r/linux4noobs • u/sudo_complex • Dec 31 '25
programs and apps What do you do for desktop apps?
I love my background and I love my theme, but the desktop apps do kinda ruin it for me it just SUUUUCKS but I also want a place to see all my icons easily.
I cant do the gnome thing where all my apps are under my desktop, that also sucks.
So, what do you all do??? Do you just put yr shit in folders???
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u/BigSlonker Dec 31 '25
i use rofi to launch apps and just don't have a desktop. you don't necessarily need a desktop to have a background like that; you can just use a compositor and an app launcher (like rofi)
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u/bubrascal Dec 31 '25
I use Gnome so... what desktop?
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u/sudo_complex Jan 03 '26
It just feels like an iphone
I like it on my laptop or tablet but it rubs me the wrong way on my daily driver.•
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u/rarsamx Dec 31 '25
My desktop is empty, files are in their respective folders. Well organized.
I've always found the desktop icons to be a mess.
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u/frobenius_Fq Dec 31 '25
my desktop does not have a single icon. how unhygenic!
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Dec 31 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ItsJoeMomma Dec 31 '25
I like to use icons as a shortcut to regularly used programs, but I keep them organized, many of them in folders. Seeing icons on someone's desktop doesn't bother me, unless it's seeing 50-75 icons all over the screen like in the picture above. You don't need a desktop icon for every single program on your computer. Like seriously, do you really need a NordVPN icon on your desktop? Just turn on your VPN, leave it on and forget about it. It shouldn't be something you have to click on every day.
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u/pooerh Dec 31 '25
I don't have app icons on my desktop because they're a Meta press away in my ulauncher, but I use desktop very heavily to keep track the files I currently work on. Save some shit in one app on the desktop, Meta+D, it's right here, right click, open in a different app, save, Meta+D, it's still there, ready for me.
The files stay on the desktop for a while, until I decide "shit that's too many, I'm getting lost in it,
mkdir ~/Documents/${date +%Y%m%d}, mv all the shit there, et voila, clean again.•
u/ap0r Dec 31 '25
I have icons in the desktop to display my software. Like a collection. I also Super+search+enter to run stuff. But a clean desktop is an empty computer.
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u/frobenius_Fq Jan 01 '26
I guess I have a bit more utilitarian a relationship with my machine. I love displaying my physical collection, but I use my laptop pretty much exclusively for terminal and web browser-based tools for my work, and keeping a clean environment feels, for whatever reason, more amenable to focus.
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u/ExortTrionisRektus Dec 31 '25
Exactly, last time I had stuff on my desktop was a long time ago when Red alert and GTA vice city were a thing
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u/thatguysjumpercables Ubuntu 24.04 Gnome DE Dec 31 '25
a long time ago when Red alert [was] a thing
Red Alert is evergreen, sir.
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u/sudo_complex Jan 03 '26
I wanna be like that too, but I am so scatterbrained I do kinda need shit in front of my face. I just wish there was a way to toggle if I see my desktop icons or not.
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u/frobenius_Fq Jan 03 '26
I guess one very hacky way to do this would be to make a single folder on your desktop containing all the icons then add a line to your rc.local to open your file browser to that folder every time you start up to force it in your face?
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u/Sir-Cellophane Dec 31 '25
My desktop is just a wallpaper with a digital clock/date widget in the centre. I have my taskbar hidden on the right edge of the screen. It pops out when I hover my mouse over it. It has my browser, Steam and Heroic pinned on it, as well as two Quick Launch widgets - one with game shortcuts and the other with productivity apps/secondary browsers/etc.
Nothing is visible but the wallpaper and clock unless you move the mouse to the screen edge, yet everything I need is available in only 1-2 clicks. It strikes a balance between minimalist aesthetic and convenience that gives my lazy but easily overstimulated heart peace.
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u/esanders09 Dec 31 '25
I'm just getting started, but I'm keeping my desktop empty and making shortcuts to launch all my apps I'll use (won't be that many), for example meta+F will open Firefox and meta+t opens the terminal.
