Tilix does not open from GNOME application launcher when DBusActivatable=true

[maravento]

Bug Report: Tilix does not open from application launcher when DBusActivatable=true

Application: Tilix
Operating System: Ubuntu MATE 24.04
Desktop Environment: MATE
Desktop entry file: /usr/share/applications/com.gexperts.Tilix.desktop

Description

When launching Tilix from the Ubuntu MATE application menu, no terminal window appears. However, a Tilix process remains running in GApplication service mode:

/usr/bin/tilix --gapplication-service

The process remains active, but the graphical interface is not displayed.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Tilix from the MATE application menu.
2. Check running processes:

ps aux | grep tilix

3. Observe:

/usr/bin/tilix --gapplication-service

4. No Tilix window appears.

Cause Identified

The desktop entry file contains:

DBusActivatable=true

This causes the MATE application launcher to start Tilix through D-Bus activation instead of directly executing:

Exec=tilix

The D-Bus activation does not complete successfully, leaving only the GApplication service process running without creating a visible terminal window.

Workaround

Modify the desktop entry file:

DBusActivatable=true

change to:

DBusActivatable=false

After this change, Tilix launches normally from the application menu.

Expected Behavior

Clicking the Tilix icon in the Ubuntu MATE application menu should open a Tilix terminal window without requiring it to be started from another terminal.

Additional Information

Launching Tilix manually works correctly:

tilix

The issue appears to be related to the interaction between:

• Tilix
• MATE application launcher
• D-Bus activation
• GApplication

Additional diagnostic information:

tilix --version
Versions
    Tilix version: 1.9.6
    VTE version: 0.76
    GTK version: 32441

Tilix Special Features
    Notifications enabled: 0
    Triggers enabled: 0
    Badges enabled: 1

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
x11

may help determine whether the issue depends on the Tilix version or the graphical session type.

[hiSandog]

DBusActivatable=true should invoke the application's well-known bus service and its Activate method; a lingering --gapplication-service process suggests activation reaches the service but no window request completes. Checking the installed D-Bus service name against the desktop file ID and capturing G_MESSAGES_DEBUG=all/bus-monitor output for one launcher click would locate that break. A packaging test under MATE and GNOME should verify both cold activation and activating an already-running service before disabling D-Bus activation globally.

[maravento]

Thank you for your feedback.

I have already spent a significant amount of time investigating this issue. The workaround of setting DBusActivatable=false resolves the problem for my use case, so I don't plan to spend additional time investigating the root cause.

If you need further information, please provide a specific debugging procedure or a script that collects the required diagnostics. I'll gladly run it and post the results.

Otherwise, since I have a working workaround, I'll close this issue on my side.

Thank you.