FFS won't run in Lubuntu 25.04

[BrianStanding]

I recently upgraded to Lubuntu 25.04 from 24.10. Now, when I click on the FreeFileSync shortcut on my desktop, try to launch it from the tasknbar, or try to launch it from Discover, nothing happens. I mean, like, nothing at all, no error, no acknowlegement at all. I've uninstalled and reinstalled FreeFileSync, but it still doesn't work.

Always worked fine in 24.10.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[Pete12]

Hi, i am facing also an problem on ubuntu 25.10, perhaps is the same issue : viewtopic.php?t=12287

[BrianStanding]

OK, works if I open Terminal and type

freefilesync

but won't work by clicking on icon in the GUI, or "launch" in Discover.

[bgstack15]

Can you share the contents of the .desktop file that is in the taskbar shortcut or any of those other graphical methods that fail? Perhaps right-click the shortcut(s), select "edit" and look for the executable command. Perhaps it is not calling "freefilesync" and needs to be adjusted.
Probable places the .desktop file will be in the filesystem:
• /usr/share/applications/org.freefilesync.FreeFileSync.desktop
• /usr/share/applications/FreeFileSync.desktop
• /home/BrianStanding/.local/share/applications/FreeFileSync.desktop
• any ./applications directory underneath each directory listed in $XDG_DATA_DIRS (run "echo $XDG_DATA_DIRS")

[BrianStanding]

Here are the contents of FreeFileSync.desktop:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=FreeFileSync
Exec="/home/brian/FreeFileSync/FreeFileSync" %F
Icon=/home/brian/FreeFileSync/Resources/FreeFileSync.png
Terminal=false
Categories=Utility;FileTools;Archiving;
StartupNotify=true
MimeType=application/x-freefilesync-gui;application/x-freefilesync-batch;
Comment=Folder Comparison and Synchronization
Comment[ar]=مقارنة ومزامنة المجلدات
Comment[bg]=Сравняване и синхронизация на папки
Comment[cs]=porovnání a synchronizace složek
Comment[da]=Mappeanalyse og synkronisering
Comment[de]=Ordnervergleich und Synchronisation
Comment[el]=Σύγκριση Φακέλων και Συγχρονισμός
Comment[en_GB]=Folder Comparison and Synchronisation
Comment[es]=Comparación y sincronización de carpetas
Comment[fi]=Hakemistojen vertailu ja synkronointi
Comment[fr]=Comparaison de dossiers et Synchronisation
Comment[he]=סנכרון קבצים ותיקיות
Comment[hi]=निर्देशिका तुलना और सिंक्रनाइज़ेशन
Comment[hr]=Usporedba i sinkronizacija mapa
Comment[hu]=Mappa összehasonlítás és szinkronizálás
Comment[it]=Comparazione delle Cartelle e Sincronizzazione
Comment[ja]=フォルダの比較と同期
Comment[ko]=폴더 비교 및 동기화
Comment[lt]=Aplankų Palyginimas ir Suvienodinimas
Comment[nl]=Map vergelijken en synchroniseren
Comment[no]=Mappe-sammenligning og synkronisering
Comment[pl]=Porównywanie i Synchronizacja folderów
Comment[pt]=Comparação e Sincronização de Pastas
Comment[pt_BR]=Comparação e Sincronização de Pastas
Comment[ro]=Comparație și sincronizare a directoarelor
Comment[ru]=Сравнение и синхронизация
Comment[sk]=Porovnanie a synchronizácia priečinkov
Comment[sl]=Primerjava in sinhronizacija mape
Comment[sv]=Mappjämförelse och synkronisering
Comment[tr]=Klasör Karşılaştırma ve Eşitleme
Comment[vi]=So sánh và đồng bộ hóa thư mục
Comment[zh]=文件夹比较与同步
Comment[zh_TW]=資料夾比對和同步

[BrianStanding]

By the way, double-clicking on the executable file /home/brian/FreeFileSync/FreeFileSync does nothing, either.

[bgstack15]

It is hard for me to understand, but in my experience, the .desktop files do not need quote marks in the Exec= line. Remove the quote marks.
Also, check to see what full path is resolved and displayed with this:

which freefilesync


It might be /usr/bin/freefilesync, or it might be /home/brian/.local/bin/freefilesync, or something. But that path will help us find what binary gets run from the command line, that is useful to you.

[BrianStanding]

Great, that's helpful. I replaced the Exec line with /usr/bin/freefilesync (no quotes). Now it works fine.

Thanks!

[Zenju]

I replaced the Exec line with /usr/bin/freefilesync (no quotes). Now it works fine.

That's puzzling: "/usr/bin/freefilesync" isn't used by FreeFileSync (anymore in recent versions), but "/usr/local/bin/freefilesync" instead, and only for the "all users" installation.

On the other hand there is "Exec="/home/brian/FreeFileSync/FreeFileSync" %F", which indicates a local installation, where the "FreeFileSync" executable apparently lost its executable bit during the OS upgrade.

So it seems you have a mishmash of two FreeFileSync installations: an old "all users" installation and a broken local installation.