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I start most applications by opening the "activities overview" with the super key, typing the (start of the) name and hitting enter once the first search result is the correct app. This works fine for apps installed with apt or snap, but I can't figure out how to add custom programs to the search results, e.g. a self-written program that I added to my $PATH.

I am probably using the wrong search terms, since I can't imagine this to be very difficult, but all I've found so far are older suggestions to add a .desktop file to ~/.local/share/applications, which does not seem to be applicable to the current version of Gnome anymore.

I'm running the latest Ubuntu 22.04 without any modifications.

tidreyer
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  • 1. I think that method, to add a `.desktop` file to `~/.local/share/applications`, is still working; 2. You can also open a terminal window, and type the (start of the) name and hit TAB (the tabulator key) to 'autocomplete' and then hit the Enter key. This will start all kinds of programs in `PATH` including those with and without a graphical user interface, and those with and without a `.desktop` file and also shell built-in programs and aliases. (Some graphical programs may need to be prefixed with `sudo -H `, when started from a terminal window.) – sudodus Aug 07 '22 at 08:23
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    @sudodus I know about the terminal, but I wanted to avoid having it open unless I need debugging output. But indeed, the `.desktop` file worked after all -- I just had to reboot before the search to picked it up. Thank you! – tidreyer Aug 07 '22 at 08:27
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    @sudodus No need for `-H` with `sudo` in recent releases ... It's the default now: https://askubuntu.com/a/1411528/968501 – Raffa Aug 07 '22 at 08:46
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    @Raffa, You are right, but some people are still using versions of Ubuntu, where -H is needed (I think for example 18.04 LTS, which is still supported with updates, so 'may need ...'). – sudodus Aug 07 '22 at 08:54

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