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nix-config

Managing Desktop Entries

This guide explains how to manage custom desktop application launchers and how to hide unwanted shortcuts from application runners (such as Noctalia) via home/misc/.

Architecture & Configuration Files

  • add-desktop-entry.nix: Declares custom .desktop entries (such as web application wrappers like LINE).
  • hide-desktop-entry.nix: Provides a two-tier mechanism to suppress unwanted application icons.

Two-Tier Hiding Mechanism

Different applications deploy .desktop files into different XDG system and user paths. To account for this, hiding is implemented in two tiers:

Tier 1: appsToHide (Standard / Home Manager)

For standard NixOS system packages and Home Manager applications whose .desktop files live in /run/current-system/sw/share/applications/ or the user profile.

Adding an entry name to appsToHide generates a shadow entry with OnlyShowIn = "X-None;" via Home Manager’s xdg.desktopEntries to hide it from desktop application launchers (like Noctalia):

appsToHide = [
  "btop"
  "mpv"
  "qimgv"
  "foot"
  # ...
];

Tier 2: annoyingApps (Forced User-Level Override)

Some external runtimes (such as Waydroid or Steam) write .desktop files directly into ~/.local/share/applications/. Because files in ~/.local/share/applications/ have higher XDG precedence than /run/current-system, standard Home Manager shadowing cannot override them.

For these stubborn entries, add the identifier (without .desktop) to annoyingApps. It uses Home Manager’s home.file with force = true to overwrite ~/.local/share/applications/<name>.desktop with NoDisplay=true and Hidden=true:

annoyingApps = [
  "rofi"
  "rofi-theme-selector"
  "waydroid.com.android.vending"
];

Finding Desktop Entry Names

Desktop entries often use Reverse-DNS names that differ from their binary name or friendly title (e.g., Amberol is io.bassi.Amberol.desktop, Ark is org.kde.ark.desktop).

Method 1: Search by Filename

Search across the system profile, Home Manager profile, and local directories simultaneously:

Terminal window
find /run/current-system/sw/share/applications \
     /etc/profiles/per-user/$USER/share/applications \
     ~/.local/share/applications \
     -name "*<app-name>*.desktop" 2>/dev/null

Or query specific directories:

  1. System packages (environment.systemPackages):
    Terminal window
    ls /run/current-system/sw/share/applications | grep -i <app-name>
  2. Home Manager packages (home.packages):
    Terminal window
    ls /etc/profiles/per-user/$USER/share/applications | grep -i <app-name>
  3. User-level runtimes (Waydroid, Flatpak, local installs):
    Terminal window
    ls ~/.local/share/applications | grep -i <app-name>

Method 2: Search by Launcher Display Title

If you only know the friendly name displayed in your launcher (e.g. “Amberol” or “Archive Manager”), search for the Name= field inside all .desktop files:

Terminal window
grep -rn -i "^Name=<Display Name>" \
  /run/current-system/sw/share/applications \
  /etc/profiles/per-user/$USER/share/applications \
  ~/.local/share/applications 2>/dev/null

Applying the Entry Name

Take the matched filename excluding .desktop:

  • /etc/profiles/per-user/$USER/share/applications/io.bassi.Amberol.desktop → "io.bassi.Amberol"
  • /run/current-system/sw/share/applications/org.kde.ark.desktop → "org.kde.ark"

Add that exact string to appsToHide in home/misc/hide-desktop-entry.nix, or to annoyingApps if it persists.