Title: Create a custom application entry in Qubes OS

	Title: Create a custom application entry in Qubes OS
	Author: Solène
	Date: 14 May 2023
	Tags: qubes qubesos freedesktop
	Description: In this article, you will learn how to create an
	application entry of a custom installed program in a VM, that
	integrates well within Qubes OS dom0

	# Introduction

	If you use Qubes OS, you already know that installed software in
	templates are available in your XFCE menu for each VM, and can be
	customized from the Qubes Settings panel.

	Qubes OS documentation about How to install software

	However, if you want to locally install a software, either by compiling
	it, or using a tarball, you won't have a application entry in the Qubes
	Settings, and running this program from dom0 will require using an
	extra terminal in the VM. But we can actually add the icon/shortcut by
	creating a file at the right place.

	In this example, I'll explain how I made a menu entry for the program
	DeltaChat, "installed" by downloading an archive containing the binary.

	# Desktop files

	In the VM (with a non-volatile /home) create the file
	`/home/user/.local/share/applications/deltachat.desktop`, or in a
	TemplateVM (if you need to provide this to multiple VMs) in the path
	`/usr/share/applications/deltachat.desktop`:

	```desktop
	[Desktop Entry]
	Encoding=UTF-8
	Version=1.0
	Type=Application
	Terminal=False
	Exec=/home/user/Downloads/deltachat-desktop-1.36.4/deltachat-desktop
	Name=DeltaChat
	```

	This will create a desktop entry for the program named DeltaChat, with
	the path to the executable and a few other information. You can add an
	`Icon=` attribute with a link toward an image file, I didn't have one
	for DeltaChat.

	# Qubes OS integration

	With the .desktop file created, open the Qubes settings and refresh the
	applications list, you should find an entry with the Name you used.
	Voilà!

	# Conclusion

	Knowing how to create desktop entries is useful, not even on Qubes OS
	but for general Linux/BSD use. Being able to install custom programs
	with a launcher in Qubes dom0 is better than starting yet another
	terminal to run a GUI program from there.

	# Going further

	If you want to read more about the .desktop files specifications, you
	can read the links below:

	Desktop entry specifications
	Arch Linux wiki about Desktop entries