NAME

       update-desktop-database - Build cache database of MIME types handled by desktop files

SYNOPSIS

       update-desktop-database [-q|--quiet] [-v|--verbose] [DIRECTORY...]

DESCRIPTION

       The  update-desktop-database  program  is  a  tool to build a cache database of the MIME types handled by
       desktop files.

       The cache database contains the list of MIME types that can be handled by desktop files, as well as,  for
       each MIME type, a list of desktop files that can handle this MIME type. This cache database ease the work
       of applications that need to find an application that can open a document of a specific MIME type:  those
       applications  will  not have to parse all the desktop files existing on the system, and can instead parse
       this cache database.

       If no DIRECTORY is specified as argument, the desktop files that will be processed are the ones installed
       in $XDG_DATA_DIRS/applications.

       If both the --quiet and --verbose options are used, then --verbose will be ignored.

OPTIONS

       The following options are supported:

       -q, --quiet
              Do not display any information about processing and updating progress.

       -v, --verbose
              Display more information about processing and updating progress.

NOTES

       If an invalid MIME type is met, it will be ignored and the creation of the cache database will continue.

       The  format  of  the cache database is a simple desktop entry format, with a MIME Cache group, containing
       one key per MIME type. The key name is the MIME type, and the key value is the list of desktop file  that
       can handle this MIME type.

       The  order  of  the  desktop  files  found  for  a  MIME type is not significant.  Therefore, an external
       mechanism must be used to determine what is the preferred desktop file for a MIME type.

EXAMPLE

       Here is a simple example of a cache database:

               [MIME Cache]
               application/x-shellscript=gedit.desktop;
               text/plain=gedit.desktop;gvim.desktop;
               video/webm=totem.desktop;

       This cache database is created with three desktop files, each containing a MimeType key:

               gedit.desktop: MimeType=text/plain;application/x-shellscript;
               gvim.desktop: MimeType=text/plain;
               totem.desktop: MimeType=video/webm;

FILES

       $XDG_DATA_DIRS/applications/mimeinfo.cache

              This file is the cache database created by update-desktop-database.

BUGS

       If   you   find   bugs   in   the   update-desktop-database   program,    please    report    these    on
       https://bugs.freedesktop.org.

                                                 FREEDESKTOP.ORG                      UPDATE-DESKTOP-DATABASE(1)