Create a Shortcut to Start XAMPP in Ubuntu

I do most of my WordPress development using a combination of VirtualBox and Ubuntu. Over time I’ve developed a few simple tips that make my workflow a little more efficient, so I wanted to share them with anyone else who read my previous tutorial on setting up a VM as a WordPress development environment.

Running VirtualBox takes up a significant amount of RAM, so I like to shut it down when I’m not using it. XAMPP needs to be manually restarted the next time I use the VM, which can be a little tedious after a while.

To get around this, I created a simple launcher (i.e. a shortcut for us Windows folks) on the Ubuntu desktop for the Terminal command to start XAMPP. This way I can start it with just a double-click of the mouse instead of launching the terminal and typing in the command. If you want to create a similar launcher, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the Ubuntu desktop and select “Create Launcher.”
2. Select “Application in Terminal” for the Type.
3. Enter “Start XAMPP” for the Name (or enter whatever you want to call your shortcut).
4. Enter “sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start” into the Command field.
5. Click OK.

Now your laucher for XAMPP will be on the desktop and save you a few clicks and keypresses when you need to start it up. If you have any other suggestions leave them in the comments!