In a very odd situation, sometimes, we need to use a custom binary application to run on our Linux system that doesn't exist in any repository. Let's say, for example, we want to try and install the latest nightly build of Firefox Web Browser.
Traditionally, you can easily extract and execute the binary manually by clicking it. But how about install it locally on your user desktop menu? It is easy to "install" your custom binary on your local user folder.
As an example, I want to make the shortcut for Firefox Nightly on my user menu. Here are the steps:
1. Download the binary
You can download the latest Firefox binary from its official web page. The binary is compressed as .tar.bz2 format.
2. Extract the binary
Using your favorite file manager, right click at the .tar.bz2, and choose Extract. You will get a folder named firefox.
3. Install on your home directory
Either use file manager or by command line, put the extracted folder firefox into /home/user/.local/bin
mkdir ~/.local/bin
mv firefox ~/.local/bin
4. Create the shortcut
Using your favorite text editor, create a file named nightly.desktop contains:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Nightly Web Browser
Comment=Browse the World Wide Web
GenericName=Nightly Web Browser
Exec=/home/username/.local/bin/firefox/firefox
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Icon=firefox
Categories=GNOME;GTK;Network;WebBrowser;
Save the file.
5. Make the file executable
chmod +x nightly.desktop -v
6. Move the shortcut to your home directory
mkdir ~/.local/share/applications
mv nightly.desktop ~/.local/share/applications
7. Notes:
- Replace username with your username
- If you want to use a specific icon, put the icon in ~/.local/share/icons
mv youricon.png ~/.local/share/icons
Icon=youricon - If you want to make a global shortcut so other users can access, you can put the binary into /opt
sudo mv firefox /opt
Exec=/opt/firefox/firefox
and put the shortcut into /usr/share/applications
sudo mv nightly.desktop /usr/share/applications
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