Ubuntu-Desktop: Placement of icon under 'Accessories' in LXQt & how to move it under 'Programming'

[genidma]

Operating System/Distribution

• Ubuntu (Desktop): 24.04 LTS noble
• Desktop environment: LXQt

Installer

Version 3.3.12-linux2 (x64)

What happened?

Well, I am just sharing this. In case someone else also wishes to move the icon for the app:

• From under 'Accessories', whereby it is automatically populated as part of the install process
• And move it under 'Programming.' Where I personally feel that it belongs.

Steps taken to solve this issue

• Consult with an LLM (Large Language Model) offered by a leading provider in this space
• Go back and forth in order to solve the problem

Detailed steps are below

• I have only tested this under LXQt. Here's how to identify your desktop version for Linux. See the step below.
• Verify that your desktop environment is LXQt. You can do this by pressing 'Alt+F2' on your machine. Typing 'terminal' (without quotes). Opening the terminal by clicking on it or just hitting enter (Qterminal on LXQt). Once the terminal is up and running, type or copy and paste the following command

echo $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP

The terminal should return:

LXQt

• Post install link to official Readme, Click on the 'Start' menu/ Then hover your mouse pointer over 'Accessories'. The icon for 'Github Desktop' will appear under this menu
• If the condition outlined in this issue is met & the desktop environment has been verified (step above). You may then proceed with the following steps below
• Navigate to the /usr/share/applications folder. Type the following command in your terminal and hit enter
  cd /usr/share/applications
• The following step is optional: Verify that the github-desktop.desktop file exists
  ls -ltr |grep -i github
• Type the following command to start editing the file.
  sudo nano github-desktop.desktop
• Scroll down a bit with the down arrow key. Go to the line where it says: Categories
• The line will most likely indicate & to state the obvious, the entry in this line is controlling menu options. In particular, this is the line that is resulting into the app showing up under Accessories by default.
  Categories=Accessories;GNOME;GTK;
• Modify the line with the text in the following/next step. Refer to Chatgpt, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini or a standard search if you need assistance on how to use nano. You can always use another editor like vi. But nano seems to be an easier option for a lot of folks. If this is your first time using nano, you basically use the arrow keys and modify contents based on your where cursor happens to be in the file. By default it starts at the beginning of the file.
• Coming back to the line and once the modifications have been made, that same line should now look like this.

Categories=Development;Programming;LXQt;GNOME;GTK;

• Changes suggested:
• • Accessories has been removed
• • Development and Programming have been added
• • GNOME & GTK have been left intact.

Notes:

• You can leave Development & GNOME here. In case you decide to switch desktop environments in the future.
• The order, does not matter. So I have been told.

Testing:

• Once the changes have been made. Do a CTRL+o (that's not a zero) to write the file to the disk. Then do a CTRL+x to exit out of the nano editor.
• Then enter the following command inside your terminal, below:
  sudo update-desktop-database
• The icon should stop showing up under Accessories. It will now start showing up under Programming. Note: If this didn't work, then logout of your session and then log back in.
• Test: Click on the Start menu, then go to Programming and click on Github Desktop in order to launch the application
• Bonus: To also have a link to the icon on the desktop, once you are hovering in the area above (Start Menu -> Programming -> Github Desktop). Instead of clicking on it, just hover over it and right click with your mouse. An option to 'Add to Desktop' will appear.

Conclusion

There you have it. The steps above should help you move the icon to the Programming menu (vs the previous, Accessories menu).

P.s: This is more to assist someone else who wishes to do the same. I am curious though, which line in the code generates the position whereby this particular line is generated in the config file here on my machine. It would be cool if secure LLMs could adjust these tweaks. But that's an idea for another day.

[genidma]

I am closing this item. As it's not really an issue. It's just to help someone else. Thank you.