diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 5d3bcea..4ea8d4c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -117,6 +117,142 @@ jobs:
           files: ${{ env.ARCHIVE }}
           fail_on_unmatched_files: true
 
+  release-linux-appimage:
+    name: Release / Linux X64 AppImage
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          submodules: recursive
+          path: 'Theseus'
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: 'mpv-player/mpv'
+          ref: 'release/0.41'
+          path: 'mpv'
+      - name: Install deps
+        # libgl-dev: needed by projectM's cmake FindOpenGL probe even
+        # though the running binary uses bgfx/Vulkan.
+        # cmake: GitHub runners preinstall it, but make it explicit.
+        run: |
+          sudo apt update
+          sudo apt install -y wayland-protocols \
+          libwayland-client0 libavfilter-dev \
+          libplacebo-dev libass-dev \
+          libcdio-dev libcdio-paranoia-dev \
+          libdvdnav-dev libarchive-dev \
+          libopenal-dev libpipewire-0.3-dev \
+          libpulse-dev libdrm-dev \
+          libdisplay-info-dev libgbm-dev \
+          libwayland-dev libx11-dev \
+          xscreensaver libxext-dev \
+          libxpresent-dev libxrandr-dev \
+          libxkbcommon-dev libxss-dev \
+          libegl-dev libva-dev \
+          libavformat-dev libswscale-dev \
+          build-essential pkg-config \
+          cmake libsdl2-dev \
+          libsdl2-mixer-dev libvulkan-dev \
+          libgl-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev \
+          meson
+
+      - name: Build minimal mpv
+        run: |
+          meson setup build \
+          --auto-features disabled \
+          -Dgpl='true' \
+          -Dlibmpv='true' \
+          -Dcdda=enabled \
+          -Ddvbin=enabled \
+          -Ddvdnav=enabled \
+          -Dlibarchive=enabled \
+          -Dopenal=enabled \
+          -Degl='enabled' \
+          -Ddrm='enabled' \
+          -Dgbm='enabled' \
+          -Degl-x11='enabled' \
+          -Degl-wayland='enabled' \
+          -Degl-drm='enabled' \
+          -Dalsa='enabled' \
+          -Dpulse='enabled' \
+          -Dx11='enabled' \
+          -Dvaapi='enabled' \
+          -Dvaapi-drm='enabled' \
+          -Dvaapi-wayland='enabled' \
+          -Dvaapi-x11='enabled' \
+          -Dpipewire='enabled' \
+          -Dlibavdevice='disabled' \
+          -Ddmabuf-wayland='enabled' \
+          -Dwayland='enabled'
+
+          meson compile -C build
+
+          meson install -C build
+
+      - name: Stub Configs/Data/Library
+        run: |
+          cd ~/Theseus
+          mkdir -p Configs Data Library
+
+      - name: Build bgfx libs
+        run: |
+          cd theseus/third-party/bgfx
+          ../bx/tools/bin/linux/genie --gcc=linux-gcc gmake
+          make -C .build/projects/gmake-linux-gcc -j$(nproc) \
+               bx bimg bgfx config=release64
+
+      - name: Build
+        run: | 
+          make -C build desktop BGFX=1
+
+          echo "Manually installing libprojectm"
+          cp -r ~/Theseus/theseus/third-party/projectm/install /usr
+
+      - name: Package AppImage
+        run: |
+          cd ~/
+          mkdir -p AppImage/AppDir/usr/bin
+          mkdir -p AppImage/AppDir/usr/lib
+          mkdir -p AppImage/AppDir/usr/share
+          cd ./AppImage
+          cp -r ~/builds/theseus/desktop/* ./AppDir/usr/bin
+          echo "Install Appimage builder"
+          wget https://github.com/linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy/releases/download/1-alpha-20251107-1/linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage
+          wget https://github.com/linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage/releases/download/1-alpha-20250213-1/linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage-x86_64.AppImage
+          chmod +x ./linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage
+          chmod +x ./linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage-x86_64.AppImage
+          echo "Get Icon and write UIX-Desktop.desktop"
+
+          wget 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/39630670'
+
+          cat > UIX-Desktop.desktop << 'EOF'
+          [Desktop Entry]
+          Type=Application
+          Name=UIX Desktop
+          GenericName=Theseus
+          Comment=UIX Desktop - A Reverse Engineered Xbox Dashboard, now on PC!
