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Install an AppImage on Ubuntu

Run an AppImage, move it somewhere permanent, and add it to the app menu.

What an AppImage is

An AppImage is a single executable application file. It does not need to be installed through APT.

Use the publisher’s official download page. An AppImage can run code as your user account, so treat it like any other downloaded executable.

1. Run it from the terminal

Open Terminal and go to Downloads:

cd ~/Downloads
ls -lh *.AppImage

Make the file executable and run it. Replace the filename with the exact one you downloaded:

chmod +x Example.AppImage
./Example.AppImage

If the name contains spaces, either quote it or use tab completion:

chmod +x "Example App.AppImage"
./"Example App.AppImage"

2. Run it from Files

  1. Right-click the AppImage and open Properties.
  2. Open the Permissions section.
  3. Enable the option that allows the file to run as a program.
  4. Close Properties and double-click the AppImage.

The wording varies slightly between GNOME Files, Dolphin, Nemo, and other file managers.

3. Move it out of Downloads

Downloads is easy to clean accidentally. A simple per-user location is ~/Applications:

mkdir -p ~/Applications
mv ~/Downloads/Example.AppImage ~/Applications/
chmod +x ~/Applications/Example.AppImage

You do not need sudo for a program only your account uses.

4. Add it to the application menu

Create a desktop entry:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications
nano ~/.local/share/applications/example-appimage.desktop

Paste this and change the name and path:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Example App
Comment=Run Example AppImage
Exec=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/Applications/Example.AppImage
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Utility;

Save the file, then make it executable:

chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/example-appimage.desktop

Log out and back in if the launcher does not appear immediately. Some AppImages also offer desktop integration themselves when first opened.

Do not put ~ in the Exec line. Desktop entries do not reliably expand it. Use the full path beginning with /home/....

5. Add an icon later

If the publisher provides a PNG or SVG icon, store it in a stable location such as ~/.local/share/icons and add this line to the desktop entry:

Icon=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/share/icons/example.svg

The launcher works without an Icon line, so get the application running before spending time on appearance.

6. Fix the common FUSE error

Some AppImages need FUSE compatibility support. When the terminal specifically says that FUSE is missing, use the AppImage project’s troubleshooting page for your distribution and release. Package names differ between Ubuntu versions, so avoid blindly installing an old package name from a random post.

You can still inspect many AppImages by extracting them:

./Example.AppImage --appimage-extract
ls -la squashfs-root

Extraction is mainly a troubleshooting tool. It is not the cleanest everyday way to run the application.

7. Update or remove it

Unless the application includes its own updater, updating usually means downloading the new AppImage and replacing the old file. Keep the filename used by the desktop entry, or update the Exec= path.

To remove the app, delete the AppImage and its desktop entry:

rm ~/Applications/Example.AppImage
rm ~/.local/share/applications/example-appimage.desktop

Official sources