---
title: "Desktop Integration Guide"
description: "Automatically extract and install .desktop files and icons from AppImages."
---

Desktop integration lets your AppImages appear in your desktop application launcher automatically. When enabled, fp-appimage-updater extracts the `.desktop` manifest and icons directly from the AppImage using `--appimage-extract`, then installs them into the correct user directories.

## What gets installed

| File type | Destination |
|---|---|
| `.desktop` file | `~/.local/share/applications/` |
| App icons | `~/.local/share/icons/` |

The `Exec` and `Icon` paths inside the `.desktop` file are automatically updated to point to the installed AppImage location, so your launcher always uses the correct binary path.

<Note>
  Desktop integration requires the AppImage to support `--appimage-extract`. Virtually all modern AppImages support it.
</Note>

## Enable or disable globally

Desktop integration is enabled by default. Set `manage_desktop_files` in your `config.yml` to control it globally:

```yaml
manage_desktop_files: true
```

To disable integration for all apps:

```yaml
manage_desktop_files: false
```

## Disable per app

To opt a single app out of desktop integration, set `integration: false` in its recipe:

```yaml
name: myapp
integration: false
strategy:
  strategy: direct
  url: "https://example.com/myapp.AppImage"
  check_method: etag
```

<Tip>
  If the app doesn't appear immediately in your launcher after updating, run `update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications` to refresh the application menu cache.
</Tip>
