Snap app icon doesn't appear in menu

[rodrigosilva0494]

Hello.

I have installed the snap app Rambox via terminal

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sudo snap install rambox

, and I can run the app normally with

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snap run rambox

. I just wanted to open the app via cinnamon menu, but the icon isn't there. Also, when I run the app via terminal, the icon on the panel has a figure of a gear, and I can't add to panel. Is there anyway I could fix this? I have already rebooted the system.

Thank you!

[smurphos]

Hi,

Can you run the following terminal commands?

Check if the snapd desktop file location is registered properly

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echo $XDG_DATA_DIRS

Check for a rambox .desktop file

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ls -l /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications

[rodrigosilva0494]

Hi, and thanks for the reply!

When I write "echo $XDG_DATA_DIRS", I get this:
/usr/share/gnome:/home/rodrigo/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share

And when I write "ls -l /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications" I get this:
total 8
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 13 May 16 13:41 mimeinfo.cache
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 352 May 16 13:41 rambox_rambox.desktop

I'm not an expert user, so I don't know exactly that it means.
Thank you!

[smurphos]

Thanks - looks like a snapd bug - the first output should include /var/lib/snapd/desktop

You can work around the issue by making a copy of the rambox desktop file to your local applications folder

Run this in a terminal, then log off and back on. Rambox should be in the menu and pinnable.

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cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/rambox_rambox.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

[rodrigosilva0494]

Thanks again for the reply.
When I write the command, I get this message:
cp: cannot create regular file '/home/rodrigo/.local/share/applications/': Not a directory

Should I create this directory then?

[smurphos]

Should I create this directory then?

Yep - you can do it the file manager or with terminal command

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mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications

[rodrigosilva0494]

Worked like a charm. Thank you very much for the help!

[Monsta]

So... snapd actually sets $XDG_DATA_DIRS in /etc/profile.d/apps-bin-path.sh, but that file isn't used in the graphical logins in Debian: viewtopic.php?f=247&t=278474

[smurphos]

So... snapd actually sets $XDG_DATA_DIRS in /etc/profile.d/apps-bin-path.sh, but that file isn't used in the graphical logins in Debian: viewtopic.php?f=247&t=278474

Ah, I hadn't actually clocked the question was in the LMDE section. Interesting how the equivalent flatpak path does make it to XDG_DATA_DIRS though - I guess the Mint team have tweaked something in LMDE to make that work out of the box. I'm surprised the snapd developers haven't implemented a work-around for Debian.

[axisofevil]

Yet another "general" package system fail.

[Monsta]

Ah, I hadn't actually clocked the question was in the LMDE section. Interesting how the equivalent flatpak path does make it to XDG_DATA_DIRS though - I guess the Mint team have tweaked something in LMDE to make that work out of the box. I'm surprised the snapd developers haven't implemented a work-around for Debian.

Flatpak has its paths set in /etc/X11/Xsession.d/20flatpak file - that one is used in the X logins.

Actually, I found that snapd used to have a similar file in /etc/X11/Xsession.d/ dir as well, until upstream dropped it. It should be there in LMDE 3, but it's gone in LMDE 4.

[jenbites]

Thanks - looks like a snapd bug - the first output should include /var/lib/snapd/desktop

You can work around the issue by making a copy of the rambox desktop file to your local applications folder

Run this in a terminal, then log off and back on. Rambox should be in the menu and pinnable.

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cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/rambox_rambox.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Wow! I really created an account just to say, thankyou! this one worked for me! <3

[skimo12]

As a Debian user trying to get the 'snap' version of keepassxc on my menu, i found your answers very helpful. Here's what i did.
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications
cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/keepassxc_keepassxc.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Thanks for the clear answers

[RedBearAK]

This continues to be a problem with a new Linux Mint 20.1 install (fresh install, not an upgrade). I just went through the instructions to activate snapd and install the snap version of Authy (a 2-factor authentication app), and it didn't show up in the menu or app launchers like Albert. I didn't have to create the folder but I did have to copy the Authy desktop file into ~/.local/share/applications to actually be able to find it with any launchers/menus.

EDIT: This seems to be fixed as of at least March 10, 2021. I got rid of the copied version of the Authy desktop file from ~/.local/share/applications and the app still appears in Cinnamon menu, Ulauncher and Albert launcher, even after logging out. So they all seem to be searching in /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications now.

[skrtboi101]

hi @smurphos your tips helped me so much and i can see my apps on the launcher but my icons don't look like original size they look a little pixelated

[gbguarro]

Thanks - looks like a snapd bug - the first output should include /var/lib/snapd/desktop

You can work around the issue by making a copy of the rambox desktop file to your local applications folder

Run this in a terminal, then log off and back on. Rambox should be in the menu and pinnable.

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cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/rambox_rambox.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Thanks for this! What is this doing exactly? Does the OS look for shortcuts in "~/.local/share/applications/"?

[smurphos]

Yep, it's the standard location for user modified or added .desktop files used to populate the menu. System equivalent is /usr/share/applications/