Temporary workaround for Hub bug

Unity Engine
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The Hub is now installed on supported platforms via the corresponding package manager. Please see the documentation at Install the Unity Hub | Unity Hub | 3.0 to install the Hub. You may want to clean up the files and edits from these steps prior to moving over to the package.

There is currently a bug in the Linux Hub where Hub links do not open the Hub. Additionally, searching for and launching the Hub in GNOME doesn’t work.
Until the issue is fixed in the official build, here is a completely unofficial workaround that should get you going. Note that this is only tested on GNOME with no path configuration changes.
You can tell if you affected by this bug by checking for the existence of ~/.local/share/applications/appimagekit-unityhub.desktop. If this file does exist, you should be OK.
Otherwise, you can work around the issue by applying the following steps:
1) Create the file ~/.local/share/applications/appimagekit-unityhub.desktop with the following contents, substituting your correct home path and path of the UnityHub.AppImage file:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Unity Hub
Comment=The Official Unity Hub
Exec=“/home/SubstituteMe/.local/bin/UnityHub.AppImage” %U
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Icon=appimagekit-unityhub
MimeType=x-scheme-handler/unityhub;
Categories=Development;
X-Desktop-File-Install-Version=0.24
TryExec=/home/SubstituteMe/.local/bin/UnityHub.AppImage
2) (Updated, see old step below if you have issues.) Run the following command to register the URL scheme with XDG: xdg-mime default appimagekit-unityhub.desktop x-scheme-handler/unityhub
2) Create or open the file ~/.local/share/applications/mimeinfo.cache. Add the following content. If the file already exists, leave out the first line:

[MIME Cache]
x-scheme-handler/unityhub=appimagekit-unityhub.desktop;
You should now be able to open Hub links and search for it in GNOME.

8 Likes
2

Could you give an example about that, a link I could try? I don’t seem to have this problem and the desktop file doesn’t exist in my system. I’m using Linux Mint Xfce. Thanks.

3

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately that didn’t fix the issue in Pop_OS 20.10 (Unity 2020.1.10f1)

1 Like
4

Works perfectly on Ubuntu 20.04. Really helpful workaround. Thanks for sharing!

5

unityhub://2019.4.8f1/60781d942082

6

Thanks. I get a white page in my browser when I click on this link; what should I get instead?

7

Sorry I messed up the link. I fixed it now. Anyway you should get a popup asking if you want to open it in Unity hub:

6465265--725224--upload_2020-10-28_1-2-54.png

The links to actual builds can be found here (Under the green “Unity Hub” button): Download Archive

8

Yeah, I’ve used these buttons many times in the past.

The button for 2019.4.8.f1 you used as an example (not the link, the actual button on the archive page) actually works for me, once I’ve added the proper instructions to Firefox (I tend to forget to do that when a new version of the Hub is released. It wouldn’t be a problem if I didn’t change the name of UnityHub.Appimage into the full name of the new version though…):

6466771--725596--Capture d’écran_2020-10-28_17-13-32.png

Once this done, on clicking on the green UnityHub button, the hub opens and offers to install Unity:

6466771--725602--Capture d’écran_2020-10-28_17-14-21.png

Do I need to desktop file for anything else?

9

No. But if Unity hub installed that file correctly, you wouldn’t have to modify Firefox settings: it would just work.

1 Like
10

Oh, that’s not much a bother. :slight_smile:

Will this be fixed in a future version of the Hub?

11

Yes, that’s the plan but not sure about the timeline of that.

1 Like
12

@ , the .desktop file if still necessary if you are in an GNOME environment where only apps with .desktop files show up in app searches.

Take Ubuntu for example. If you haven’t added the Hub as a startup app, you will have to go to the CLI each time you want to start the Hub. If you have the .desktop file, you can press the Windows key and type “hub” and it will show in the search :slight_smile:

13

Thanks for the input but, as I’ve already mentioned, I’m using Xfce, not Gnome. I have no problem at all starting the Hub. :slight_smile:

14

It looks like a bug under Ubuntu, on Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon works fine.

15

Thanks, I was thinking it was a problem with my installation, I managed to fix it with the instructions.

I’m on Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon

16

Even though Unity Hub is integrated into my desktop, and set to handle unityhub links, opening it via the browser only opens Unity Hub - it doesn’t actually open the version for install. Passing the unityhub link to the Hub Appimage on the command line works, but feels like very much not the intended experience.

Could this be related, or is it a separate bug?

17

Yes, it happens to me too. The only way, is clicking again and again on the Hub button on the web page until the installation starts… or try another day.

Probably a bug of some sort, either related to the Hub itself or the servers. Difficult to say. :slight_smile:

18

@ettmetal_1 , @

So clicking on a Hub link from the Unity Download Archive does not work after running both steps 1 and 2?

I tried this on my Linux Mint 20.1 install and didn’t have a problem with the Hub links.

If you paste a specific link I can try, that would be helpful.

19

Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen with every link; I remember having to try ten times in a row before the installation begins. I don’t remember with version of Unity it was.

20

I know I’m not on a supported distro (dirty Arch/Plasma user here) but this worked perfectly for me

Since the version installed from the AUR installed the bins rather than the appimage I modified the Exec and TryExec lines to /opt/unityhub/unityhub-bin

Many thanks for the workaround