.DESKTOP File Format – Syntax and keys

Syntax

• The file is UTF-8 text, lines separated by line feeds; case is significant everywhere (section 3). Lines starting # and blank lines are comments, which writers should keep.
• A group header is [name]; group names may use any ASCII character except [, ] and control characters, and no two groups may share a name. The [Desktop Entry] group is required, and only comments may come before it.
• Entries are Key=Value; spaces before and after the = are ignored. Keys are made of A–Z, a–z, 0–9 and -, and may appear only once in a group. Programs that rewrite the file must keep keys they do not know.

In string, localestring and iconstring values \s, \n, \t, \r and \\ stand for space, newline, tab, carriage return and backslash. Keys that take several values separate them with ; (a literal semicolon is \;); the list may end with a ;, and must if its last value is empty.

Translations

A localestring or iconstring key may be followed by a locale in brackets: Name[fr]=Éditeur de texte; the key must then also be present without one (section 5). The locale is lang_COUNTRY.ENCODING@MODIFIER, any part but lang optional, and is matched against LC_MESSAGES with the encoding ignored. For a user in sr_YU@Latn, a program looks for Name[sr_YU@Latn], then Name[sr_YU], then Name[sr@Latn], then Name[sr], then Name. A locale without a country or modifier never matches keys that have one.

Keys

Applies to: A Application, L Link, D Directory.

Keys of one’s own start with X- and a product name, such as X-NewDesktop-Foo; or they go in a group of their own named like [X-PRODUCT GROUPNAME], where any key names may be used (section 12).

Exec

The command and its arguments, separated by spaces. Field codes are replaced when the program is started:

• At most one of %f, %F, %u, %U; %F, %U and %i must be whole arguments; field codes must not be inside quotes. Any other % code makes the line invalid.
• An argument with a space or one of " ' \ > < ~ | & ; $ * ? # ( ) or a backtick is put in double quotes, inside which ", `, $ and \ are escaped with a backslash. Because the string escapes apply first, a backslash in a quoted argument is written as four backslashes in the file.

Additional actions

An Application entry may list action IDs, written like key names, in Actions; each has a group [Desktop Action id] (section 11). Its Name (localestring) is required, or the action is ignored; Icon is optional; Exec is required unless the main group sets DBusActivatable=true. A group for an ID not listed in Actions is ignored. Launchers should offer the actions within the application’s context, for example as a submenu (“quicklists” or “jumplists”).

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Browser
Exec=browser %u
Actions=new-window;

[Desktop Action new-window]
Name=New Window
Exec=browser --new-window