diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_installer.yaml b/.github/workflows/build_installer.yaml
index 4ccea0b1..961bd3e5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_installer.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_installer.yaml
@@ -92,7 +92,6 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           conda init bash
           conda activate rascal2
-          conda install conda-forge::expat==2.7.3
           if [ ${{ matrix.platform }} == "macos-14" ]; then
             ARCH="arm64"
             export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH:/Users/runner/hostedtoolcache/MATLAB/2023.2.999/arm64/MATLAB.app/bin/maca64
diff --git a/environment.yaml b/environment.yaml
index dd2e4400..8c4b7310 100644
--- a/environment.yaml
+++ b/environment.yaml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ dependencies:
   - python=3.10
   - pip
   - llvm-openmp
+  - expat=2.7.3
   - pip:
     - -r requirements.txt
     - -r requirements-dev.txt
diff --git a/packaging/linux/build_installer.sh b/packaging/linux/build_installer.sh
index 2c10dab8..8d540134 100644
--- a/packaging/linux/build_installer.sh
+++ b/packaging/linux/build_installer.sh
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ echo ""
 wget https://repo.anaconda.com/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh -O "$TMP_DIR/miniconda.sh"
 bash ./miniconda.sh -b -p ./miniconda
 ./miniconda/bin/conda tos accept --override-channels --channel https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/main --channel https://repo.anaconda.com/pkgs/r
-./miniconda/bin/conda create -n rascal_builder -y python=3.10
+./miniconda/bin/conda create -n rascal_builder -y python=3.10 expat=2.7.3
 
 echo ""
 echo "Downloading Dependencies"
diff --git a/rascal2/app.py b/rascal2/app.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7fddba1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rascal2/app.py
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import logging
+import multiprocessing
+import re
+from contextlib import suppress
+
+from PyQt6 import QtWidgets
+
+from rascal2.config import MatlabHelper, handle_scaling, setup_logging
+from rascal2.paths import IMAGES_PATH, STATIC_PATH
+from rascal2.ui.view import MainWindowView
+
+
+def ui_execute(splash):
+    """Create main window and executes GUI event loop.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    exit code : int
+        QApplication exit code
+    """
+    handle_scaling()
+    QtWidgets.QApplication.setStyle("Fusion")
+    app = QtWidgets.QApplication.instance()
+    with suppress(FileNotFoundError), open(STATIC_PATH / "style.css") as stylesheet:
+        palette = app.palette()
+        replacements = {
+            "@Path": IMAGES_PATH.as_posix(),
+            "@Window": palette.window().color().name(),
+            "@Highlight": palette.highlight().color().name(),
+            "@Midlight": palette.midlight().color().name(),
+            "@Text": palette.text().color().name(),
+        }
+        style = re.sub("|".join(replacements), lambda x: replacements[x.group(0)], stylesheet.read())
+        app.setStyleSheet(style)
+
+    window = MainWindowView()
+    window.show()
+    splash.finish(window)
+
+    return app.exec()
+
+
+def start_app(splash):
+    """Start RasCAL app."""
+    multiprocessing.set_start_method("spawn", force=True)
+    setup_logging()
+    matlab_helper = MatlabHelper()
+    exit_code = ui_execute(splash)
+    matlab_helper.close_event.set()
+    logging.shutdown()
+    return exit_code
diff --git a/rascal2/config.py b/rascal2/config.py
index 71becea1..0e31ec3d 100644
--- a/rascal2/config.py
+++ b/rascal2/config.py
@@ -1,32 +1,12 @@
 import logging
-import os
-
-os.environ["DELAY_MATLAB_START"] = "1"
 import multiprocessing as mp
 import pathlib
 import platform
-import site
 import sys
 
+from rascal2.paths import MATLAB_ARCH_FILE
 from rascal2.settings import Settings, get_global_settings
 
-if getattr(sys, "frozen", False):
-    # we are running in a bundle
-    SOURCE_PATH = pathlib.Path(sys.executable).parent.parent
-    SITE_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "bin/_internal"
-    if pathlib.Path(SOURCE_PATH / "MacOS").is_dir():
-        SOURCE_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "Resources"
-        SITE_PATH = SOURCE_PATH
-    EXAMPLES_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "examples"
-else:
-    SOURCE_PATH = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent
-    SITE_PATH = site.getsitepackages()[-1]
-    EXAMPLES_PATH = SOURCE_PATH.parent / "examples"
-
-STATIC_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "static"
-IMAGES_PATH = STATIC_PATH / "images"
-MATLAB_ARCH_FILE = pathlib.Path(SITE_PATH) / "matlab/engine/_arch.txt"
-EXAMPLES_TEMP_PATH = pathlib.Path(get_global_settings().fileName()).parent / "examples"
 LOGGER = logging.getLogger("rascal2")
 SETTINGS = Settings()
 
