UPDATE-DESKTOP-DATABASE(1)

✨ NAME ✨

okay so bestie, update-desktop-database — it builds a cache database of MIME types handled by desktop files. that's the whole vibe 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

update-desktop-database [-q|--quiet] [-v|--verbose] [DIRECTORY...]

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so update-desktop-database is the little tool that builds a cache database of the MIME types handled by desktop files. it's giving "backend bestie doing the quiet work so everything else looks effortless" 🫶

what's actually in that cache database? two things, no cap:

• the list of MIME types that can be handled by desktop files
• and for each MIME type, the list of desktop files that can handle that MIME type

why do we care?? because it makes life so much easier for apps that need to find an app to open a document of a specific MIME type. without this, they'd have to parse all the desktop files existing on the system 😭 with it, they just parse this cache database instead. iconic behaviour honestly.

if you don't pass any DIRECTORY as an argument, the desktop files that get processed are the ones installed in $XDG_DATA_DIRS/applications. default queen 👑

and if you use both --quiet and --verbose at the same time?? then --verbose will be ignored. periodt. 💀

✨ OPTIONS ✨

the following options are supported:

• -q, --quiet — do not display any information about processing and updating progress. silent mode, no thoughts head empty 🤫
• -v, --verbose — display more information about processing and updating progress. tell me EVERYTHING 🔥

🦋 NOTES 🦋

if an invalid MIME type is met, it will be ignored and the creation of the cache database will continue. she does not stop for drama 💅

the format of the cache database is a simple desktop entry format, with a MIME Cache group, containing one key per MIME type. the key name is the MIME type, and the key value is the list of desktop file that can handle this MIME type.

the order of the desktop files found for a MIME type is not significant. so an external mechanism must be used to determine what is the preferred desktop file for a MIME type. no ranking here, everyone's equal 🎀

🌈 EXAMPLE 🌈

here's a simple example of a cache database:

[MIME Cache]
application/x-shellscript=gedit.desktop;
text/plain=gedit.desktop;gvim.desktop;
video/webm=totem.desktop;

this cache database is created with three desktop files, each containing a MimeType key:

gedit.desktop: MimeType=text/plain;application/x-shellscript;
gvim.desktop: MimeType=text/plain;
totem.desktop: MimeType=video/webm;

look at her go 🧚✨

🎀 FILES 🎀

• $XDG_DATA_DIRS/applications/mimeinfo.cache — this file is the cache database created by update-desktop-database. the main character file, lowkey.

🙈 BUGS 🙈

if you find bugs in the update-desktop-database program, please report these on https://bugs.freedesktop.org. tell them everything, they're listening 🫶

ok that's the whole page bestie, go forth and cache 💜

FREEDESKTOP.ORG made this one, and it's filed under UPDATE-DESKTOP-DATABASE(1) in the General Commands Manual — so like, freedesktop dot org and the manual page name, that's the whole sign-off. mwah 💋⭐