How to Install the ULauncher Quick Launch App on Linux.
Contents
Ulauncher is an excellent application launcher that, when installed, makes it easy to find and run files, open websites quickly, find programs to open, calculate math problems, and more.
This application is not the first application launcher for Linux that we have covered at SamaGame.com. In fact, in the past, we talked a few before. Still, Ulauncher stands out and is worth talking about because of how fast it is.
Install ULauncher on Linux
There are a few ways to install Ulauncher, depending on the Linux distribution you use. On Ubuntu, there is a dedicated PPA. For Arch, there is an AUR package, while on Fedora and OpenSUSE there is a downloadable RPM package.
ubuntu
As mentioned above, there is a dedicated PPA available for Ubuntu users looking to install ULauncher. To enable this PPA, open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then use the add-apt-repository command to enable the new repository on your system.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:agonostal/ulauncher
After adding the new PPA to your Ubuntu system, you will need to run the update command, as the Ubuntu software needs to be updated for the new ULauncher PPA to work.
sudo apt update
After running the update command, go ahead and run the update command to see if you have any pending software updates or patches.
sudo apt upgrade -y
Finally, use the apt install command to get the latest version of Ulauncher on Ubuntu.
sudo apt install ulalauncher
Debian
ULauncher has support for Debian, although the PPA will not work. Instead, if you want to use the app on your system, you have to manually download the DEB package file from the developer’s website.
To get the latest ULauncher package from the Internet, open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on your keyboard. Then use the wget download tool to start the download.
wget https://github.com/Ulauncher/Ulauncher/releases/download/4.4.0.r1/ulauncher_4.4.0.r1_all.deb
With the download complete, it’s time to install the software on Debian Linux with the dpkg command in the terminal.
sudo dpkg -i ulalauncher_4.4.0.r1_all.deb
Finally, finish the installation process by correcting and fixing any dependencies that were not configured correctly during the Dpkg process.
sudo apt install -f
ArchLinux
There is a ULauncher AUR package ready to install, however, in this guide, we will go over installing Trizen. The main reason to do this is that Trizen is an AUR helper and will take care of dependencies automatically.
To start the Trizen installation, use the Pacman package manager to install the Git and Base-devel packages on Arch.
sudo pacman -S git base-devel
After the installation of the above two packages with Pacman, use the Git tool to download the latest AUR version of Trizen on your Arch PC.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git
Install Trizen with makepkg.
cd trizen makepkg -sri
Finally, use the Trizen tool to install ULauncher on your Arch Linux PC.
trizen -Sulauncher
fedora
To get ULauncher on Fedora Linux, you can download the RPM package file directly from the website, using the wget download tool.
wget https://github.com/Ulauncher/Ulauncher/releases/download/4.4.0.r1/ulauncher_4.4.0.r1_fedora.rpm
Once the package is downloaded, you will be able to install the ULauncher app very quickly with the Dnf package manager.
sudo dnf install ulalauncher_4.4.0.r1_fedora.rpm -y
OpenSUSE
Thanks to the RPM version, each version of OpenSUSE Linux has the ability to install the latest version of ULauncher. To do this on your system, open a terminal window and use the wget downloader to get the latest package from the internet.
wget https://github.com/Ulauncher/Ulauncher/releases/download/4.4.0.r1/ulauncher_4.4.0.r1_fedora.rpm
Once you have finished downloading the ULauncher package on your OpenSUSE PC, it is time to install it on the system. To do this, use the Zypper command below.
sudo zypper install ulalauncher_4.4.0.r1_suse.rpm
Use ULauncher
To start using ULauncher, open your app menu, search for “ulauncher” and open it to launch the app. Immediately after launching, ULauncher will inform you that the shortcut to access it is Ctrl + Space.
Press the keyboard combination (Ctrl + Space) to open the ULauncher window. From there, just start typing and the app will show you results like installed apps, emoji, suggested websites, etc.
Once you are satisfied with the search result, press Enter to access it immediately. Or use the arrow keys to sort the results.
Launch ULauncher at login
Want to have access to ULauncher as soon as you log in to your Linux PC? This is what you should do. First, open a terminal window. Then use the CD command to move the session to the /usr/share/applications/ folder.
cd /usr/share/applications/
Make a copy of the ULauncher application and place it in your home folder using the cp command.
cp ulalauncher.desktop ~/.config/autostart/
Upon login, ULauncher should launch instantly!
