[Feedback / Solution] WebApps showing generic gear icon on taskbar in Zorin OS (Wayland)

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[Feedback / Solution] WebApps showing generic gear icon on taskbar in Zorin OS (Wayland)

Hello Zorin Team and Community,

I would like to share a bug report and a verified technical solution regarding WebApps created with Google Chrome/Chromium under Zorin OS (Wayland session).

The Issue

When creating a web app via "Web Apps" (webapp-manager) with Google Chrome (such as YouTube Music):

  • The icon appears fine in the Zorin Menu and Favorites.
  • However, when opened, the running window does not combine with the launcher and instead displays a separate generic gear icon on the bottom taskbar.

Root Cause

  1. Wayland app_id mismatch: Modern Google Chrome running on Wayland ignores the --class argument and sets the Wayland app_id based on its URL scheme (chrome-music.youtube.com__-Default). Because the .desktop file specifies StartupWMClass=WebApp-..., the taskbar cannot correlate the window to the launcher.
  2. Icon theme search path: Default presets (such as web-youtube) are stored in /usr/share/icons/Zorin/.../web/, whereas standard FreeDesktop application lookups query apps/.

Verified Workaround / Solution

  1. In the .desktop file (~/.local/share/applications/):
    Set StartupWMClass=chrome-<host>__-Default (e.g. chrome-music.youtube.com__-Default).
  2. Ensure the icon asset is registered under the apps context in ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/<size>/apps/.
    (Note: Do not create a symlink with the app_id name in applications/, as setting StartupWMClass alone avoids duplicate menu entries).

This completely resolves the gear icon issue and makes WebApps behave natively on the Zorin taskbar. Hopefully this can be integrated into future updates of the Zorin WebApp Manager package!

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Hi and welcome.

Thanks for your time and input. I may have to make a note of this for the Unofficial 18.1 Core Manual. I've done a video, but it needs improving as I missed a whole lot of stuff on Accessibility, plus borked the video partway through using a USB redirect to show the Camera App in Graphics working.

The video will be a desktop tour in 'live mode' to correspond with the manual. What is interesting is that in 'Try Zorin' mode it does not use Wayland but xorg/X11. This clearly indicates that Wayland is still not ready for mainstream use and your findings are yet more confirmation of this.

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Hi swarfendor437,

You're very welcome! I'm really glad to hear that this information is useful and that it might help with the Unofficial 18.1 Core Manual.

It's great to know that sharing these findings helps the community. Whenever I come across anything else that I think can contribute or make the system better for everyone, I'll definitely share it here.

Thanks for your dedication to the manual and the video!

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