diff --git a/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package-unix.go b/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package-unix.go
index 02c1584904..e7384b909d 100644
--- a/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package-unix.go
+++ b/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package-unix.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 
+	"fyne.io/fyne/v2/cmd/fyne/internal/metadata"
 	"fyne.io/fyne/v2/cmd/fyne/internal/templates"
 
 	"golang.org/x/sys/execabs"
@@ -58,16 +59,20 @@ func (p *Packager) packageUNIX() error {
 	desktop := filepath.Join(appsDir, p.Name+".desktop")
 	deskFile, _ := os.Create(desktop)
 
+	linuxBSD := metadata.LinuxAndBSD{}
+	if p.linuxAndBSDMetadata != nil {
+		linuxBSD = *p.linuxAndBSDMetadata
+	}
 	tplData := unixData{
 		Name:        p.Name,
 		Exec:        filepath.Base(p.exe),
 		Icon:        p.Name + filepath.Ext(p.icon),
 		Local:       local,
-		GenericName: p.linuxAndBSDMetadata.GenericName,
-		Keywords:    formatDesktopFileList(p.linuxAndBSDMetadata.Keywords),
-		Comment:     p.linuxAndBSDMetadata.Comment,
-		Categories:  formatDesktopFileList(p.linuxAndBSDMetadata.Categories),
-		ExecParams:  p.linuxAndBSDMetadata.ExecParams,
+		GenericName: linuxBSD.GenericName,
+		Keywords:    formatDesktopFileList(linuxBSD.Keywords),
+		Comment:     linuxBSD.Comment,
+		Categories:  formatDesktopFileList(linuxBSD.Categories),
+		ExecParams:  linuxBSD.ExecParams,
 	}
 	err = templates.DesktopFileUNIX.Execute(deskFile, tplData)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package.go b/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package.go
index 93b801799a..06e3d86d8e 100644
--- a/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package.go
+++ b/cmd/fyne/internal/commands/package.go
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ type Packager struct {
 	tempDir                        string
 
 	customMetadata      keyValueFlag
-	linuxAndBSDMetadata metadata.LinuxAndBSD
+	linuxAndBSDMetadata *metadata.LinuxAndBSD
 }
 
 // AddFlags adds the flags for interacting with the package command.
diff --git a/cmd/fyne/internal/metadata/data.go b/cmd/fyne/internal/metadata/data.go
index e4d0918a53..6517c025f0 100644
--- a/cmd/fyne/internal/metadata/data.go
+++ b/cmd/fyne/internal/metadata/data.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ type FyneApp struct {
 	Details     AppDetails
 	Development map[string]string `toml:",omitempty"`
 	Release     map[string]string `toml:",omitempty"`
-	LinuxAndBSD LinuxAndBSD
+	LinuxAndBSD *LinuxAndBSD      `toml:",omitempty"`
 }
 
 // AppDetails describes the build information, this group may be OS or arch specific