I’ve been running a NAS with 60 TB since 2021, which holds my private movie collection. Over the years, I’ve created countless Windows shortcuts (.lnk files) to organize everything—like collections for specific actors or genres.
When I switched to Linux Mint in 2026, I ran into a major issue: Windows shortcuts don’t work on Linux, and even Wine couldn’t solve the problem. Linux doesn't offer a simple, built-in equivalent to the way Windows 10 handles these links. On top of that, I couldn't find a practical way to display video cover art in the Linux file manager as easily as Windows does.
To fix this, I decided to keep my Windows-based workflow via a VM to manage the NAS, while using lnkModder to bridge the gap. It allows me to open those Windows .lnk files directly and comfortably within Linux.
- GUI-driven: Many options to customize the app. You can even set up "Custom" rules for path conversion.
- Instant Launch: The program can open the converted shortcuts directly with the associated Linux application. You can set this to happen automatically—for example, a video will launch in your system's default media player immediately after conversion.
- Security: lnkModder is read-only, meaning it never modifies your original Windows .lnk files. Any scripts potentially contained within the links are neither read nor executed. Apart from a configuration file at
~/.config/lnkModder/lnkModder.ini, the program doesn't write any data to your system.
The program is provided as an AppImage, so no installation is required. I have tested lnkModder on Linux Mint, LMDE and Cachy OS. Other distributions haven't been tested yet but should work fine.
To open Windows shortcuts and launch associated Linux applications, lnkModder requires either gio (recommended) or xdg-open. Most desktop distributions come with these pre-installed.
lnkModder extracts the target path from a Windows .lnk file and converts it into a Linux-compatible format:
- From:
\\My-NAS\Movies\Ben Hur.mkv - To:
smb://My-NAS/Movies/Ben Hur.mkv
The app offers three different views:
- Standard: Shows exactly what’s happening. It displays both the Windows and Linux targets in two input fields. You can copy the Linux path to your clipboard or launch it manually.
- Dropdown Mode: Everything is automated. Just drag and drop your Windows .lnk files onto the app; it will read the target, convert it, and launch the associated program instantly.
- List View: Designed for entire directories full of shortcuts. You can see all files in a folder, with .lnk files specially highlighted for easy conversion and launching via double-click.
lnkModder is written entirely in C++ using the Qt6 framework. It also utilizes the liblnk library (GitHub).
Licensed under the MIT License. You are encouraged to share it with others.
