how to create a custom application launcher in Ubuntu 24.04 (GNOME)

13 Feb, 2026

• Download tarball and extract it into a directory (e.g. /opt/baba-is-you)
• Create a desktop entry (e.g. baba-is-you.desktop) in ~/.local/share/applications or ~/Desktop
• Add the following to the desktop entry (change to match your application):

  [Desktop Entry]
  
  # Launches application
  Type=Application
  
  # Name of application
  Name=Baba Is You
  
  # Executable of application
  Exec=/opt/baba-is-you/run.sh
  
  # Describes whether application needs to run in terminal or not
  Terminal=true
  
  # Icon used to display entry
  Icon=/opt/baba-is-you/icon.png
  

For more on desktop entries, check out the Arch Linux documentation on desktop entries.