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u/HeavyCaffeinate Jan 05 '26
You can pin apps to the taskbar and open them with Meta+Number from left to right (starting at 1)
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u/esanders09 Jan 05 '26
I took everything off my taskbar except the application launcher button, the clock, and the arrow on the right to access volume and wifi and that kind of stuff.
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u/chuggerguy Linux Mint 22.3 Zena | MATÉ Dec 31 '25
I don't use an actual background but I do like a few things on my desktop. My desktop is rarely visible unless I'm using it to do work and during those times a background image would only slow me down. (poor eyesight)
I put the things I use all the time in my panel. Things I use a lot but not often enough to warrant a spot in the panel go in favorites. Things I use less often, I leave in "All applications".
You've gotta do what works for you though. :)
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u/Malthammer Dec 31 '25
I have no need for the desktop or any app launchers on it. I hardly ever even see the desktop.
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u/muffinstatewide32 Dec 31 '25
revert to monkey and use the desktop folder how it was intended. as a window on your desktop with all your icons (the gnome way)
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u/Appropriate_Ad4818 Dec 31 '25 edited Apr 14 '26
My desktop has the bin, a folder for programs, a folder for games, a folder for work, and a .md files with commands. That's it.
My .desktop I keep in ~/.local/share/applications so the app finder can find them.
Anything I use regularly like my browser, thunar, discord and steam are pinned on my dock.
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u/Unique_Roll_6630 Dec 31 '25
I use gnome. When I want something I just hit super and start typing. Or I drag down to make my dock with the most used popped up. And I have the pop-extension to automatically tile my windows, so I almost never see the desktop.
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u/RC568 Dec 31 '25
Taskbar for programs that are always open, application menu favorites for less important programs
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u/AmySorawo Dec 31 '25
i leave it empty. i only use the panel, start menu, and the terminal for launching programs
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u/sudo_complex Jan 03 '26
That sounds cool in practice but my head is very empty and I am very often high so if I dont see my shit I will forget where it is, where I am, who I am and what im doing even at my computer
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u/Dommiiie Dec 31 '25
I also have not a single icon on my desktop.
A few things I regularly use are on the Panel and the rest i pull out whenever I need it. Doesn't take long.
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u/Emmalfal Dec 31 '25
Ditto. If I have to put a file on my desktop just temporarily, it stresses me out. I like my desktops naked.
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u/LesStrater Jan 07 '26
Yep, utilities I use several times a day are quick-launch on the panel, everything else in the menu.
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u/MindIsWillin Dec 31 '25
Oh brother, Linux users are generically allergic to desktop icons. Or to desktops entirely.
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u/ItsJoeMomma Dec 31 '25
Not me. I'll never give up my desktop icons. But I don't have several dozen icons all over my desktop, either.
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u/sudo_complex Jan 03 '26
I KNOWWW I DONT GET ITTT LMFAO
I dont want NO desktop icons I just wanna like. Idk make them 50% transparent or only there if I toggle them on! I want them I just also want them...... Hidden I guess
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u/Totally_Human927 Dec 31 '25
I have rofi hooked up to the Super+Space keybind, kinda like MacOS. I use Hyprland so I don't think I could even have files/icons on my desktop if I wanted to. If I need anything at all, just open rofi and type what I need.
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u/doglitbug Dec 31 '25
This is just the digital representation of that drawer we all have in the kitchen
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u/Emmalfal Dec 31 '25
Right? There are 10,000 random items in there but never the item you're actively looking for.
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u/ItsJoeMomma Dec 31 '25
And keys which don't go to anything and you haven't used in years but you're afraid to throw out just in case they go to something.
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u/Vladislav20007 Dec 31 '25
all the people i've seen either isi a TM like i3 or sway(which don't even have an actual desktop) or a WM like kde which is always empty.
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u/Due-Author631 Dec 31 '25
I haven't used a desktop since at least 2009 or so. Taskbar or super key + search
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u/Howwasthatdoneagain Dec 31 '25
I use XFCE and create panels that hide until i mouseover them. No icons on desktop except Home folder and Rubbish
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u/Reason7322 Dec 31 '25
I have 0 icons on my desktop.
