/Snap/AppImage/GDebi?

6

@tsugu-sk thanks for this tip, this is the output of

echo $XDG_DATA_DIRS

/usr/share/ubuntu:/usr/share/gnome:/home/michael/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share:/usr/local/share/:/usr/share/:/var/lib/snapd/desktop
but under my

/home/michael/.local/share/flatpak/
I have only db and repo folder, there’s no exports

7

@halogen2 I’ve installed a couple of Flatpak apps, but in my .local folder (/home/michael/.local/share/flatpak/) I have only db and repo folders, no exports.

8

… so your installed flatpaks are not installed in the user installation, so are they installed in the system installation? -

9

@halogen2 I installed through terminal using flatpak install flathub com.sigil_ebook.Sigil, is this system or user?

10

That will install in the system installation.

Installing in the user installation would involve explicitly specifying --user flag.

11

@halogen2 thanks so much, I found them.

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12

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