@@ -39,22 +19,6 @@ def handle_scaling():
         windll.user32.SetProcessDPIAware()
 
 
-def path_for(filename: str):
-    """Get full path for the given image file.
-
-    Parameters
-    ----------
-    filename : str
-        basename and extension of image.
-
-    Returns
-    -------
-    full path : str
-        full path of the image.
-    """
-    return (IMAGES_PATH / filename).as_posix()
-
-
 def log_uncaught_exceptions(exc_type, exc_value, exc_traceback):
     """Qt slots swallows exceptions but this ensures exceptions are logged."""
     logging.critical("An unhandled exception occurred!", exc_info=(exc_type, exc_value, exc_traceback))
diff --git a/rascal2/dialogs/about_dialog.py b/rascal2/dialogs/about_dialog.py
index 0ee9541e..1bb47158 100644
--- a/rascal2/dialogs/about_dialog.py
+++ b/rascal2/dialogs/about_dialog.py
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 
 import rascal2
 import rascal2.widgets
-from rascal2.config import MatlabHelper, path_for
+from rascal2.config import MatlabHelper
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
 from rascal2.settings import get_global_settings
 
 
diff --git a/rascal2/dialogs/custom_file_editor.py b/rascal2/dialogs/custom_file_editor.py
index 2b895cc6..b0bd2600 100644
--- a/rascal2/dialogs/custom_file_editor.py
+++ b/rascal2/dialogs/custom_file_editor.py
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@
 from PyQt6 import Qsci, QtGui, QtWidgets
 from ratapi.utils.enums import Languages
 
-from rascal2.config import EXAMPLES_PATH, LOGGER, SETTINGS, MatlabHelper
+from rascal2.config import LOGGER, SETTINGS, MatlabHelper
 from rascal2.core.enums import CustomFileType
+from rascal2.paths import EXAMPLES_PATH
 
 MATLAB_MODEL_TEMPLATE = """function [output, sub_rough] = {0}{1}
 % RasCAL-2 Layer Model Custom File.
diff --git a/rascal2/dialogs/settings_dialog.py b/rascal2/dialogs/settings_dialog.py
index be70e4b1..b946e8e4 100644
--- a/rascal2/dialogs/settings_dialog.py
+++ b/rascal2/dialogs/settings_dialog.py
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 
 from PyQt6 import QtCore, QtWidgets
 
-from rascal2.config import LOGGER, MATLAB_ARCH_FILE, SETTINGS, MatlabHelper
+from rascal2.config import LOGGER, SETTINGS, MatlabHelper
+from rascal2.paths import MATLAB_ARCH_FILE
 from rascal2.settings import SettingsGroups
 from rascal2.widgets.inputs import get_validated_input
 
diff --git a/rascal2/dialogs/startup_dialog.py b/rascal2/dialogs/startup_dialog.py
index d61d3a11..832df8e2 100644
--- a/rascal2/dialogs/startup_dialog.py
+++ b/rascal2/dialogs/startup_dialog.py
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 
 from PyQt6 import QtCore, QtWidgets
 
-from rascal2.config import EXAMPLES_PATH, LOGGER
+from rascal2.config import LOGGER
 from rascal2.core.worker import Worker
+from rascal2.paths import EXAMPLES_PATH
 from rascal2.settings import update_recent_projects
 
