Linux Desktop Shortcut and Icon from Install

rpm installing an icon to the desktop

This thread will help anyone who comes here looking for more information:
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/packaging/2011-February/007602.html

Where to install icon for a user-specific application while adhering to FreeDesktop standards?

Rereading the XDG Icon Specification, I noticed the specification references the XDG Base Directory Specification by including $XDG_DATA_DIRS. This inclusion implies that that the Base Directory Specification is also in effect, which in turn mandates that

Lookups of the data file should search for ./subdir/filename relative to all base directories specified by $XDG_DATA_HOME and $XDG_DATA_DIRS . If an environment variable is either not set or empty, its default value as defined by this specification should be used instead. (src)

So, assuming my understanding is correct and XDG desktops adhere to specs, the user-specific icon location for your application is $XDG_DATA_HOME/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps/$YOURAPP.(png|xpm) and $XDG_DATA_HOME/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/$YOURAPP.svg. File extensions are case-sensitive and only these three extensions are allowed. Also note that SVG support is optional.

If $XDG_DATA_HOME is not set, you should default to $HOME/.local/share as per the Base Directory Specification.

How to set my application's desktop icon for Linux: KDE, Gnome etc?

For Gnome and Kde, you would probably want to include a desktop file with your app that defines how it will be launched. The specification can be found here. If you have an installer included with your app, you would probably want to have it generate this desktop file and put it in the right places to make menu entries and whatnot

How to add CLion icon to desktop in Ubuntu

You can add a desktop entry to your system directly in CLion :

Main Menu > Tools > Create Desktop entry...

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