How to run AppImage files in Linux

While trying to get BalenaEther installed in Ubuntu I tried using the AppImage version of the application.

This page will show how to set up AppImage files to run in Linux.

Running AppImage files

AppImage files are available on the internet so it's a matter of downloading the files directly from a website or using the wget command in the terminal to download the file.

wget https://github.com/balena-io/etcher/releases/download/v1.7.9/balenaEtcher-1.7.9-ia32.AppImage

Add the execute permission for the current user to make the AppImage file runnable.

sudo chmod u+x balenaEtcher-1.7.9-ia32.AppImage

To run AppImage files use the following.

./balenaEtcher-1.7.9-ia32.AppImage

AppImageLauncher

If you want to add your apps to the Ubuntu dock you will need the AppImageLauncher as it adds desktop integration to AppImage files.

The install files can be found on the GitHub releases page.

Ubuntu install

This was tested with Ubuntu 24.04.

Download the deb file.

wget https://github.com/TheAssassin/AppImageLauncher/releases/download/v2.2.0/appimagelauncher_2.2.0-travis995.0f91801.bionic_amd64.deb

Install the AppImageLauncher using the deb file.

sudo apt install -y ./appimagelauncher_2.2.0-travis995.0f91801.bionic_amd64.deb

Fix for apt update issue

After installing the app image launcher I ran into an issue when updating the system using the following command.

sudo apt -y update

The following error occurred.

E: The repository 'https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/appimagelauncher-team/stable/ubuntu noble Release' does not have a Release file.

To resolve this, I opened the Software & Updates application, selected the Other Software tab, and then deselected the repository with the following URL.

https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/appimagelauncher-team/stable/ubuntu