Fixing File Associations in Dolphin / Hyprland / KDE6 / Wayland

🛠️ About

This repository provides a step-by-step guide to fix broken MIME file associations in Dolphin file manager under Hyprland and KDE 6 (Wayland).

✅ Tested on Manjaro/Arch Linux. May work with other KDE-Wayland setups.

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📋 Overview - A practical guide

Dolphin may not correctly open files in their associated applications when used under Hyprland + KDE6. This is due to missing or misconfigured components such as:

• Missing applications.menu
• Broken or user-defined MIME types (e.g. text/plain)
• Corrupt KDE service cache (KSycoca)
• Incorrect or outdated .desktop assignments

This guide walks you through the steps to fix it.

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✅ System Requirements

• Operating System: Arch / Manjaro Linux
• Environment: Hyprland + KDE Frameworks 6
• File Manager: Dolphin

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🔧 Fix Steps

1. Update system MIME database

sudo update-mime-database /usr/share/mime

2. Clear KDE service cache (KSycoca)

rm ~/.cache/ksycoca6_*

Then logout and log back in to your KDE/Wayland session.

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3. Fix missing applications.menu

Check if it exists:

ls /etc/xdg/menus/applications.menu

If it’s missing, create a symlink:

sudo ln -s /etc/xdg/menus/plasma-applications.menu /etc/xdg/menus/applications.menu

Then regenerate cache:

rm ~/.cache/ksycoca6_*
kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental --track menu
xdg-mime default org.kde.kate.desktop text/plain

Restart Dolphin:

killall dolphin
dolphin &

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4. Verify file association

xdg-mime query default text/plain
# Should return:
org.kde.kate.desktop

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5. Edit mimeapps.list manually

cd ~/.config
nano mimeapps.list

Replace invalid entries like:

text/plain=kate6;

With correct ones:

text/plain=org.kde.kate.desktop;

⚠️ Make sure each line ends with a ;

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🧪 Test

Open the following file types in Dolphin:

• .txt, .jpg, .mp3, .mp4, .odt, etc.

They should now open in their default applications automatically.

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📝 Notes

• Run kbuildsycoca6 every time you change menu or .desktop files.

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🧩 Optional: Manually create .desktop or applications.menu

See full guide in Fixing_Dolphin_and_Hyprland.md.