One of the things I really like about using Chrome on Linux is the ability to turn any website into a Desktop-ish App. It’s technically still a web app, but it opens in its own window without a location bar or any of the other decorations you normally see in a web browser. So it looks like a desktop app. I’ve done this with a bunch of different sites including Gmail, Simplenote, Toggl, YNAB, and LastPass. Then, anytime I want to sling out an email, take a note, start tracking my time on a job, etc. It’s all just a keyboard shortcut away. The apps get their own icon too so you can find them easily when you Alt + Tab through your open apps. Here’s how it works.
First, find a website you’d like to turn into an app. Then click the three little, stacked dots in the top right corner of your chrome browser. That will reveal a menu where you click More Tools > Add To Desktop.
After clicking that, you’ll see this little window where you can name your application. Call it whatever you’d like, but be sure to check the Open as window checkbox. If you do not check that checkbox, then the site will open as a tab and basically acts like a bookmark. So, be sure to check that checkbox so everything works like a desktop app.
Setting Your Own App Icon
You may want to set your own custom icon for your new app. To do that, just open up the chrome-xxx.desktop
file in your ~/.local/share/applications
directory. Here’s an example of my `chome-xxx.desktop` file for my Toggl app.
#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open [Desktop Entry] Version=1.0 Terminal=false Type=Application Name=Toggl Exec=/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome --profile-directory=Default --app-id=emhlbipdbnglohkhcmimglnngjlfoehc #Icon=chrome-emhlbipdbnglohkhcmimglnngjlfoehc-Default Icon=/home/lee/Pictures/icons/toggl.png StartupWMClass=crx_emhlbipdbnglohkhcmimglnngjlfoehc
I commented out the default Icon
and added my own stored in /home/lee/Pictures/icons/toggl.png
Creating The Keyboard Shortcut
All you have to do is copy what you see on the Exec
line.
/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome --profile-directory=Default --app-id=emhlbipdbnglohkhcmimglnngjlfoehc
A couple points about that command:
/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome
is the command to launch the Google Chrome browser--profile-directory=Default
tells Chrome which browser profile to use. If you have set up multiple users or profiles for your browser you might see a username rather thatDefault
for the profile.--app-id=xxx
This is the app ID for the chrome app you just created.
Open up the System Settings panel and locate the Keyboard item.
Click the keyboard icon and go to set up your Custom Shortcut to launch your Chrome App.
A window will pop open where you paste the line from the line we got from the .desktop
file.
/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome --profile-directory=Default --app-id=emhlbipdbnglohkhcmimglnngjlfoehc
Then, just click on the right column to set your accelerator (aka keyboard shortcut).
Hi, Lee. Thanks for this tip. I use Chrome on Linux Mint, and this works great. I just wanted to mention that there’s an easier way to copy the command line. There’s no need to locate and open the hidden file. The first part of the process creates a desktop icon. Simply right-click the icon and select Properties. The command is right there in the Basic Properties.
Thanks again!