Your first Linux app
Install a Linux GUI app, find it in MSL, and open it as a Mac window.
On this page 4 sections
A fresh distro has few or no GUI apps. Here's how to add one and open it — using GIMP, the image editor, as the example.
1. Install it inside Linux#
Open the Terminal tab and install it with the distro's package manager:
| Distro | Command |
|---|---|
| Alpine | sudo apk add gimp |
| Debian, Ubuntu, Kali, Nix | sudo apt install gimp |
| Arch | sudo pacman -S gimp |
| Fedora | sudo dnf install gimp |
| Rocky, AlmaLinux, CentOS Stream, Oracle Linux | GIMP isn't packaged for Enterprise Linux 10, even in EPEL — sudo dnf install firefox works the same way |
| openSUSE | sudo zypper install gimp |
sudo asks for your Linux user's password — the one you chose when you set it up.
2. Find it in MSL#
Switch to the Applications tab and click Find Apps (or Refresh if the grid already has apps). MSL reads every installed app's .desktop entry from inside Linux — the same thing a Linux desktop's app menu reads — and shows each one with its real icon.
3. Open it#
Double-click GIMP's tile, or hover over it and click the ▶ button. A few moments later it opens as a Mac window, with its own tile in the Dock and its own name in the menu bar.
4. Make it feel at home#
- Add to Applications puts a real GIMP app in
~/Applications/MSL, so Spotlight finds it. See Adding apps to your Applications folder. - Pin to Dock keeps it in your Dock. See Pinning to the Dock.
Both work with the MSL window closed.