When I change the Web Browser to sensible-browser in System Settings Default Applications it also sets the xdg-settings default-web-browser to phpmyadmin.desktop. This desktop file isn't part of any package and if it was used it would load http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ Contents of phpmyadmin.desktop: [Desktop Entry] Name=phpMyAdmin Comment=MySQL management over web Exec=sensible-browser http://localhost/phpmyadmin/ Terminal=false Type=Application Icon=phpmyadmin Categories=Development;Database; It doesn't seem to actually be using the command line from the desktop file. It's just weird. If I change it back with xdg-settings set google-chrome.desktop, the change will also happen in System Settings. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1.Change Web Browser in Default Applications dialog of System Settings to sensible-browser 2.(command line) xdg-settings get default-web-browser 3.(command line) xdg-settings set default-web-browser google-chrome.desktop 4.Check the Web Browser in the Default Applications dialog in System Settings Actual Results: xdg-settings get default-web-browser shows that the browser has been changed to phpmyadmin.desktop. When I change it back with xdg-settings set, it's also changed in System Settings. Expected Results: KDE uses /usr/bin/sensible-browser (a command, not a .desktop file) and xdg-settings uses google-chrome.desktop If KDE can only use .desktop files for default applications, the setting shouldn't be a text input field. If it's supposed to automagically find the right desktop file, then it should match the full Exec value, not just part of the field. A better solution would be a drop-down for app-selection (from existing apps with desktop files) and a button to create a new app which brings up the kmenuedit interface. systemsettings 4:4.11.1-0ubuntu1~ubuntu12.10~ppa2
Not sure if this is connected, but I have the issue of not being able to change the default browser in "Default Applications" at all. When I change it and press apply or ok, it reverts back to "in an application based on the contents of the URL". My reason for changing it was that I get the error "KDEInit could not launch '/usr/lib/firefox/firefox'", and I can't figure out how to solve that or why it would even look for firefox there. I'm on debian stretch with plasma 5.8.4.
Though there are many issues with setting a default browser, this particular one is an issue with xdg-settings or its invocation.