AppImage Install

A shell script to install .AppImage applications on any Linux system. Moves the AppImage to a dedicated folder, sets executable permissions, extracts the icon, and creates a .desktop launcher for desktop environment integration (application menus, launchers, etc).

Features

• Moves .AppImage files to ~/AppImages
• Cleans up the display name automatically (strips version numbers, arch suffixes)
• Sets executable permissions
• Extracts the app icon (if found)
• Creates a .desktop file for menu integration
• Auto-detects whether appimage-run is needed (NixOS and similar systems)
• OS-aware install hints when optional dependencies are missing

Requirements

• bash
• 7z or bsdtar — for icon extraction (optional but recommended)
• appimage-run — auto-detected; required on NixOS and systems without a standard dynamic linker

Installation

Option 1: Nix Flake (recommended for NixOS/Nix users)

Direct install from GitHub:

nix profile install github:rxtsel/appimage-install --no-write-lock-file

Run without installing:

nix run github:rxtsel/appimage-install -- /path/to/your-app.AppImage

Local development:

git clone https://github.com/rxtsel/appimage-install
cd appimage-install
nix develop        # enter shell with all dependencies
nix run . -- /path/to/your-app.AppImage

Home Manager (home.nix):

{
  inputs.appimage-install.url = "github:rxtsel/appimage-install";

  home.packages = [
    inputs.appimage-install.packages.${system}.default
  ];
}

NixOS system (configuration.nix):

{
  environment.systemPackages = [
    inputs.appimage-install.packages.${system}.default
  ];
}

Option 2: Traditional (any Linux distribution)

git clone https://github.com/rxtsel/appimage-install
cd appimage-install
chmod +x appimage-install.sh
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
cp appimage-install.sh ~/.local/bin/appimage-install

Ensure ~/.local/bin is in your $PATH:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Install dependencies for icon extraction (optional):

Distro	Command
NixOS	nix profile install nixpkgs#p7zip
Arch	sudo pacman -S p7zip
Debian/Ubuntu	sudo apt install p7zip-full
Fedora	sudo dnf install p7zip

Usage

appimage-install /path/to/your-app.AppImage

You will be prompted for the display name (pre-filled with a cleaned-up version of the filename), and optionally to open the .desktop file in your editor.

Example

appimage-install ~/Downloads/Obsidian-1.5.0.AppImage
# → suggests "Obsidian" as the display name

AppImage Installer
──────────────────

[?]      Application name (for system menus) [Obsidian]:

[*]      Name     : Obsidian
[*]      ID       : obsidian
[*]      AppImage : /home/user/AppImages/obsidian.AppImage
[*]      Desktop  : /home/user/.local/share/applications/obsidian.desktop

[OK]     Moved to: /home/user/AppImages/obsidian.AppImage
[OK]     Icon saved: /home/user/.local/share/icons/obsidian.png
[OK]     .desktop created: /home/user/.local/share/applications/obsidian.desktop

[?]      Open the .desktop file in your editor? [y/N]

[OK]     Obsidian installed and integrated successfully.

Files created

Path	Description
~/AppImages/<id>.AppImage	The AppImage, renamed by display name
~/.local/share/icons/<id>.png	Extracted icon
~/.local/share/applications/<id>.desktop	Desktop launcher