You can change an application icon by replacing the image file the program uses, or by editing the shortcut that launches it — the method depends on your operating system and whether you want the change to affect just your desktop or the program everywhere.
The simplest approach on any system is to change the icon on a shortcut or launcher without touching the program itself. This takes a few minutes and leaves the original program untouched. If you want to change the icon that appears when you open the application menu or file browser, you will need to either edit the program's configuration files (on Linux) or replace the icon file inside the program's folder (on Windows and Mac), which is more involved but permanent across all your shortcuts.
Key Takeaways
- On Windows, right-click a shortcut, select Properties, click Change Icon, and browse to a new image file — this changes only that shortcut, not the program itself.
- On Mac, select an application in Finder, press Command+I to open Get Info, drag a new image into the icon box at the top left, and the change applies system-wide.
- On Linux, edit the .desktop file in your applications folder to point to a new icon path, or use a graphical tool like Alacarte if your desktop environment supports it.
- Icon files are usually .ico, .png, or .svg format; Windows prefers .ico, while Mac and Linux work with .png and .svg.
- Changing a shortcut icon is reversible and safe; changing the icon inside a program folder may revert when the program updates.
Changing the icon on a Windows shortcut
Right-click the shortcut on your desktop or in your Start menu, then select Properties from the menu that appears. In the Properties window, click the Shortcut tab if it is not already open. At the bottom of the window, click the Change Icon button.
A dialog box will open showing icons from the program's main file. If none of these appeal to you, click Browse to navigate to a folder containing icon files you have downloaded or created. Select the image file you want — Windows accepts .ico, .png, and .jpg files — then click Open. Click OK to apply the change, then OK again to close Properties. The shortcut icon will update immediately on your desktop or in the Start menu.
This method changes only the shortcut you edited, not the program itself. If you create a new shortcut to the same program later, it will use the original icon again. To change the icon everywhere the program appears, you need to replace the icon file inside the program's installation folder, which is more complex and may revert if the program updates.
Changing the icon on a Mac application
Open Finder and navigate to your Applications folder. Find the program whose icon you want to change, right-click it, and select Get Info from the menu. You can also press Command+I with the application selected. The Get Info window will open with a small icon in the top left corner.
Prepare a new image file in .png or .jpg format — it should be square and at least 512 by 512 pixels for best results. Drag this image file directly onto the icon box in the top left of the Get Info window. The icon will change immediately. Close the Get Info window, and the new icon will appear in Finder, the Dock, and the Applications menu system-wide.
Unlike Windows shortcuts, this change affects the application itself on your Mac, not just a shortcut. If the program updates, the icon may revert to the original. To make the change permanent across updates, you would need to replace the icon file inside the application package itself, which requires opening the package in Finder (right-click the app, select Show Package Contents) and navigating to Contents/Resources — a step most users do not need.
Changing the icon on a Linux application
Linux applications store their icon information in .desktop files, which are text files that tell your system how to launch the program and what icon to display. The location and method depend on your desktop environment, but the principle is the same: you edit the Icon line in the .desktop file to point to a new image.
The easiest graphical approach is to use Alacarte (on GNOME) or KMenuEdit (on KDE). Open the application menu editor, find the program you want to change, right-click it, select Edit, and look for an Icon field. Click the icon button to browse for a new image file. Save the changes, and the icon will update in your application menu.
If your desktop environment does not have a menu editor, you can edit the .desktop file directly. Open a file manager and navigate to ~/.local/share/applications/ (for user-only changes) or /usr/share/applications/ (for system-wide changes, which requires administrator access). Find the .desktop file for your program, open it with a text editor, and locate the line that starts with Icon=. Change the path or filename to point to your new icon file — use the full path if the icon is not in a standard location — then save the file. The icon will update in your application menu and launcher.
Where to find or create icon files
Icon files come in several formats. Windows prefers .ico files, while Mac and Linux work with .png and .svg files. SVG (scalable vector graphics) is ideal because it looks sharp at any size, but PNG works well too if it is at least 256 by 256 pixels.
You can download free icons from sites like Flaticon, The Noun Project, or Iconmonstr. Search for the name of the program or a concept that matches it — for example, searching "mail" on Flaticon will return thousands of envelope and mailbox icons. Download the file in your preferred format, and save it somewhere you will remember, like a folder called "Icons" in your Documents or home directory.
If you want to create a custom icon, you can use free tools like GIMP (available on Windows, Mac, and Linux) or Inkscape (for vector graphics). Design your image at a square size — 256 by 256 pixels is a safe minimum — then export it as PNG or SVG. On Windows, you can convert a PNG to ICO format using an online converter or a tool like ImageMagick.
What happens when the program updates
If you changed the icon by editing a shortcut (Windows) or by editing a .desktop file (Linux), your change will survive program updates because you modified something outside the program's folder. If you replaced the icon file inside the program's installation folder itself, an update may overwrite your custom icon and restore the original.
To protect a custom icon from being overwritten, keep a copy of the icon file in a separate location, like your Documents or home directory. If an update reverts your icon, you can quickly restore it by repeating the change process and pointing to your saved copy.
Troubleshooting icon changes that do not appear
On Windows, if your new icon does not appear after you change it, try clearing the icon cache. Open Command Prompt as administrator, type taskkill /f /im explorer.exe, wait a moment, then type explorer.exe to restart the file manager. Your new icon should appear.
On Mac, if the icon does not update in Finder or the Dock, try logging out and logging back in, or restarting your Mac. Sometimes the system needs to refresh its icon cache. If the icon appears in Get Info but not elsewhere, try removing the application from the Dock (if it is there) and re-adding it.
On Linux, if the icon does not appear after editing a .desktop file, make sure the file path in the Icon line is correct — use the full path if the icon is not in a standard location like /usr/share/pixmaps/. Some desktop environments cache icons, so you may need to log out and log back in, or run gtk-update-icon-cache from the terminal if you are using GNOME.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use any image file as an icon?
Any image file can work, but some formats are better than others. PNG and SVG are ideal because they support transparency and scale cleanly. JPG works but may have a colored background. ICO is Windows-specific. For best results, use a square image at least 256 by 256 pixels, or 512 by 512 for high-resolution displays.
Will changing an icon affect how the program runs?
No. The icon is purely visual — it does not change the program's code or behavior. Changing a shortcut icon is completely safe. Changing the icon inside a program folder is also safe, though updates may overwrite it.
What if I want to change the icon back to the original?
On Windows, right-click the shortcut, select Properties, click Change Icon, and click Restore Default. On Mac, open Get Info, click the icon, and press Delete. On Linux, edit the .desktop file and remove or comment out the Icon line, or use your menu editor to reset it.
Can I use an emoji or a photo as an icon?
You can convert an emoji or photo to an image file and use it, but results vary. Emojis are small and may look blurry when enlarged. Photos work better if they are cropped to a square and simplified — detailed photos often look cluttered at icon size. A simple, high-contrast image always works better than a complex one.
Do I need administrator access to change an icon?
On Windows and Mac, changing a shortcut or application icon in your user folder does not require administrator access. On Linux, changing an icon in ~/.local/share/applications/ does not require it, but editing /usr/share/applications/ does. If you do not have administrator access, edit the .desktop file in your user folder instead.