Title: Create a custom application entry in Qubes OS
       Author: Solène
       Date: 14 May 2023
       Tags: qubes qubesos freedesktop
       Description: In this article, you will learn how to create an
       application entry of a custom installed program in a VM, that
       integrates well within Qubes OS dom0
       
       # Introduction
       
       If you use Qubes OS, you already know that installed software in
       templates are available in your XFCE menu for each VM, and can be
       customized from the Qubes Settings panel.
       
 (HTM) Qubes OS documentation about How to install software
       
       However, if you want to locally install a software, either by compiling
       it, or using a tarball, you won't have a application entry in the Qubes
       Settings, and running this program from dom0 will require using an
       extra terminal in the VM.  But we can actually add the icon/shortcut by
       creating a file at the right place.
       
       In this example, I'll explain how I made a menu entry for the program
       DeltaChat, "installed" by downloading an archive containing the binary.
       
       # Desktop files
       
       In the VM (with a non-volatile /home) create the file
       `/home/user/.local/share/applications/deltachat.desktop`, or in a
       TemplateVM (if you need to provide this to multiple VMs) in the path
       `/usr/share/applications/deltachat.desktop`:
       
       ```desktop
       [Desktop Entry]
       Encoding=UTF-8
       Version=1.0
       Type=Application
       Terminal=False
       Exec=/home/user/Downloads/deltachat-desktop-1.36.4/deltachat-desktop
       Name=DeltaChat
       ```
       
       This will create a desktop entry for the program named DeltaChat, with
       the path to the executable and a few other information.  You can add an
       `Icon=` attribute with a link toward an image file, I didn't have one
       for DeltaChat.
       
       # Qubes OS integration
       
       With the .desktop file created, open the Qubes settings and refresh the
       applications list, you should find an entry with the Name you used. 
       Voilà!
       
       # Conclusion
       
       Knowing how to create desktop entries is useful, not even on Qubes OS
       but for general Linux/BSD use.  Being able to install custom programs
       with a launcher in Qubes dom0 is better than starting yet another
       terminal to run a GUI program from there.
       
       # Going further
       
       If you want to read more about the .desktop files specifications, you
       can read the links below:
       
 (HTM) Desktop entry specifications
 (HTM) Arch Linux wiki about Desktop entries