Useful Linux commands and tricks to solve common problems

Table of Contents

• Only one monitor is working
• Create shortcut for AppImage

Only one monitor is working

When you update your kernel or install a new Linux distribution, it’s possible that the NVIDIA driver you were using needs to be reinstalled or updated.

Reinstall or Update NVIDIA Driver. 1.Remove the current driver

sudo apt purge nvidia*

2.Add the NVIDIA PPA (if not already added)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt update

3.Install the recommended driver for your GPU

sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

4.Reboot your system

sudo reboot

Create shortcut for AppImage

AppImage is a packaging format that simplifies software distribution on Linux systems. Today, we are going to take a look at how to create a shortcut for an AppImage on Ubuntu.

To begin with, open a terminal and use the cd command to go to the directory where the AppImage file is located. Then, we have to create a Desktop Entry File. Desktop entry files have a .desktop extension and contain information about the application. We can use a text editor like vim or gedit to create one:

vim myapp.desktop

Remember to replace myapp.desktop with a name for the desktop entry file.

Add details like application name, executable path, icon path, etc to the file. For example:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=MyApp
Exec=/path/to/our_appimage_file
Icon=/path/to/icon_file

We have to replace /path/to/our_appimage_file with the actual path to the AppImage file and /path/to/icon_file with the desired icon file’s path.

Then, save the desktop entry file and exit the text editor. At this point, use the chmod command to make the desktop entry file executable:

chmod +x myapp.desktop

To make sure the application appears in the application menu, move the desktop entry file to the ~/.local/share/applications/ directory:

mv myapp.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/

Finally, update the desktop database so that the system recognizes the new desktop entry:

update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/

What if after an update, the name of the application is changed?

Step 1: Create a Symlink to the Latest AppImage

Run the following command:

Step 2: Update Your .desktop File```bash #use Cursor IDE as an example

ln -sf ~/Downloads/cursor-*.AppImage ~/Downloads/Cursor.AppImage

This will create (or update) a symlink named Cursor.AppImage that always points to the most recent version.

Step 2: Update Your .desktop File

Modify your cursor.desktop file (located at ~/.local/share/applications/cursor.desktop) so that it points to the symlink instead of the actual AppImage:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Cursor
Exec=/home/lizeren/Downloads/Cursor.AppImage
Icon=/home/lizeren/Downloads/cursor.png

refresh the desktop database:

update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/

Step 3: Run This Command After Updating the AppImage

Each time you download a new version of Cursor.AppImage into ~/Downloads, just run:

ln -sf ~/Downloads/cursor-*.AppImage ~/Downloads/Cursor.AppImage

This will update the symlink so that the shortcut keeps working without needing to edit the .desktop file. source: How to Create a Shortcut for an AppImage on Ubuntu