Environment
- OS: CachyOS 6.19.10-1 (Arch-based)
- webapp-manager: 1.4.6-1 (from AUR)
- Epiphany (GNOME Web): 49.6 (both AUR and Flatpak)
- Desktop Environment: KDE Plasma
Description
When creating a webapp using Epiphany as the backend, the resulting .desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications/ is completely empty (0 bytes). The webapp cannot be launched as a result.
Steps to Reproduce
- Open webapp-manager
- Create a new webapp with Epiphany selected as the browser
- Check
~/.local/share/applications/WebApp-[name].desktop — file is empty
Terminal Output
Running webapp-manager from the terminal and creating the webapp produces the following warnings:
(epiphany:575946): epiphany-WARNING **: Profile directory /home/ptrk/.local/share/org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp-truenastest7468 does not begin with required web app prefix org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp_
[ ephy-profile-migrator.c ] migrate_profile_directories: moving '/home/ptrk/.local/share/org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp-truenastest7468' to '/home/ptrk/.local/share/org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp_truenastest7468'
(ephy-profile-migrator.c): Cannot remove old desktop file symlink '/home/ptrk/.local/share/applications/org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp-truenastest7468.desktop'
--profile must be an existing directory when --application-mode is requested
Root Cause
Epiphany 49 requires profile directories to be named using an underscore separator (org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp_name), but webapp-manager creates them using a hyphen (org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp-name). Epiphany's profile migrator attempts to rename the directory from hyphen to underscore format, but fails to clean up the old symlink, leaving the profile in a broken state. Because the profile directory is never successfully created, the webapp launch fails and the .desktop file is left empty.
Expected Behavior
Webapp-manager should create Epiphany profile directories using an underscore separator (org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp_name) to match the naming convention required by current versions of Epiphany.
Workaround
Using a Firefox-based backend in webapp-manager is unaffected by this issue and works as expected, so using that as a backend is general workaround option to Epiphany. I haven't tested in Chromium-based browsers yet.
Adding this as an addendum, but when I went to create a webapp in Epiphany, I found the webapp-manager generated ones there. Strangely, I was able to launch them with epiphany's 'Launch' button under the "Manage Web Apps" section.
Note: Epiphany's own 'Install as Web App' feature appears non-functional on this system regardless of installation method (AUR and Flatpak both tested), so using Epiphany's built-in creation as a workaround is not currently viable, unless you create all apps in webapp-manager, then only launch via Epiphany.
Environment
Description
When creating a webapp using Epiphany as the backend, the resulting
.desktopfile in~/.local/share/applications/is completely empty (0 bytes). The webapp cannot be launched as a result.Steps to Reproduce
~/.local/share/applications/WebApp-[name].desktop— file is emptyTerminal Output
Running
webapp-managerfrom the terminal and creating the webapp produces the following warnings:Root Cause
Epiphany 49 requires profile directories to be named using an underscore separator (
org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp_name), but webapp-manager creates them using a hyphen (org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp-name). Epiphany's profile migrator attempts to rename the directory from hyphen to underscore format, but fails to clean up the old symlink, leaving the profile in a broken state. Because the profile directory is never successfully created, the webapp launch fails and the.desktopfile is left empty.Expected Behavior
Webapp-manager should create Epiphany profile directories using an underscore separator (
org.gnome.Epiphany.WebApp_name) to match the naming convention required by current versions of Epiphany.Workaround
Using a Firefox-based backend in webapp-manager is unaffected by this issue and works as expected, so using that as a backend is general workaround option to Epiphany. I haven't tested in Chromium-based browsers yet.
Adding this as an addendum, but when I went to create a webapp in Epiphany, I found the webapp-manager generated ones there. Strangely, I was able to launch them with epiphany's 'Launch' button under the "Manage Web Apps" section.
Note: Epiphany's own 'Install as Web App' feature appears non-functional on this system regardless of installation method (AUR and Flatpak both tested), so using Epiphany's built-in creation as a workaround is not currently viable, unless you create all apps in webapp-manager, then only launch via Epiphany.