cinnamon-launcher

cinnamon-launcher [APPLICATION_ID | PATH_TO_DESKTOP_FILE | URI]

APPLICATION_ID
    The registered application ID, usually derived from a .desktop file's Name or StartupWMClass, for launching a known application.

PATH_TO_DESKTOP_FILE
    The full path to a .desktop file (e.g., /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop) to be executed directly.

URI
    A Uniform Resource Identifier (e.g., http://example.com, file:///path/to/document.pdf) to be opened by its default handler within the Cinnamon context.

cinnamon-launcher is an internal utility primarily used within the Cinnamon desktop environment to facilitate the launching of applications, documents, or URIs. It typically processes .desktop files, which are standard entries describing how to launch a specific application, its icon, categories, and other metadata.

While not commonly invoked directly by users from the command line, it plays a crucial role in how the Cinnamon desktop environment opens applications when clicked from the menu, panel, or file manager. It handles various aspects such as environment variables, working directories, and ensuring the application is launched correctly in the graphical session. It may also interact with xdg-open or similar mechanisms for handling URI schemes, providing a consistent launch experience for the user.

cinnamon-launcher is primarily an internal component of the Cinnamon desktop environment. Users typically do not invoke it directly from the command line, and it has few, if any, command-line options for direct user control. Its behavior is heavily dependent on the content of the .desktop files it processes. This command is specific to Cinnamon and may not exist or behave identically on other desktop environments (like GNOME, KDE, or XFCE).

.desktop files are crucial for cinnamon-launcher's operation. These plain text files conform to the XDG Desktop Entry Specification and contain metadata about applications, such as their name, icon, categories, and the Exec key which specifies the command to run. cinnamon-launcher parses these files to correctly launch the intended application with its associated properties.

cinnamon-launcher is deeply integrated with the Cinnamon Shell, handling requests from the menu, panel launchers, file manager (Nemo), and other Cinnamon components. It provides a consistent interface for the desktop to start processes, manage their environment, and potentially track their lifecycle (e.g., for showing "application is starting" indicators).

The cinnamon-launcher command is an integral part of the Cinnamon desktop environment, which originated as a fork of GNOME Shell in 2011 by Linux Mint developers. As such, its development is closely tied to the evolution of Cinnamon itself. It likely emerged as a dedicated component to manage application launching, leveraging existing XDG (freedesktop.org) specifications for .desktop files, ensuring compatibility and consistent behavior across different desktop environments adhering to these standards. Its focus has always been on providing a robust and seamless user experience within Cinnamon for opening applications and files.

xdg-open(1), desktop-file-validate(1), gio(1)