freedesktop

Freedesktop.org is an international, community-driven project that coordinates interoperability standards for the desktop environment on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Its aim is to enable applications and desktop environments from different teams to work together, sharing common metadata, file formats, and user interface conventions. The project hosts specifications, guidelines, and reference implementations that influence how software is packaged, launched, and displayed in graphical sessions.

Freedesktop.org originated in the early 2000s as a collaboration among developers from major desktop environments such as GNOME and KDE, with participation from the X.Org community and other projects. It operates as a neutral umbrella for cross-desktop coordination, rather than a product vendor or software project itself. Its resources are maintained by a global community of volunteers and contributors, with changes proposed and discussed on mailing lists and tracked in versioned specification repositories.

Key outputs include the XDG family of specifications, which cover file and directory layout (XDG Base Directory Specification), desktop entry files (.desktop) that describe applications, the MIME type database, and icon theme and menu interoperability standards. Other areas include startup notification, shared MIME information, and guidelines for session management and portability. These specifications commonly influence major desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce, and LXDE, as well as distribution packaging systems.

Freedesktop.org standards are published on its website and form the basis for cross-desktop compatibility across Linux distributions. See also XDG Base Directory, Desktop Entry Specification, Icon Theme Specification.