The Applications tab
A grid of the Linux GUI apps inside an instance, with their real icons.
On this page 4 sections
The Applications tab shows the graphical apps installed inside an instance — the programs a Linux desktop would list in its app menu. It's the tab MSL opens first.
Finding apps#
The first time, the tab is empty with a Find Apps button. Clicking it:
- starts the instance if it isn't running ("Starting an instance for the first time can take a moment"),
- reads every installed app's
.desktopentry from inside Linux — the same file a Linux desktop reads to put an app in its menu, - fetches each app's icon, and fills the grid.
After that the button says Refresh, and "Updated 5 minutes ago" beside it says when the list was last read. Refresh after installing or removing software inside Linux.
The toolbar#
- Search — "Search N apps". Matches app names and descriptions, and the packaging: typing
flatpakshows only Flatpak apps. - Source picker — All · System · User · Flatpak · Snap. It only appears when the instance has apps from more than one source. See Where apps come from.
- Find Apps / Refresh on the right.
Each tile#
| Part | Means |
|---|---|
| The icon | The app's own icon, drawn from its vector artwork when it has one, so it stays crisp. |
| The name | Up to two lines. |
| A small grey badge | Where it came from — only shown for User, Flatpak and Snap apps. |
| A blue tick in the corner | It's in your Applications folder. |
| A small spinner in the corner | MSL is fetching a sharper icon for it. |
Hover over a tile to reveal three small buttons: ▶ open, folder add to or remove from Applications, and pin pin or unpin from the Dock. Hovering also shows the app's description.
Right-click#
Open, Add to Applications (or Remove from Applications), Pin to Dock (or Unpin from Dock), and — greyed out at the bottom — the exact command the app runs, for the curious.