When I install a GUI application using nix, I see desktop files end inside ~/.nix-profile
directory, e.g:
~/.nix-profile/share/applications/firefox.desktop
However, my desktop expect that files to be in /user/share/applications
in order to be able to create desktop icons for them.
Is there any way to tell nix to symlink desktop files to /user/share/applications
so I don't have to do it manually?
Thanks
Best Answer
Supposing that you are using a distribution other than NixOS, then yes you can expect your desktop environment to be looking for your applications in
/usr/share/applications
while those installed with Nix are actually in~/.nix-profile/share/applications
.Instead of creating a symlink from
/usr/share/applications
you should rather tell you desktop where to look. You should be able to do so by adding the following to your~/.profile
:So your desktop will be looking for applications both in
/usr/share/applications
and~/.nix-profile/share/applications
, with a priority given to the applications installed with Nix.For more info, https://nixos.org/wiki/KDE#Using_KDE_outside_NixOS