Anytime i want to launch something im using an application launcher called rofi
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u/nisper_ia Debian Dec 31 '25
I have three apps pinned to my dock (Firefox, Konsole, and Dolphin, although I plan to remove the terminal and replace it with Telegram). The other important ones are in the applications menu.
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u/Both_Love_438 Dec 31 '25
Use a launcher. I use elephant + walker, some people use rofi, others dmenu, KDE has krunner. There's plenty of good customizable options, and you can launch any app from the keyboard, far superior to Windows' workflow where most ppl have like 300 apps, directories, and random files all over the desktop, it's so dysfunctional and looks so ugly. Even on Windows, I leave my desktop empty and use the start menu to launch anything I need.
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u/Amazing-Ish Dec 31 '25
On KDE, I just turn off all folders and files on my desktop and access them from the Desktop folder on Dolphin.
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u/fultonchain Dec 31 '25
I use an app launcher and keybindings for the most commonly used. Terminal, browser, file manager, Steam, VSCode and such are just Super+something.
I suppose a dock is common, but I haven't seen a desktop icon in years. Your screenshot is surprisingly jarring and I don't like it.
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u/buttsex_itis Dec 31 '25
No desktop apps for me I've got my browser, steam and a few other things pinned to the task bar this looks like my 60 year old bosses work desktop.
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u/IGOREK_Belarus Dec 31 '25
If you on KDE Plasma, you can try using Launchpad Plasma (Plasma 6 version)
If not, you can try cairo-dock, latte-dock or an application launcher (Rofi, wofi for Wayland)
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u/sudo_complex Jan 03 '26
THGANK YOU SO MUCH this is exactly what im looking for!
too bad im not on kde,,,
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u/IGOREK_Belarus Jan 03 '26
You're welcome :3
There is also a
plankwhich looks nice on GNOME/GTK-based environments
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Dec 31 '25
[deleted]
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u/Starkoman Dec 31 '25
Or a future psychiatric inpatient.
That mess has would give anyone mind-scramble within months. It’s unliveable with (!).
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u/ya_Bob_Jonez Dec 31 '25
I don't have icons on my desktop, maybe sometimes only temporary files. It's so much more efficient (for me, at least) to just type a few letters and press Enter than skim through all the icons to find the app I need. For that rare software that is either portable or needs Wine, I have just created .desktop files myself, so they also can be launched from the menu/search.
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u/WorkingMansGarbage Dec 31 '25
I've noticed there's a lot of people who hold very visible 'nerd pride' about not having icons on their desktop. It's the same as people who make jokes about light mode.
I admittedly followed that idea for a while and kept zero to few icons on my desktop ; I rarely used them anyway, since I open most things through the app launcher(/start menu). Nowadays, I don't care as much. I don't keep app icons, but I do use my desktop the same way as my actual physical desk: I use it to keep miscellaneous files I've been doing things with and don't have sorted elsewhere. It's practical: whenever I open my computer, I'm immediately shown things I've got ongoing business with, and it gives me a visual method of organizing them and working with them. When I'm done with them, I sort them into an appropriate place in my home directory, move them to my ~/Archives folder if there's none, or just delete them.
Sidenote: everyone who uses KDE Plasma like I do always talks about how good KRunner is and how it's a game changer, but I've tried using it and I've never really seen the point over the stock app launcher. I'm pretty sure it uses the same search modules and is prone to the same weird results you can sometimes get in some searches, but in my experience, the stock app launcher is faster and more visual. I'd love to know what I'm missing about it if anything?
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u/Putrid-Geologist6422 Arch BTW, oh yeah and Debian, and Mint, and Kali, and Steam OS Dec 31 '25
i just dont have apps on my desktop, i just press super and type in the first couple letters of the app i want and it appears
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u/toolsavvy Dec 31 '25
You could create 2 workspaces: one with empty desktop and the other for your icons.
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u/dumbasPL Dec 31 '25
The answer is simple, you don't. Disable desktop icons and just use your launcher. Once you get used to it, it's even faster than desktop icons.
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u/Ok-Relationship8704 Dec 31 '25
Eww That's nasty!
I just use a launcher, fuzzel is the one Im using now has some cool features.
