Using fedora and kde.
Is it possible to have a dedicated applications folder like macOS does?
SupportFlatpak. Everything goes in /var/lib/flatpak.
Isn't that what /bin is?
Lately it seems like /opt is the equivalent to /Applications
/bin is for core applications, most apps install in /usr/bin.
On most recent distros, /bin is a symlink to /usr/bin.
I expect u/PCChipsM922U meant to say /usr/local/bin
I believe Debian/Ubuntu uses that, but Arch and Void don't. Binaries have to be in /usr/bin. You could override of course, when packaging.
i think in modern distro it really doesnt matter. I'm sure all binaries can be shoved in one directory, /root moved to /home/root + delete random folders like opt srv mnt media and ofcourse change /var/tmp dir to symlink pointing to /tmp mwahahahahha
I don't think it is on Void... or maybe it is, I'd have to check.
It is on Void and Arch.
Void: https://wiki.voidlinux.org/voidlinux_en_all_2021-04/A/Installation ("because of Void's adoption of a more modern method for laying out the file system (known as the "/usr merge"), you must not try to place /usr on a separate partition").
Arch: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Frequently_asked_questions#Does_Arch_follow_the_Linux_Foundation's_Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard_(FHS)? ("In particular, /bin, /sbin, and /usr/sbin are symbolic links to /usr/bin, and /lib and /lib64 are symbolic links to /usr/lib")
nope, op wants vertical slicing like that: /apps/xeyes/bin, /apps/xeyes/etc, lib, share and so on
instead of horizontal slicing like /bin and other folders where one app has no boundary and it spreads like cancer and removing it or whatever is PITA and ever more PITA to refactor to something more structured so we all ended up relying on "workaround"... I mean package manager.
imagine windows where you install all apps in the same folder
/usr/bin
linux is not macos. they are different operating systems using different packaging formats. on kde, alt + space lets you search for nearly 99.9% of anything you need
lol you just prooved that to find something you need to have an app /jk
btw this thing mostly searches through .desktop files :)
krunner searches through like everything
absolutely, it's so similar to mac os spotlight. i just think it's shines more when you use it to run desktop apps essentially replacing ugly menu. You can run cli apps, but I just think it's a bit cumbersome. May be it's just me)
I know about alt space, I just think that the way finder has files and apps in the same place is really neat and I would like to replicate it
My advice is to just learn a new workflow. I think the way mac does it is a little weird. Pin your most need applications to your dock/panel and/or put them in favorites in the start menu, and call it a day. That plus alt+space is faster than clicking through folders trying to find the program you need.
That being said, you can put shortcuts to programs wherever you want.
Do you care more about a single location to interact with apps or do you want your apps to actually be in a single location? The first will be a lot easier.
the first. Obviously it would be a mess if I actually tried to shove all my apps in one place and keep it like that every time I downloaded something
due to how diverse application formats I'd imagine it's something pretty hard to implement, but I remember there being a lot of of themes and plugins that make kde very mac like, I'm sure there's some sort of replacement for the start menu that lists your apps in an icon grid
So just very superficially Mac-like
You could maybe link all program shortcuts or even move them into a separate folder, and have KRunner only look for these.
Not sure what your goal is but my applications can be neatly launched with a launcher such as rofi (I use a more modern one, fuzzel)
You could put shortcuts in the folder
This is an equivalent way i see it in Linux vs Osx. In Osx applications are contained in this sort of unique folder.
In Linux, some apps are in usr .
This is where application lists recollect the different entries that can be used with start menus and application launchers
Application entry
Desktop entries for applications, or .desktop files, are generally a combination of meta information resources and a shortcut of an application. These files usually reside in /usr/share/applications/ or /usr/local/share/applications/ for applications installed system-wide, or ~/.local/share/applications/ for user-specific applications. User entries take precedence over system entries.
sort of.
Add a folder in your home folder called applications. Extract applications not designed for package management into that folder. Use the Kde Menu editor to create a shortcut to the application (you can access this by right clicking on the "start" button under edit applications).
I do this for most of the commercial Linux software I own.
Check GoboLinux, they try to achieve this
Make an 'Apps' folder and then fill it with Appimages. That's the closest you will get.
For AppImages, I use https://github.com/TheAssassin/AppImageLauncher to manage these downloaded binaries.
You technically can do anything you want, though the generally accepted and recommended conventions are to use the standard system directories depending if its core, general, or local application binaries.
But if you really wanted, nothing prevents you from making a folder for each application or something.
Why? It shouldn’t matter where the apps are?
A lot of answers here seem to have understood this as being about the macOS way of packaging applications in .dmg files and extracting them to individual directories.
However, if this is actually about how applications are presented in the GUI, then try PCManFM, a file manager which has a presumably macOS-inspired "Applications" option on its Places sidebar. PCManFM-Qt will probably fit in better on your Plasma desktop than the older GTK version.
There are multiple dedicated folders for applications. Mac's implementation is not really what I would consider appropriate or secure.
Mac has both. It has the unixy /usr/bin Structur and all that. The desktop application go in /Appli actions. Theres nothing inherently insecure or in appropriate about it. It’s very convenient though to be able to drag and drop applications around. And they are self updating. Not mucking with package managers. No worrying if they’ll work right on your distribution. They just work.
On a Mac, an appllcation is a dedicated directory (or "folder" if you come from a Windows background) called a package, though by default the UI presents it as a single file. This has no negative consequences for security, and some advantages in keeping information contained in predictable places. FWIW, I started using early MacOS in the late 80's, became a Unix sysadmin in 1990, and have run Linux servers since some time around 2002.
You have no idea what you talking about.
You should not touch app's files on /usr. It should be avoided.
You can interact with app's config or something with,
- /etc
- ~/.config
- ~/.local
- /var (very rare case)
This is the way.
NixOS. Everything goes in /nix/store.
I guess if the software you download are appimage then you can just store them in whatever folder. Though typically Linux handles software mostly through the repositories which is different in this case.