+          Exec=theseus
+          Icon=theseus
+          Categories=Utility;Game;
+          Terminal=false
+          EOF
+
+          apt install -y ffmpeg
+          mv ./39630670 ./ico.jpeg
+          ffmpeg -i ico.jpeg -vf scale=256:256 theseus.png
+          TAG="${{ github.event.inputs.tag || github.ref_name }}"
+          DROP="Theseus-${TAG}-linux-x64"
+          echo "Building Appimage"
+          ./linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage --appdir AppDir -d ./UIX-Desktop.desktop -i ./theseus.png --output appimage
+          mv UIX_Desktop.AppImage ${DROP}.AppImage
+          echo "APPIMG=${DROP}.AppImage" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+      - name: Upload to release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          tag_name: ${{ github.event.inputs.tag || github.ref_name }}
+          files: ${{ env.APPIMG }}
+          fail_on_unmatched_files: true
+
   release-linux-arm64:
     name: Release / Linux ARM64
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
diff --git a/theseus/desktop/launch.cpp b/theseus/desktop/launch.cpp
index cff8933..ead36ca 100644
--- a/theseus/desktop/launch.cpp
+++ b/theseus/desktop/launch.cpp
@@ -57,8 +57,13 @@ static void ExecLaunch(const char* spec)
 		// macOS: system handler works fine for steam://
 		execlp("open", "open", spec, (char*)NULL);
 #else
+		if (std::getenv("FLATPAK") != NULL) {
+			execlp("flatpak-spawn", "flatpak-spawn", "--host", "/usr/bin/steam", spec, (char*)NULL);
+		}
+		else {
 		// Linux: bypass xdg-open/KIO; steam binary takes the URL directly.
 		execlp("steam", "steam", spec, (char*)NULL);
+		}
 #endif
 	}
 	else if (IsUrl(spec))
@@ -66,7 +71,12 @@ static void ExecLaunch(const char* spec)
 #ifdef __APPLE__
 		execlp("open", "open", spec, (char*)NULL);
 #else
-		execlp("xdg-open", "xdg-open", spec, (char*)NULL);
+		if (std::getenv("FLATPAK") != NULL) {
+			execlp("flatpak-spawn", "flatpak-spawn", "--host", "/bin/sh", spec, (char*)NULL);
+		}
+		else {
+			execlp("xdg-open", "xdg-open", spec, (char*)NULL);
+		}
 #endif
 	}
 	else
diff --git a/theseus/desktop/sdl_main.cpp b/theseus/desktop/sdl_main.cpp
index 01651bf..6105633 100644
--- a/theseus/desktop/sdl_main.cpp
+++ b/theseus/desktop/sdl_main.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 #include "panel_shared.h"
 #include "launch.h"
 #include <signal.h>
+#include <cstdlib>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
 
 #ifdef THESEUS_USE_BGFX
 #include <SDL_syswm.h>
@@ -31,7 +33,6 @@
 #include <bgfx/platform.h>
 #include <cstring>
 #include <cstdio>
-#include <cstdlib>
 
 // Loads Data/shaders/<backend>/<name>.bin. Picks subdir from the active renderer.
 bgfx::ShaderHandle theseus_bgfx_load_shader(const char* name)
@@ -1129,8 +1130,19 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
     // Change working directory to the executable's directory so that
     // relative paths (xboxfs/, etc.) work when launched from Finder/Explorer.
+    // Additionally check for xdg paths to use instead if running on Linux.
+    // And failover to (in order) ~/.local/share (manual) or default running dir
     {
+	
+        const char* xdgdir = std::getenv("XDG_DATA_HOME");
         char exeDir[1024];
+
+        //prepare fallback ~/.local/share path
+        const char* homedir = std::getenv("HOME");
+        char* localdir = "/.local/share";
+        char* homelocaldir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(homedir) + strlen(localdir) );
+        strcpy(homelocaldir, homedir);
+        strcat(homelocaldir, localdir);
 #ifdef _WIN32
         // GetModuleFileName + strip filename
         DWORD len = GetModuleFileNameA(NULL, exeDir, sizeof(exeDir));
@@ -1147,13 +1159,189 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
             chdir(exeDir);
         }
 #else
+	// Try to use XDG path on linux. Should be $HOME/.local/share  Fails over to default working dir behaviour if not set.