I used dmenu for years, rofi is pretty popular.
you can do all sorts of things with them too
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u/ChocolateDonut36 Dec 31 '25
unlike w*ndows, the apps menu is everything you need, remove all desktop icons, put your most used apps on the panel or mark them as favorite, and everything else can be found into the apps menu.
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u/EnolaNek Dec 31 '25
Personally, I have a few frequently used apps pinned to my taskbar. The rest, I just call from the terminal. (I use plasma)
If you want something GUI based that still keeps your desktop clean, not to beat a dead horse, but my suggestion would be using the windows button menu, or maybe having a single folder with your apps in it.
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u/just_omeone Dec 31 '25
I only have like 5 apps on my desktop, the rest I open through terminal... Usually I only have appimage apps on the desktop.🤷
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u/Max-P Dec 31 '25
On KDE, I just have a couple folders pinned to my various panels. They pop out as panel menus so I can quickly access the files in it.
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u/krunkonkaviar369 Dec 31 '25
I don't use them. I use the terminal mostly, or thunar, or dmenu. With dmenu, you can just hotkey a search bar and type the name of the app, and it will even narrow the search down as you type.
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u/Jeesup Dec 31 '25
Most of the time I leave my destkop empty, but on one laptop I've left basic icons for Home and Trash Bin. Both sits in the corner and because either I am playing or surfing through web I do not see my desktop.(Laptop in question runs Lubuntu right now, but I am thinking of switching to something different).
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u/RoRo_Rumba Dec 31 '25
I really like the Pop_Os (gnome, not cosmic) application menu you can pull up I just have everything in there.
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u/random_goofy Dec 31 '25
I use Rofi so yeah I dont have any icons on my desktop. Only 3 apps on the pinned taskbar too, just wezterm, dolphin, and librewolf.
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u/Yumikoneko Dec 31 '25
A few months ago I realized that I literally do not ever click on desktop apps. I only use the taskbar for apps I open and close frequently and I search for all other programs via the app launcher or KRunner (something like a lightweight everything-search on Plasma) because it's way faster to type and select than to switch to desktop.
So I just removed everything from my desktop and now it's basically a slideshow for pretty wallpapers.
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u/QuickSilver010 Debian Dec 31 '25
I just use rofi and call it a day. If you must have icons instead of an application launcher, kde's desktop is pretty cool. You can preview folder content by clicking the top left corner of a folder. So just organise your desktop icons into a few folders.
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u/I_yap_too-much Riced AF Fedora Dec 31 '25
I keep everything on the taskbar so i can use my shortcut Super+[number of app on the dock] and the rest are accessible through searching and pressing enter. I hate getting my hand off my keyboard when I can just keep it there, so I rely on a lot of keyboard shortcuts for basic mouse tasks. I have shortcuts to my most used apps like super+b for browser, ctrl+alt+t for terminal, super+enter for my music player and immediately starting a song, and a bunch more.
I don't gain much "efficiency" from it, after all I'm just a dude that plays games and wants to be fast with opening them. I love setting them up and using them and feeling the efficiency I'm wasting though.
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u/SuchyYT Possibly a furry Dec 31 '25
What's Furcadia... Puance? Dance? What's that? The green paw icon
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u/HereticZed Dec 31 '25
I use Gnome but I have the Desktop Icons NG extension, which allows you to use the desktop normally.
I think its ridiculous for Linux to have a desktop folder & the concept of a desktop, but not allow it to be used. It is prime real-estate to enable convenient workflow.
However, your screenshot is 🤮.
You should be banned from using a desktop for 30 days to teach you a lesson & sent to your room to think about what you've done - ha ha
I keep 10 apps in my intellihide DOCK. (it always shows, but hides for full-screen apps. When hidden it reveals when you move the mouse to that area)
I have 2 or 3 common folder shortcuts on the desktop along with HOME, External drives & Wastebasket.
I use the desktop for keeping in-progress files - perhaps a text note i need to refer to, or some photos i need to crop for a online post & then intend to delete. Temp files that will be sorted or deleted soon. They act as reminders in the middle of the screen. I don't allow it to get out of control, so no more than 5.
If I move the mouse to the bottom-right corner of the screen (hot-corner) the APP screen shows with all apps - this is so easy to just move the mouse, you dont even need to click, its no effort.