 # global variable for required project files
diff --git a/rascal2/main.py b/rascal2/main.py
index b02378c3..6851c4ff 100644
--- a/rascal2/main.py
+++ b/rascal2/main.py
@@ -1,54 +1,51 @@
-import logging
 import multiprocessing
-import re
+import os
 import sys
-from contextlib import suppress
-
-from PyQt6 import QtGui, QtWidgets
-
-from rascal2.config import IMAGES_PATH, STATIC_PATH, MatlabHelper, handle_scaling, path_for, setup_logging
-from rascal2.ui.view import MainWindowView
-
-
-def ui_execute():
-    """Create main window and executes GUI event loop.
-
-    Returns
-    -------
-    exit code : int
-        QApplication exit code
-    """
-    handle_scaling()
-    QtWidgets.QApplication.setStyle("Fusion")
-    app = QtWidgets.QApplication(sys.argv[:1])
-    app.setWindowIcon(QtGui.QIcon(path_for("logo.png")))
-    with suppress(FileNotFoundError), open(STATIC_PATH / "style.css") as stylesheet:
-        palette = app.palette()
-        replacements = {
-            "@Path": IMAGES_PATH.as_posix(),
-            "@Window": palette.window().color().name(),
-            "@Highlight": palette.highlight().color().name(),
-            "@Midlight": palette.midlight().color().name(),
-            "@Text": palette.text().color().name(),
-        }
-        style = re.sub("|".join(replacements), lambda x: replacements[x.group(0)], stylesheet.read())
-        app.setStyleSheet(style)
-
-    window = MainWindowView()
-    window.show()
-    return app.exec()
+
+from PyQt6.QtCore import Qt, QThread
+from PyQt6.QtGui import QIcon, QPixmap
+from PyQt6.QtWidgets import QApplication, QSplashScreen
+
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
+
+
+class SplashScreen(QSplashScreen):
+    """Create splash screen widget."""
+
+    def __init__(self, *args):
+        super().__init__(*args)
+        self.painted = False
+
+    def paintEvent(self, event):
+        super().paintEvent(event)
+        self.painted = True
 
 
 def main():
     """Entry point function for starting RasCAL."""
     multiprocessing.freeze_support()
-    multiprocessing.set_start_method("spawn", force=True)
-    setup_logging()
-    matlab_helper = MatlabHelper()
-    exit_code = ui_execute()
-    matlab_helper.close_event.set()
-    logging.shutdown()
-    sys.exit(exit_code)
+
+    app = QApplication([])
+    app.setWindowIcon(QIcon(path_for("logo.png")))
+
+    splash = SplashScreen(QPixmap(path_for("splash.png")), Qt.WindowType.WindowStaysOnTopHint)
+    splash.setAttribute(Qt.WidgetAttribute.WA_DeleteOnClose)
+    splash.show()
+    splash.raise_()
+    splash.activateWindow()
+    app.processEvents()
+    for _ in range(100):
+        if splash.painted:
+            break
+        # wait for splash to paint on linux
+        QThread.usleep(100)
+        app.processEvents()
+    app.processEvents()
+
+    os.environ["DELAY_MATLAB_START"] = "1"
+    from rascal2.app import start_app
+
+    sys.exit(start_app(splash))
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/rascal2/paths.py b/rascal2/paths.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c4882063
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rascal2/paths.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import site
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from rascal2.settings import get_global_settings
+
+if getattr(sys, "frozen", False):
+    # we are running in a bundle
+    SOURCE_PATH = Path(sys.executable).parent.parent
+    SITE_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "bin/_internal"
+    if Path(SOURCE_PATH / "MacOS").is_dir():
+        SOURCE_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "Resources"
+        SITE_PATH = SOURCE_PATH
+    EXAMPLES_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "examples"
+else:
+    SOURCE_PATH = Path(__file__).parent
+    SITE_PATH = site.getsitepackages()[-1]
+    EXAMPLES_PATH = SOURCE_PATH.parent / "examples"
+
+STATIC_PATH = SOURCE_PATH / "static"
+IMAGES_PATH = STATIC_PATH / "images"
+MATLAB_ARCH_FILE = Path(SITE_PATH) / "matlab/engine/_arch.txt"
+EXAMPLES_TEMP_PATH = Path(get_global_settings().fileName()).parent / "examples"
+
+
+def path_for(filename: str):
+    """Get full path for the given image file.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    filename : str
+        basename and extension of image.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    full path : str
+        full path of the image.
+    """
+    return (IMAGES_PATH / filename).as_posix()
diff --git a/rascal2/static/images/logo.png b/rascal2/static/images/logo.png
index ab7a1a84..095aaa4d 100644
Binary files a/rascal2/static/images/logo.png and b/rascal2/static/images/logo.png differ
diff --git a/rascal2/static/images/splash.png b/rascal2/static/images/splash.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6293e781
Binary files /dev/null and b/rascal2/static/images/splash.png differ
diff --git a/rascal2/ui/model.py b/rascal2/ui/model.py
index 56b581a7..563f671e 100644
--- a/rascal2/ui/model.py
+++ b/rascal2/ui/model.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 import ratapi.outputs
 from PyQt6 import QtCore
 
