Pop!_OS - Nemo File Manager

02 Jul 2022 in Kbase on Pop!_os, Linux, Sysops

Switching the default file manager on Pop!_OS 22.04 to Nemo.

1. Purpose
2. Assumptions
3. Procedure
4. Conclusion

Purpose

The following post documents the process to switch from the default GNOME Files (Nautilus) application to Nemo on Pop!_OS 22.04.

Assumptions

A number of assumptions have been made when compiling the below procedure. They include:

• Basic familiarity with Linux and the terminal.
• The user account to perform this procedure has sudo privileges.
• While the procedure may work on other versions or Debian derivatives, it has only been tested with Pop!_OS 22.04.
• Nemo should open for all file management activities, including from within other applications.
• Nemo has not yet been installed.

Procedure

Steps required to switch to Nemo on a fresh Pop!_OS installation are:

1. Open a terminal (Super + T).

2. Update the package manager:

   apt update
   

3. Install Nemo:

   sudo apt install nemo
   

4. Set Nemo as the default application to handle directories:

   xdg-mime default nemo.desktop inode/directory application/x-gnome-saved-search
   

   This can be verified by running:

   xdg-mime query default inode/directory
   

   A successful update will show nemo.desktop

5. Update dbus to use Nemo as the default file manager:

   mkdir -p ~/.local/share/dbus-1/services
   ln -s /usr/share/dbus-1/services/nemo.FileManager1.service ~/.local/share/dbus-1/services/
   

6. Log out/in or restart for the changes to take effect.

Conclusion

After following the procedure above, Nemo should be the default file manager for all folder activities in Pop!_OS 22.04.