+	if (xdgdir != nullptr) {
         ssize_t len = readlink("/proc/self/exe", exeDir, sizeof(exeDir) - 1);
-        if (len > 0) {
-            exeDir[len] = '\0';
-            char* last = strrchr(exeDir, '/');
-            if (last) *last = '\0';
-            chdir(exeDir);
+                if (len > 0) {
+                   		exeDir[len] = '\0';
+		                char* last = strrchr(exeDir, '/');
+                   	 	if (last) *last = '\0';
+	            }
+		fprintf(stdout, "Using XDG directory: %s\n", xdgdir);
+		char* theseusdir = "/Theseus";
+		char* configdir = "/Configs";
+		char* configini = "/Configs/games.ini";
+		char* datadir = "/Data";
+		char* librarydir = "/Library";
+		char* theseusworkdir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(xdgdir) + strlen(theseusdir) );
+		strcpy(theseusworkdir, xdgdir);
+		strcat(theseusworkdir, theseusdir);
+		// Make sure we know the main paths. This is used to ensure these paths exist in this location before trying to copy.
+		// We skip the config dir as it, and any files within, get generated at runtime.
+		char* execonfig = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(exeDir) + strlen(configdir) );
+		char* exedata = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(exeDir) + strlen(datadir) );
+		char* exelib = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(exeDir) + strlen(librarydir) );
+		char* theseusconfigdir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(theseusworkdir) + strlen(configdir) );
+		char* theseusdatadir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(theseusworkdir) + strlen(datadir) );
+		char* theseuslibrarydir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(theseusworkdir) + strlen(librarydir) );
+
+		// Copy contents of theseus work directory to each of the three main data paths
+		strcpy(execonfig, exeDir);
+		strcpy(exedata, exeDir);
+		strcpy(exelib, exeDir);
+		strcpy(theseusconfigdir, theseusworkdir);
+		strcpy(theseusdatadir, theseusworkdir);
+		strcpy(theseuslibrarydir, theseusworkdir);
+		// And concatonate the specific folders we are looking for
+		strcat(execonfig, configdir);
+		strcat(exedata, datadir);
+		strcat(exelib, librarydir);
+		strcat(theseusconfigdir, configdir);
+		strcat(theseusdatadir, datadir);
+		strcat(theseuslibrarydir, librarydir);
+		if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir) && std::filesystem::exists(theseusconfigdir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusdatadir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseuslibrarydir)) {
+			fprintf(stdout, "All required directories exist in: %s\n", theseusworkdir);
+			chdir(theseusworkdir);
+		}
+		else {
+			fprintf(stdout, "XDG path missing files.. running self test\n");
+			if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Working dir exists... %s\n", theseusworkdir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Working dir missing in XDG Path.. Trying to create");
+				std::filesystem::create_directory(theseusworkdir);
+				if(std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir)) {
+					fprintf(stdout, "XDG Working directory created... Copying data files.");
+					std::filesystem::copy(execonfig, theseusconfigdir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+					std::filesystem::copy(exedata, theseusdatadir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+					std::filesystem::copy(exelib, theseuslibrarydir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+				}
+			}
+			if (std::filesystem::exists(theseusconfigdir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Config files exist: %s\n", theseusconfigdir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Config files missing... Trying to copy to xdg path\n");
+                std::filesystem::copy(execonfig, theseusconfigdir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+			}
+			if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusdatadir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Data dir exists: %s\n", theseusdatadir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Data dir missing... Trying to copy to xdg path\n");
+                std::filesystem::copy(exedata, theseusdatadir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+			}
+			if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseuslibrarydir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Library dir exists: %s\n", theseuslibrarydir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Library dir missing...  Trying to copy to xdg path\n");
+                std::filesystem::copy(exelib, theseuslibrarydir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+			}
+            if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir) && std::filesystem::exists(theseusconfigdir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusdatadir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseuslibrarydir)) {
+			    fprintf(stdout, "XDG setup complete... All required directories exist in: %s\n", theseusworkdir);
+			    chdir(theseusworkdir);
+		    }
+            else {
+			    fprintf(stdout, "Attempted XDG setup failed... Failing over to default behaviour\n");
+			    ssize_t len = readlink("/proc/self/exe", exeDir, sizeof(exeDir) - 1);
+                if (len > 0) {
+                   		exeDir[len] = '\0';
+		                char* last = strrchr(exeDir, '/');
+                   	 	if (last) *last = '\0';
+                    		chdir(exeDir);
+	            	     }
+			}
+		}
+	}
+    else if (std::filesystem::is_directory(homelocaldir)) {
+        char* theseusdir = "/Theseus";
+		char* configdir = "/Configs";
+		char* configini = "/Configs/games.ini";
+		char* datadir = "/Data";
+		char* librarydir = "/Library";
+		char* theseusworkdir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(homelocaldir) + strlen(theseusdir) );
+		strcpy(theseusworkdir, homelocaldir);
+		strcat(theseusworkdir, theseusdir);
+		// Make sure we know the main paths. This is used to ensure these paths exist in this location before trying to copy.