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u/Vaxtez Mint Dec 31 '25
I just have a blank desktop. If I want to open a program, i'll just type it into ulauncher or have it pinned into my dock
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u/No_Waltz_3445 Dec 31 '25
Dont have any. I usually only use the same 4 apps (firefox, steam, spotify, modrinth). I also have that thing not visible whatever its called (on windows it would be the windows button) and have superkey mapped to the search bar
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u/neanderthaltodd Dec 31 '25
I run no desktop icons. I favourite my most common used programs, have hotkeys for others, and the krunner for searching my system for anything not fav'd or hotkey'd
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u/Neptune766 Dec 31 '25
when using windows i just had 2 folders, games and other shit (other shit disguised as a folder called visual studio code and had it's icon, and the game folder disguised as osu! (a game) with osu!'s icon.)
when i switched to Linux i completely stopped using the desktop lol
i can hit super and type the name of whatever i want to open faster than using a mouse
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u/Ok-Priority-7303 Dec 31 '25
Frequently use apps (5) are pinned to the task bar. I find most wallpapers distracting and keep it simple - monochrome picture or a plain gradient.
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u/Overly_confused Dec 31 '25
I used to have a folder called desktop on my desktop and keep everything in that folder.
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u/YoShake Dec 31 '25
I disabled showing desktop icons. The only thing I left is KDE menu launcher in case of app runner gets hiccups - mostly after kde update or some weird changes in config.
For most common software I use quicklaunch widget in taskbar.
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u/Sea-Promotion8205 Dec 31 '25
I don't. I run all my software out of krunner or the kde application launcher.
Even on my windows workstation, i keep icons turned off and launch everything through the start menu. Much faster that way.
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u/ItsJoeMomma Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25
I do what I've always done since my Windows 3.11 days. I group the apps together in different desktop folders for different groups of programs. One folder for common apps (word processor, text editor, music players, etc), one folder for games, one for radio apps, etc. Keeps the desktop tidy and you don't have to search through a ton of icons to find the program you want. Anything I don't use often, such as settings, I just go to the start menu.
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u/CaptainPoset Dec 31 '25
I use GNOME the start menu is essentially a desktop with icons to scroll through.
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u/MrBeverage9 Dec 31 '25
I have launchers pinned to my pannel. Many of them are basically a "catagory" launcher, with multiple items of most often used applications. I even set one up for "one clicking" into favorite websites. For other, less often, or seldom used applications, I use the whisker menu (of which you can configure multiple).
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u/Agreeable-Performer5 Dec 31 '25
I genuinely do not use desktop or taskbar icons anymore since i discovered kde search. Just alt+space and type the application / command / calculation or whatever and hit enter, and there it is. There are also hundreds of them for every distro so pick you poison.
For appimages get an appimahe manager so it pops up in the search.
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u/apex6666 Dec 31 '25
Nothing actually, though not on purpose, when I downloaded hyperland I honestly didn’t know it didn’t have a “desktop” and was ALL windows, so far it hasn’t actually mattered and honestly I prefer it
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u/PaleontologistNo2625 Dec 31 '25
With krunner I can just type the first few letters of anything I need, no icons necessary
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u/88xrising Dec 31 '25
right click> view> show desktop items. Uncheck show desktop items, you can always enable it again
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u/gnossos_p Dec 31 '25
How many tabs you got open?
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u/sudo_complex Jan 03 '26
usually only 4 at a time thankfully. Right now its reddit, youtube, bandcamp and another tab of bandcamp
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u/joe_attaboy Old and in the way. Dec 31 '25
I have nothing on my desktop. Even back in ancient history using that other system - and MacOS, too - I never had anything on the desktop. When I was an IT manager at one site, I often saw people leaving literally dozens of icons on desktops, often just a single file. When I asked why they did that, their response was always something like "it's easier to find." Which I found unbelievable.
The KDE desktop has an application launcher, like most other systems. That's where everything is. I have my favorites in the Favorites section (duh) and that's all I need. Alt-Space also opens krunner, which you can use to launch apps.
My desktop IRL is cluttered with all manner of useless shite. I don't want my computer desktop to suffer the same fate.
