{"id":43380,"date":"2022-11-28T13:43:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T13:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/?p=43380"},"modified":"2024-05-24T12:20:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T12:20:40","slug":"hide-app-icon-ubuntu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/2022\/11\/hide-app-icon-ubuntu\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Hide Your App Icon in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/desktop-icon-no.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-43381\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/desktop-icon-no-250x250.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/desktop-icon-no-250x250.webp 250w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/desktop-icon-no-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/desktop-icon-no-600x600.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/desktop-icon-no-768x768.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/desktop-icon-no.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Got an application, but you want to make it in-visible from start menu, app grid, app launcher and dock? Here&#8217;s how to do the trick in Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, though it should also work in most other Linux.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s easy to do the trick by adding a rule into the &#8216;.desktop&#8217; file for that application. It&#8217;s:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><code>NoDisplay=true<\/code> &#8211; hide app icon from app launcher, but still visible from associated files&#8217; &#8220;Open With&#8221; dialog.<\/li>\n<li><code>Hidden=true<\/code> &#8211; complete hide the app, unless launching from command line.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For GNOME, the default desktop environment for Ubuntu, there&#8217;s also an extension can do the job by adding option to app icon&#8217;s right-click menu.<\/p>\n<h3>Method 1: Hide App Icon by Configuring the .desktop Shortcut file<\/h3>\n<p><b>1. Locate the .desktop shortcut file<\/b><\/p>\n<p>First, you have to find out where and the file-name of the shortcut file for your application.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To do so, press <b>Ctrl+Alt+T<\/b> on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, run command to install plocate (or <b>mlocate<\/b> for Ubuntu 20.04):\n<pre>sudo apt install plocate &amp;&amp; sudo updatedb<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Then, run command to locate the shortcut file for your app (mpv for example):\n<pre>locate \"*mpv*desktop\"<\/pre>\n<p><i>In this command, it will output any file-name that contains &#8220;<strong>mpv<\/strong>&#8221; (change the keyword depends on your app name) in between, and ends with &#8216;desktop&#8217;.<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/plocate-jammy.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-44862\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/plocate-jammy-600x205.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/plocate-jammy-600x205.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/plocate-jammy-300x103.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/plocate-jammy-768x263.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/plocate-jammy.webp 822w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The command may output multiple files, choose one according to file PATH:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>for native <b>.deb<\/b> apps, the shortcut files are usually installed to:\n<ul>\n<li><code>\/usr\/share\/applications<\/code><\/li>\n<li><code>\/usr\/local\/share\/applications<\/code><\/li>\n<li>or <code>.local\/share\/applications<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>for Snap apps, looking for <code>\/var\/lib\/snapd\/desktop\/applications<\/code> directory.<\/li>\n<li>for Flatpak apps, they are usually installed to:\n<ul>\n<li><code>\/var\/lib\/flatpak\/exports\/share\/applications\/<\/code><\/li>\n<li>or <code>.local\/share\/flatpak\/exports\/share\/applications\/<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>2. One command to hide the app icon<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Once you found out the app shortcut file, hide it simply by running command:<\/p>\n<pre>sudo desktop-file-edit --set-key=NoDisplay --set-value=true \/usr\/share\/applications\/mpv.desktop<\/pre>\n<p>In last command:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>replace <b>NoDisplay<\/b> with <b>Hidden<\/b> to also hide it from &#8216;Open With&#8217; dialog.<\/li>\n<li>replace &#8220;<i>\/usr\/share\/applications\/mpv.desktop<\/i>&#8221; according to last step.<\/li>\n<li>skip <code>sudo<\/code> for the shortcut located in <code>.local\/<\/code> sub-directories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-mpv.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-44863\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-mpv-600x367.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-mpv-600x367.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-mpv-300x183.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-mpv-768x469.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-mpv.webp 813w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Besides using <code>desktop-file-edit<\/code><\/b> command, you may edit the shortcut file using your favorite text editor, for example, run:<\/p>\n<pre>sudo gedit \/usr\/share\/applications\/mpv.desktop<\/pre>\n<p>Replace <code>gedit<\/code> with <code>gnome-text-editor<\/code> for 24.04. Then, add either <b>NoDisplay=true<\/b> or <b>Hidden=true<\/b> under &#8220;[Desktop Entry]&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/edit-add-nodisplay.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-44864\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/edit-add-nodisplay-600x301.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/edit-add-nodisplay-600x301.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/edit-add-nodisplay-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/edit-add-nodisplay-768x385.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/edit-add-nodisplay.webp 996w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The app icon should disappear a few seconds later. If NOT, try refreshing the database by running command <code>sudo update-desktop-database<\/code>.<\/p>\n<h3>Step 2: Use Extension to Hide App Icon (GNOME Only)<\/h3>\n<p>For <b>Ubuntu 22.04<\/b>, <b>Ubuntu 24.04<\/b>, and other Linux with GNOME 42 and higher, there&#8217;s an extension to make the process easier.<\/p>\n<p>1. First, search for and install &#8220;<b>Extension Manager<\/b>&#8221; from either Ubuntu Software or App Center.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_44419\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/extension-manager-inappcenter.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-44419\" class=\"size-large wp-image-44419\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/extension-manager-inappcenter-600x425.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/extension-manager-inappcenter-600x425.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/extension-manager-inappcenter-300x212.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/extension-manager-inappcenter-768x544.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/extension-manager-inappcenter.webp 989w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-44419\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Install Extension Manager in Ubuntu Software\/App Center<\/p><\/div>\n<p>2. Then, launch &#8220;Extension Manager&#8221;. Navigate to &#8220;Browse&#8221; tab, then search &amp; install &#8220;App Hider&#8221; extension.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-em.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-44866\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-em-600x448.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-em-600x448.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-em-300x224.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-em-768x573.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-em.webp 920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i>Other Linux can go to <a href=\"https:\/\/extensions.gnome.org\/extension\/5895\/app-hider\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">extension web page<\/a>, and use ON\/OFF switch to install it<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>3. After installation, right-click on desired app icon in the &#8220;Show Applications&#8221; screen and select &#8220;hide&#8221;.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_44865\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-44865\" class=\"size-large wp-image-44865\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps-600x338.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps-600x338.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps-1320x743.webp 1320w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hide-apps.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-44865\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Right-click app icon to hide<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For choice, user can launch &#8220;Gnome Extensions&#8221; or &#8220;Extensions Manager&#8221; to open the <i>Preferences<\/i> dialog. There, it lists all hidden apps as well as un-hide options.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-prefs.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-44867\" src=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-prefs-600x380.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-prefs-600x380.webp 600w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-prefs-300x190.webp 300w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-prefs-768x486.webp 768w, https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/app-hider-prefs.webp 921w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Got an application, but you want to make it in-visible from start menu, app grid, app launcher and dock? Here&#8217;s how to do the trick in Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, though it should also work in most other Linux. It&#8217;s easy to do the trick by adding a rule into the &#8216;.desktop&#8217; file [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[208],"class_list":["post-43380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-howtos","tag-shortcut"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}