+		// We skip the config dir as it, and any files within, get generated at runtime.
+		char* execonfig = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(exeDir) + strlen(configdir) );
+		char* exedata = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(exeDir) + strlen(datadir) );
+		char* exelib = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(exeDir) + strlen(librarydir) );
+		char* theseusconfigdir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(theseusworkdir) + strlen(configdir) );
+		char* theseusdatadir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(theseusworkdir) + strlen(datadir) );
+		char* theseuslibrarydir = (char *) malloc(1+strlen(theseusworkdir) + strlen(librarydir) );
+
+		// Copy contents of theseus work directory to each of the three main data paths
+		strcpy(execonfig, exeDir);
+		strcpy(exedata, exeDir);
+		strcpy(exelib, exeDir);
+		strcpy(theseusconfigdir, theseusworkdir);
+		strcpy(theseusdatadir, theseusworkdir);
+		strcpy(theseuslibrarydir, theseusworkdir);
+		// And concatonate the specific folders we are looking for
+		strcat(execonfig, configdir);
+		strcat(exedata, datadir);
+		strcat(exelib, librarydir);
+		strcat(theseusconfigdir, configdir);
+		strcat(theseusdatadir, datadir);
+		strcat(theseuslibrarydir, librarydir);
+        if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir) && std::filesystem::exists(theseusconfigdir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusdatadir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseuslibrarydir)) {
+			fprintf(stdout, "All required directories exist in: %s\n", theseusworkdir);
+			chdir(theseusworkdir);
+		}
+		else {
+			fprintf(stdout, "Share path missing files.. running self test\n");
+			if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Working dir exists... %s\n", theseusworkdir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Working dir missing in Share Path.. Trying to create");
+				std::filesystem::create_directory(theseusworkdir);
+				if(std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir)) {
+					fprintf(stdout, "Share Working directory created... Copying data files.");
+					std::filesystem::copy(execonfig, theseusconfigdir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+					std::filesystem::copy(exedata, theseusdatadir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+					std::filesystem::copy(exelib, theseuslibrarydir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+				}
+			}
+			if (std::filesystem::exists(theseusconfigdir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Config files exist: %s\n", theseusconfigdir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Config files missing... Trying to copy to Share path\n");
+                std::filesystem::copy(execonfig, theseusconfigdir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+			}
+			if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusdatadir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Data dir exists: %s\n", theseusdatadir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Data dir missing... Trying to copy to Share path\n");
+                std::filesystem::copy(exedata, theseusdatadir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+			}
+			if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseuslibrarydir)) {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Library dir exists: %s\n", theseuslibrarydir);
+			}
+			else {
+				fprintf(stdout, "Library dir missing...  Trying to copy to xdg path\n");
+                std::filesystem::copy(exelib, theseuslibrarydir, std::filesystem::copy_options::recursive);
+			}
+            if (std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusworkdir) && std::filesystem::exists(theseusconfigdir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseusdatadir) && std::filesystem::is_directory(theseuslibrarydir)) {
+			    fprintf(stdout, "Share folder setup complete... All required directories exist in: %s\n", theseusworkdir);
+			    chdir(theseusworkdir);
+		    }
         }
+    }
+    else {
+        ssize_t len = readlink("/proc/self/exe", exeDir, sizeof(exeDir) - 1);
+                if (len > 0) {
+                   		exeDir[len] = '\0';
+		                char* last = strrchr(exeDir, '/');
+                   	 	if (last) *last = '\0';
+	            }
+    }
+
 #endif
     }