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u/Ilovemygfb00bies Dec 31 '25
I use GNOME, which means no active desktop, which means my solution is the exact thing you said you can't do
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u/MacNcheezOS Dec 31 '25
My Desktop is always relatively empty. I always launch applications via a launcher that looks similar to Launchpad.
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u/exarobibliologist Dec 31 '25
Well, I certainly don't store them on my desktop—shudders in Debian—like a Windows user.
As a rule, I never leave anything on my desktop. I guess I would probably store them in a folder I created in $HOME. Anywhere, as long as its not the desktop.
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u/IceYetiWins Dec 31 '25
I have the apps I use most on my taskbar and like 4 folders on the desktop and that's it.
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u/skyfishgoo Jan 01 '26
i don't keep applications on the desktop or launch them from the desktop.
that's what the app menu, favorites, and task bar (pinned items) are for... desktop shortcuts to applications is a windows thing and i was glad to leave it behind.
the only thing on my desktop are files/folders that i am actively working with or have yet to sort and put away.
all my screen shots also go to the desktop, because i'm usually going to do something with them right away and i don't want to have to dig for them.
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u/MatrixGaming90 Jan 01 '26
I don't really bother with icons much same for when I was on Windows the only icons that I did have was pirated games for easy launch
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u/BadGoym Jan 02 '26
Either hide the apps in settings or create a folder and put them all into that folder so your desktop isnt as bloated
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u/Jennylol03 KDE Jan 02 '26
I have it completely empty and use Latte Dock with a Quicklaunch Widget (KDE) with my usual apps. And also another Widget below for the "Webapps".
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u/Averagehomebrewer Jan 02 '26
Regardless of OS (windows, linux, god forbid macOS, android, etc) and system (computer, laptop, tablet, phone), I always have the desktop completely empty, usually whatever apps I use most pinned to some kind of taskbar, and the rest in the app menu. Keeps the desktop clean and all apps still easily accessible.
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u/hectorvitown Jan 03 '26
I only keep AppImages in the desktop, the rest I search it in the taskbar, home menu and the Alt+Space function
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u/Liam_Mercier Jan 03 '26
I almost always use the start menu for an application, you just type part of the name in and it pops up assuming you have the .desktop file.
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u/Whiprust Jan 03 '26
Genuinely, get rid of all these Steam icons and just pin Steam to your taskbar, all these games are launchable there. While you’re at it, remove every app you don’t use every time you launch your PC. Every low use app can be navigated to seamlessly by pressing the Meta key and searching.
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u/elgrandragon Linux Mint 22.3 | LMDE 7 Jan 03 '26
And you can add those apps you use to autostart, and put them in different workspaces.
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u/Remarkable-Lab1887 Jan 03 '26
I don't. I just don't. I really don't.
Hide them all, you don't need shortcuts you need widgets probably
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u/IllSherbet Jan 03 '26
... I don't? I was awful about this on Windows but since app launchers exist, there's no reason for it.
It's also a lot easier to sift through installed programs to find something you can't remember the name of when you don't have Windows overloading you with bloat and ads and web search results.
I used to have every game I owned on my desktop for some reason but now I just launch them from steam or lutris.
Wasn't an intentional decision to stop, just a natural transition. Looks so much better without the clutter too.
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u/Sonario648 Jan 04 '26
I don't even use the desktop apps. Never have on Windows 10. I just leave everything on the taskbar instead of looking at a bloated mess on the screen.
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u/Clear-Quail-8046 Jan 04 '26
what's a desktop (I use arch btw)
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u/LesStrater Jan 07 '26
Sheeesh... Ever heard of a "Menu"? I have all my apps organized on one and not a single icon on my desktop.
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Jan 10 '26
I make my desktop apps encircle or like place them based on my background which is sort of like a really simple box and use it to organize it. I can send you a picture if you want
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u/WHD2010 Jan 10 '26
Just rocking a few icons, such as 'Home', 'Docs', 'Pictures', and my connections...
The rest is all in the taskbar below or Favorites.
Trying to keep it minimalistic, and clean...
