linuxmint / linuxmint/cinnamon

Installing new applications requires desktop-file-install to have application menu updated

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BUG stale
Dominant language
JavaScript
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Description

Distribution

PorteuX or Porteus

Package version

6.2.9

Graphics hardware in use

AMD 780M

Frequency

Always

Bug description

When I mount an application that contains a valid .desktop file, Cinnamon application menu doesn't get updated automatically, so I need to call desktop-file-install --rebuild-mime-info-cache [application].desktop.

Steps to reproduce

Just mount an application that contains a valid .desktop file that goes into /usr/share/applications.

Expected behavior

All other desktop environments have a more clever way of detecting new .desktop files installed in official folders, like /usr/share/applications.

Additional information

Since some .desktop can be invalid (making desktop-file-install fail), I wonder if there's a more straightforward way to trigger Cinnamon application menu update.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the issue with a mounted application containing a valid .desktop file in /usr/share/applications, then trace the Cinnamon application menu update path. Compare its behavior with the manual desktop-file-install --rebuild-mime-info-cache command, and verify that newly mounted applications appear automatically without failing on invalid desktop files.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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