Updated By - February 18, 2008

How to change the Debian Menu Icon and Name

Change the Debian Menu Icon and Name: This tutorial covers the process of changing the default Debian Menu Icon to a custom icon and optionally changing the Debian Menu name. This guide is for users who enjoy customizing their environment while using a pure Debian Linux setup or a remix based on Debian.

How to Change the Debian Menu Icon?

change the Debian menu icon
Changing the menu icon in Debian (or any Linux distribution) typically involves modifying the icon theme used by your desktop environment. Below are instructions for GNOME, KDE (Plasma), and Xfce environments.

Changing the Debian GNOME Menu Icon

  1. Find or Create an Icon:
    Obtain a suitable icon in .png, .svg, or .webp format. Common sizes are 48x48, 64x64, or 128x128 pixels.
  2. Copy the Icon to the Appropriate Directory:
    Open a terminal and copy the icon to your current icon theme's directory. For example:

    sudo cp /path/to/your/icon.webp /usr/share/icons/theme/48x48/apps/debian.webp

    Replace theme with the actual name of your active icon theme.

  3. Update the Icon Cache:
    Run the following command:

    sudo gtk-update-icon-cache /usr/share/icons/theme/
  4. Change the Icon Theme:
    • Open the GNOME Tweaks tool.
    • Go to the "Appearance" section.
    • From the "Icons" dropdown, select your custom icon theme.

Changing the Debian KDE Menu Icon

  1. Find or Create an Icon:
    Obtain an appropriate replacement icon.
  2. Copy the Icon to the KDE Icon Theme Directory:
    Use the following command in a terminal:

    sudo cp /path/to/your/icon.webp /usr/share/icons/theme/48x48/apps/debian.webp

    Again, replace theme with the name of your icon theme.

  3. Update the Icon Cache:
    Run:

    sudo kbuildsycoca5
  4. Apply the Custom Icon Theme:
    • Open "System Settings".
    • Navigate to "Icons".
    • Select your custom icon theme.

Changing the Debian Xfce Menu Icon

  1. Find or Create an Icon:
    Obtain the icon you want to use.
  2. Copy the Icon to the Theme Directory:
    Use this command:

    sudo cp /path/to/your/icon.webp /usr/share/icons/theme/48x48/apps/debian.webp
  3. Update the Icon Cache:
    Run:

    sudo gtk-update-icon-cache /usr/share/icons/theme/
  4. Apply the Icon Theme:
    • Go to "Appearance" in your settings.
    • Choose your custom icon theme.

Alternate Method: Replace the Original Debian Menu Icon

Instead of modifying the icon theme, you can replace the Debian menu icon directly by overwriting the original debian-logo.webp file located in the /usr/share/pixmaps directory with your custom image:

sudo cp /path/to/your/icon.webp /usr/share/pixmaps/debian-logo.webp

This approach is less flexible, as it only replaces the icon without integrating it into an icon theme.

How to Change the Debian Menu Name?

To rename the Debian Menu, you need to modify the .desktop file associated with your menu. Here’s how:

  1. Locate the .desktop file in your menu configuration directory. For example: 
    sudo nano /usr/share/applications/debian-menu.desktop

    Replace debian-menu.desktop with the actual file name of your menu.

  2. Edit the Name field to your desired menu name: 
    Name=Custom Menu Name
  3. Save and exit. Then refresh your desktop environment by logging out and back in or using a relevant command (e.g., xfce4-panel --restart for Xfce).

Final Thoughts

Customizing the Debian menu icon and name allows you to personalize your Linux desktop environment and make it truly yours. Whether you use GNOME, KDE, or Xfce, these steps can help you change the look and feel of your system to better suit your style. Remember to back up any original files before replacing them, and enjoy your new, customized Debian desktop!