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u/ExoticBag69 Jan 31 '26
I have a "Games" folder with a custom icon. I put all my game shortcuts in there. I also use Microsoft PowerToys (PowerRun tool) to quickly launch a game without any need to click a shortcut icon.
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u/thekiltedpiper Dec 31 '25
i use SwayWM, my most frequent used apps are launched from keybinds. Anything else I use wmenu to launch. If I'm not doing anything my desktop is just a solid black background and my simple swaybar.
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u/anto77_butt_kinkier 16.04 was peak Dec 31 '25
I have a rather uncommon setup with 4 monitors in a 2x2 configuration, but essentially this is what I do:
I have one main monitor (bottom right). This monitor usually only has the window for the thing I'm working on currently, or no window at all. This monitor has a few rows of icons for programs that I use on a regular basis. I have a few icons in the corners, which are just shortcuts to folders I use often, and a 'running" text document which is just a text file that I always have open that I use to keep notes and stuff.
I have a secondary monitor, bottom left, that has some icons related to projects I'm working on, since that monitor is only ever clear of windows just before I start working on a project (usually it has steam open, but sometimes when I'm playing a game it'll have a wiki or game utility open, but I minimize everything on my bottom monitors before starting work on a project)
On my tertiary monitor, top left, i usually have YouTube or VLC up, and occasionally a reference document/image for something I'm working on, but I almost never see the desktop on this monitor. On the desktop on that monitor I have an icon for every program on my computer. This is not how I open programs, but it does help me sometimes when either I want to find a program that I can't think of the name of, or if for some reason I want to just look through my programs and see what I have installed. Is this entirely redundant? Yes. Is it stupid, yes. Can pulling up the launcher do the job of this? Yes. Will I change it? No.
On my quaternary monitor, top right, I don't have anything on the desktop. This monitor is usually reserved for discord. Im not a sweaty discord mod or anything, but I do talk with a lot of my friends on there, to the point where stopping to pull up discord every time I get a message I want to respond to can get very distracting.
Summary: on my main monitor, which is the only one that's really applicable to most people, I have two sets of icons consisting of two rows each. These are for games and programs I use on a regular basis. I also have some shortcuts/symlinks and a single important file in the corners. I have the icons set to be a bit smaller.
Since I use KDE, you can put folders on the desktop and put things in them, and then there's a little arrow you can hover over and it shows you the contents of that folder, essentially like grouping a few icons into one icon. I do this for videogame series, browsers, game utilities, and a few other things that belong in catagories together. So I have a lot more programs available from my desktop than I have icons for.
Anyways, thankyou for cumming in my TEDtalk.
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u/AcceptableHamster149 Dec 31 '25
I cant do the gnome thing where all my apps are under my desktop, that also sucks.
It's not for everybody. But the gnome thing is what I do. Don't think of it as your apps being under your desktop - it's more like spotlight on a Mac, or the Windows menu where you can search by typing as soon as you open the start menu. I don't have any icons on my desktop at all - 99% of what I launch, I just start typing in the overview. For the tiny fraction of times when I can't remember the name of what I'm looking for, I also have a simple launch menu in the dock which displays apps by category.
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u/mudslinger-ning Dec 31 '25
Clutter on your desktop is disorganised and ruins your pretty wallpaper pictures.
The application menu's purpose is to have the apps available but just out of sight. Click menu and click from your favourite apps or use the menu search feature with part of the app name you want. Easy access.
As for documents. There are dedicated themed folders inside your home folder for documents, pics, etc. that gives your data files a structured location so you can more easily find your specific files easily. If anything on your desktop apart from a pretty picture is taskbar and widgets. (If any widgets are actually useful to you).
Understandably changing habits will take a while but discipline yourself to it and you'll later look back and wonder why you had poorly organised crap on the desktop in the first place.
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u/thecallal Dec 31 '25
Vivaldi🤢🤢🤢
Use zen browser
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u/sudo_complex Jan 03 '26
to be fair I dont ACTUALLY use it. I just have it on there for shits and giggles. Its a little frustrating to use.
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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '25
I just leave my desktop completely empty
My most used apps are pinned in the taskbar. If I want an app not pinned, I simply search and open it. I love my desktop looking completely clean.
Also my top used folder, I pin in my dolphin app.