Remember, these are case-sensitive. When using a category described in the list below it is strongly recommended to also include the category listed under Related Categories. If a category has multiple related categories the most suitable related category should be included.
| Category | Description | Related Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Legacy | Keyword that must be added to menu entries merged from legacy locations. May not actually exist in a desktop entry (should be stripped out if found there). If the same directory is given as both a <LegacyDir> and an <AppDir>, its desktop entries should be labeled "Legacy" only if the <LegacyDir> appears later in the file than the <AppDir> | |
| Core | Important application, core to the desktop such as a file manager or a help browser | |
| Development | An application for development | |
| Building | A tool to build applications | Development |
| Debugger | A tool to debug applications | Development |
| IDE | IDE application | Development |
| GUIDesigner | A GUI designer application | Development |
| Profiling | A profiling tool | Development |
| RevisionControl | Applications like cvs or subversion | Development |
| Translation | A translation tool | Development |
| Office | An office type application | |
| Calendar | Calendar application | Office |
| ContactManagement | E.g. an address book | Office |
| Database | Application to manage a database | Office or Development or AudioVideo |
| Dictionary | A dictionary | Office |
| Chart | Chart application | Office |
| Email application | Office;Network | |
| Finance | Application to manage your finance | Office |
| FlowChart | A flowchart application | Office |
| PDA | Tool to manage your PDA | Office |
| ProjectManagement | Project management application | Office;Development |
| Presentation | Presentation software | Office |
| Spreadsheet | A spreadsheet | Office |
| WordProcessor | A word processor | Office |
| Graphics | Graphical application | |
| 2DGraphics | 2D based graphical application | Graphics |
| VectorGraphics | Vector based graphical application | 2DGraphics |
| RasterGraphics | Raster based graphical application | 2DGraphics |
| 3DGraphics | 3D based graphical application | Graphics |
| Scanning | Tool to scan a file/text | Graphics |
| OCR | Optical character recognition application | Scanning |
| Photography | Camera tools, etc. | Graphics or Office |
| Viewer | Tool to view e.g. a graphic or pdf file | Graphics or Office |
| Settings | Settings applications | |
| DesktopSettings | Configuration tool for the GUI | Settings |
| HardwareSettings | A tool to manage hardware components, like sound cards, video cards or printers | Settings |
| PackageManager | A package manager application | Settings |
| Network | Network application such as a web browser | (Settings) |
| Dialup | A dial-up program | Network |
| InstantMessaging | An instant messaging client | Network |
| IRCClient | An IRC client | Network |
| FileTransfer | Tools like FTP or P2P programs | Network |
| HamRadio | HAM radio software | Network or Audio |
| News | A news reader or a news ticker | |
| P2P | A P2P program | Network |
| RemoteAccess | A tool to remotely manage your PC | Network |
| Telephony | Telephony via PC | Network |
| WebBrowser | A web browser | Network |
| WebDevelopment | A tool for web developers | Network or Development |
| AudioVideo | A multimedia (audio/video) application | |
| Audio | An audio application | AudioVideo |
| Midi | An app related to MIDI | Audio |
| Mixer | Just a mixer | Audio |
| Sequencer | A sequencer | Audio |
| Tuner | A tuner | Audio |
| Video | A video application | AudioVideo |
| TV | A TV application | Video |
| AudioVideoEditing | Application to edit audio/video files | Audio or Video or AudioVideo |
| Player | Application to play audio/video files | Audio or Video or AudioVideo |
| Recorder | Application to record audio/video files | Audio or Video or AudioVideo |
| DiscBurning | Application to burn a disc | AudioVideo |
| Game | A game | |
| ActionGame | An action game | Game |
| AdventureGame | Adventure style game | Game |
| ArcadeGame | Arcade style game | Game |
| BoardGame | A board game | Game |
| BlocksGame | Falling blocks game | Game |
| CardGame | A card game | Game |
| KidsGame | A game for kids | Game |
| LogicGame | Logic games like puzzles, etc | Game |
| RolePlaying | A role playing game | Game |
| Simulation | A simulation game | Game |
| SportsGame | A sports game | Game |
| StrategyGame | A strategy game | Game |
| Education | Educational software | |
| Art | Software to teach arts | Education |
| Construction | Education | |
| Music | Musical software | AudioVideo;Education |
| Languages | Software to learn foreign languages | Education |
| Science | Scientific software | Education |
| Astronomy | Astronomy software | Science |
| Biology | Biology software | Science |
| Chemistry | Chemistry software | Science |
| Geology | Geology software | Science |
| Math | Math software | Science |
| MedicalSoftware | Medical software | Science |
| Physics | Physics software | Science |
| Teaching | An education program for teachers | Education |
| Amusement | A simple amusement | |
| Applet | An applet that will run inside a panel or another such application, likely desktop specific | |
| Archiving | A tool to archive/backup data | |
| Electronics | Electronics software, e.g. a circuit designer | |
| Emulator | Emulator of another platform, such as a DOS emulator | |
| Engineering | Engineering software, e.g. CAD programs | |
| FileManager | A file manager | |
| Shell | A shell (an actual specific shell such as
bash or tcsh, not a TerminalEmulator) | |
| Screensaver | A screen saver (launching this desktop entry should activate the screen saver) | |
| TerminalEmulator | A terminal emulator application | |
| TrayIcon | An application that is primarily an icon for the "system tray" or "notification area" (apps that open a normal window and just happen to have a tray icon as well should not list this category) | |
| System | System application, "System Tools" such as say a log viewer or network monitor | (Settings) |
| Filesystem | A file system tool | System |
| Monitor | Monitor application/applet that monitors some resource or activity | System |
| Security | A security tool | Settings or System |
| Utility | Small utility application, "Accessories" | |
| Accessibility | Accessibility | Settings or Utility |
| Calculator | A calculator | Utility |
| Clock | A clock application/applet | Utility |
| TextEditor | A text editor | Utility |
| KDE | Application based on KDE libraries | QT |
| GNOME | Application based on GNOME libraries | GTK |
| GTK | Application based on GTK+ libraries | |
| Qt | Application based on Qt libraries | |
| Motif | Application based on Motif libraries | |
| Java | Application based on Java GUI libraries, such as AWT or Swing | |
| ConsoleOnly | Application that only works inside a terminal (text-based or command line application) |