-from rascal2.config import EXAMPLES_PATH, EXAMPLES_TEMP_PATH
+from rascal2.paths import EXAMPLES_PATH, EXAMPLES_TEMP_PATH
 
 
 def copy_example_project(load_path):
diff --git a/rascal2/ui/view.py b/rascal2/ui/view.py
index 2420abe0..bdcab93c 100644
--- a/rascal2/ui/view.py
+++ b/rascal2/ui/view.py
@@ -2,11 +2,12 @@
 
 from PyQt6 import QtCore, QtGui, QtWidgets
 
-from rascal2.config import EXAMPLES_PATH, EXAMPLES_TEMP_PATH, SETTINGS, path_for
+from rascal2.config import SETTINGS
 from rascal2.core.enums import UnsavedReply
 from rascal2.dialogs.about_dialog import AboutDialog
 from rascal2.dialogs.settings_dialog import SettingsDialog
 from rascal2.dialogs.startup_dialog import PROJECT_FILES, LoadDialog, LoadR1Dialog, NewProjectDialog, StartupDialog
+from rascal2.paths import EXAMPLES_PATH, EXAMPLES_TEMP_PATH, path_for
 from rascal2.settings import MDIGeometries, get_global_settings
 from rascal2.widgets import ControlsWidget, PlotWidget, TerminalWidget
 from rascal2.widgets.project import ProjectWidget
diff --git a/rascal2/widgets/inputs.py b/rascal2/widgets/inputs.py
index 6d6d3015..6a7eb969 100644
--- a/rascal2/widgets/inputs.py
+++ b/rascal2/widgets/inputs.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from pydantic.fields import FieldInfo
 from PyQt6 import QtCore, QtGui, QtWidgets
 
-from rascal2.config import path_for
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
 
 
 def get_validated_input(field_info: FieldInfo, parent=None) -> QtWidgets.QWidget:
diff --git a/rascal2/widgets/plot.py b/rascal2/widgets/plot.py
index 67bd34a3..bbcaa26f 100644
--- a/rascal2/widgets/plot.py
+++ b/rascal2/widgets/plot.py
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
 from matplotlib.backends.backend_qt5agg import FigureCanvasQTAgg, NavigationToolbar2QT
 from PyQt6 import QtCore, QtGui, QtWidgets
 
-from rascal2.config import SETTINGS, path_for
+from rascal2.config import SETTINGS
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
 from rascal2.widgets.inputs import MultiSelectComboBox, ProgressButton
 
 
diff --git a/rascal2/widgets/project/lists.py b/rascal2/widgets/project/lists.py
index 991ca4ed..a39b3914 100644
--- a/rascal2/widgets/project/lists.py
+++ b/rascal2/widgets/project/lists.py
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@
 from PyQt6 import QtCore, QtGui, QtWidgets
 from ratapi.utils.enums import BackgroundActions, LayerModels
 
-from rascal2.config import SETTINGS, path_for
+from rascal2.config import SETTINGS
 from rascal2.core.readers import readers
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
 from rascal2.widgets.delegates import ProjectFieldDelegate
 from rascal2.widgets.inputs import RangeWidget
 
diff --git a/rascal2/widgets/project/project.py b/rascal2/widgets/project/project.py
index d0c846f2..bdd2743a 100644
--- a/rascal2/widgets/project/project.py
+++ b/rascal2/widgets/project/project.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 from ratapi.utils.custom_errors import custom_pydantic_validation_error
 from ratapi.utils.enums import Calculations, Geometries, LayerModels
 
-from rascal2.config import path_for
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
 from rascal2.widgets.project.lists import ContrastWidget, DataWidget
 from rascal2.widgets.project.slider_view import SliderViewWidget
 from rascal2.widgets.project.tables import (
diff --git a/rascal2/widgets/project/tables.py b/rascal2/widgets/project/tables.py
index 38179391..ed6cd9f0 100644
--- a/rascal2/widgets/project/tables.py
+++ b/rascal2/widgets/project/tables.py
@@ -13,9 +13,10 @@
 from ratapi.utils.enums import Calculations, Languages, Procedures, TypeOptions
 
 import rascal2.widgets.delegates as delegates
-from rascal2.config import LOGGER, SETTINGS, path_for
+from rascal2.config import LOGGER, SETTINGS
 from rascal2.core.enums import CustomFileType
 from rascal2.dialogs.custom_file_editor import create_new_file, edit_file
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
 
 
 class ClassListTableModel(QtCore.QAbstractTableModel):
diff --git a/rascal2/widgets/startup.py b/rascal2/widgets/startup.py
index 960d2a63..5185edd6 100644
--- a/rascal2/widgets/startup.py
+++ b/rascal2/widgets/startup.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from PyQt6 import QtCore, QtGui, QtWidgets
 
-from rascal2.config import path_for
 from rascal2.dialogs.startup_dialog import LoadDialog, LoadR1Dialog, NewProjectDialog
+from rascal2.paths import path_for
 
 
 class StartUpWidget(QtWidgets.QWidget):