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<img src="https://github.com/TheAssassin/AppImageLauncher/raw/master/resources/icons/hicolor/128x128/apps/AppImageLauncher.png"/>
</p>

AppImageLauncher makes your Linux desktop AppImage ready™. By installing it, you won't ever have to worry about AppImages again. You can always double click them without making them executable first, just like you should be able to do nowadays. You can integrate AppImages with a single mouse click, and manage them from your application launcher. Updating and removing AppImages becomes as easy as never before.

Due to its simple but efficient way to integrate into your system, it plays well with other applications that can be used to manage AppImages, for example app stores. However, it doesn't depend on any of those, and can run completely standalone.

Install AppImageLauncher today for your distribution and enjoy using AppImages as easy as never before!
AppImageLauncher makes your Linux desktop AppImage ready™. By installing it, you won't have to worry about AppImages again. Due to its simple yet efficient integration, you’ll be able to run AppImages without making them executable first, add them to your application menus with a single click, easily update or remove AppImages, and it won’t interfere with other AppImage managers or app stores.

Never before has managing AppImages been so easy. Install AppImageLauncher today for your Linux distribution and enjoy using AppImages with ease.

## Features

Expand All @@ -23,31 +20,26 @@ The core feature of AppImageLauncher is the so-called desktop integration. AppIm

### Update management

AppImageLauncher provides a simple to use update mechanism. After desktop integration, the context menu of the AppImage's entry in the application launcher will have an entry for updating that launches a little helper tool that uses AppImageUpdate internally. Just click the entry and have the tool search and apply updates.

### Remove AppImages from system
AppImageLauncher provides a simple to use update mechanism. After desktop integration, the context menu of the AppImage's entry in the application launcher, will have an entry for updating, that launches a little helper tool that uses AppImageUpdate internally. Just click the entry and have the tool search and apply updates.

Removing integrated AppImages is pretty simple, too. Similar to updating AppImages, you will find an entry in the context menu in the application launcher that triggers a removal tool. You will be asked to confirm the removal. If you choose to do so, the desktop integration is undone, and the file is removed from your system.
### Removal of AppImages from system

Removing integrated AppImages is pretty simple too. Similar to updating AppImages, you'll find an entry in the context menu in the application launcher that triggers a removal tool. You will be asked to confirm the removal. If you choose to do so, the desktop integration is undone, and the file is removed from your system.

## Differences between regular and Lite version

Starting with version 1.4.0, there's an edition of AppImageLauncher called *Lite*. AppImageLauncher Lite is pretty much the best of AppImageLauncher you can get without having root access to your computer. AppImageLauncher Lite is shipped as an AppImage that can be installed by a user from the command line, e.g. by calling `./appimagelauncher-lite...AppImage install`. The AppImage integrates itself in the users' home directory then.

**Please note that AppImageLauncher Lite is relatively new and isn't as well tested as the regular packages. Also it is highly recommended to go with the traditional packages *if possible*, as they provide many more features and provide a much better overall experience.**


## About the project

AppImages and Linux desktops, that's two things which don't work together very well currently. Since AppImages are normal executables, it'd suffice if desktop environments like KDE, GNOME, Xfce, ... would assist users in making those files executable, but as we learned recently, some desktop environments consider this a security risk, and want to force users to use app stores.

Being executable isn't really all that is needed to provide a good desktop experience. AppImages should be accessible from the application menus and launchers. This so-called "desktop integration" can't be provided by the AppImages themselves even though some AppImages ship with a "desktop integration script" prompting the user to integrate the AppImages, as there's too many impliciations that require an external software, especially regarding the cleanup and removal of AppImages. Also, if applications are simply made executable, they're still spread all over the users' personal files and folders. The average user doesn't necessarily like a Downloads directory that is full of AppImages with cryptic filenames.

Therefore, new, system-side solutions have been developed to perform the desktop integration. The oldest available solution is [appimaged](https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit), a daemon users can install that performs everything in the background, automagically, without notifying the user in any way. It scans a predefined set of directories including `~/Downloads` and `~/.bin`, makes AppImages which are found executable and performs the desktop integration. This is rather inefficient, as appimaged's operations and monitoring produce a lot of file I/O. Also, many users don't like the lack of control.
Before AppImageLauncher, AppImages and Linux desktops were two things that didn't integrate very well. Because that integration couldn’t be provided by the AppImages themselves, distributors later tried to fix that issue by providing desktop integration scripts with the AppImage. The decentralized nature of all these varied post-install scripts that managed integration, cleanup, and removal of AppImages, was not ideal for a lot of users.

A new solution for native AppImage support has been developed: AppImageLauncher. AppImageLauncher integrates deeply in the system and intercepts all attempts to open an AppImage, becoming the first instance to handle all AppImage invocations.
The oldest available solution is [appimaged](https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit), a daemon, which performs everything in the background, without notifying the user in any way. It scans a predefined set of directories including `~/Downloads` and `~/.bin`, and then performs desktop integration with AppImages that were found to be executable. This is rather inefficient as appimaged's operations and monitoring, produce a lot of file I/O. Also, many users don't like the lack of control.

Being the launcher for AppImages, AppImageLauncher can control how the system treats AppImages. It can perform the desktop integration, AppImage removal (also called "uninstallation" sometimes, but as AppImages are not really installed, this term doesn't fit very well), and could be used for many other tasks in the future, like update checks and alike.
Since then, AppImageLauncher was developed. It is a newer, elegant system-side solution for native AppImage support. Being a launcher for AppImages, AppImageLauncher can control how the system treats AppImages; it integrates deeply in the system and intercepts all attempts to open an AppImage, becoming the first instance to handle all AppImage invocations.
With the launcher, the executable AppImage issue was simplified, AppImages became easily accessible from the application menus/launchers, plus updating and removing AppImages became hassle free.


## Articles about AppImageLauncher
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -95,7 +87,7 @@ The installation of packages on systems with a set of packages similar to one of

Manjaro and Netrunner Rolling users can install AppImageLauncher with a distribution-provided package called `appimagelauncher`.

Arch Linux, Manjaro, Antergos and Netrunner Rolling users can use AUR to install AppImageLauncher by installing [appimagelauncher-git](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/appimagelauncher-git) (thanks @NuLogicSystems for setting up the build).
Arch Linux, Manjaro, and Netrunner Rolling users can use AUR to install AppImageLauncher by installing [appimagelauncher-git](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/appimagelauncher-git) (thanks @NuLogicSystems for setting up the build).

Other systems derived from the listed ones, such as for instance Linux Mint (Ubuntu), should support AppImageLauncher as well. If they don't, please don't hesitate to create an issue on GitHub.

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