My Top Ten Must Have GNOME Extensions

Scotty-Trees

Greetings fellow Solus users and lovers of Linux,

With the rather recent release of GNOME 3.34 into the wild, I thought perhaps now may be a good time to review all the extensions I personally use to achieve more functionality and eye candy out of the GNOME desktop. For those that may not know, GNOME extensions provide a framework for more ways to customize your desktop experience than what the default settings allow. Now before I jump right into the list, in order to get everything working properly please ensure that: 1.) Your system is up to date (always!), 2.) Have GNOME tweaks installed (it's in the lovely Software Center), 3.) Use https://extensions.gnome.org/ to browse and manage extensions, and 4.) Look up and install the GNOME Shell integration add on in Chrome/Firefox/Vivaldi store to install available extensions directly from your browser of choice. I like to keep things super simple, so without further ado, here are my top 10 GNOME extensions (in no particular order) that I use to create a more functional and visually pleasing desktop experience. Hope you enjoy!

GNOME Shell Integration Extension/Addon for your web browsers: Chrome/Vivaldi & Firefox

1.) Activities Configurator by nls1729
I use this extension for one thing and one thing only, but it comes with a few other features. I use this to change the "Activities" top left corner to eliminate the word Activities and replace it with an icon of my choice, in this case the gorgeous Solus icon.
Supports GNOME 3.34

2.) Bluetooth quick connect by bjarosze
The dev sums it up best: "This extension allows paired Bluetooth devices to be connected and disconnected via the GNOME system menu, without having to enter the Settings app every time."
Supports GNOME 3.32

3.) Dash to Dock by michele_g
If I had to install only ONE extension, this would be the one. It moves the dash panel out of overview and makes it a dock accessible and configurable in anyway you like.
Supports GNOME 3.32

4.) Disconnect Wifi by kgshank
Dev says "Adds a Disconnect option for Wifi in status menu, when a network is connected. Shows a Reconnect option, after network is disconnected."
Supports GNOME 3.34

5.) Do Not Disturb by kylecorry31
This particular extension puts a Do Not Disturb button in the Notification panel to silence/hide any incoming notifications that may otherwise bother your workflow.
Supports GNOME 3.32

6.) Dynamic Panel Transparency by rockon999
This brings back the transparency in the top panel, with many additional customizing option, well worth a look if you missed it!
Supports GNOME 3.32 (pending 3.34 review)

7.) Sound Input & Output Device Chooser by kgshank
I love this extension because it adds an optional slider to control my microphone volume as well as easy access to change my sound output from say my bluetooth speaker or my laptop speakers using the GNOME system menu, making workflow more efficient with less clicks!
Supports GNOME 3.34

8.) Toggle Mute on Middle Click by PlangavanCartier
Honestly, this one should be implemented/included by default as it's very handy and does the job perfectly. Need to mute a sound for whatever reason right away? Middle click that sound icon in the top panel and it shall be muted! Such a useful, albeit overlook extension.
Supports GNOME 3.28 (still works perfectly on 3.32 as well)

9.) TopIcons Plus by phocean
Essentially this extension lets me have tray icons for applications like Flameshot, Skype, Discord, etc. in the top panel for easy access. Essentially essential for my desktop experience!
Supports GNOME 3.30 (also works on 3.32 and should work on 3.34 as well)

10.) Tweaks in System Menu by philippetroin
Not super essential, but used quite often is this handy extension that adds a button for Gnome Tweaks in the System menu, right next to the button for GNOME settings, but don't worry the icons are different so you can tell them both apart!
Supports GNOME 3.32 (pending 3.34 review)

Now what kind of list would this be without some noteworthy and honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the Top 10!

The Bonus Round!
1.) Freon by UshakovVasilii - Shows CPU temperature. Supports 3.32, currently broken on 3.34, but the dev is working to fix the bug
2.) GSConnect by andyholmes - Share notifications between your Android phone and GNOME. Supports 3.32
3.) OpenWeather by jens - Display weather info in the top panel. Supports 3.30/3.32, and should also work on 3.34
4.) Suspend Button by laser_b - Adds Suspend button to GNOME System menu. Supports 3.30, but does work on 3.32. Currently broken on 3.34
5.) WindowOverlay Icons by sustmi - Adds application icons to window overview. Supports 3.32

Note most extensions will work fine under 3.32 and extension developers are in the process of updating their extensions to 3.34. They will update when they have the time to update so please be patient. If an extension is broken now, it doesn't mean it's broken forever and someone may always fork it to improve it

But wait, there's more?! Indeed there is! Believe it or not, there are well over 1,000 GNOME extensions to use and try and fork to your liking. However, most of them are not maintained and up to date, so some will work perfectly and others will come with bugs and glitches galore. What does all this choice mean exactly? Well, it is definitely encouraged to use extensions at your own risk and carefully. Some extensions may conflict with others. Sometimes when an extension gets updated, it may introduce a regression that breaks some functionality. If you ever need to troubleshoot your GNOME desktop and you know it's extension related, it's always a good idea to disable them one by one till you have found the culprit.

Now I believe I am starting a bit down a rambling path so to avoid that slippery never ending road, I will leave y'all with one final message: thank you very much for reading and I hope this helps anyone curious to explore and expand their GNOME desktop experience.

Feel free to share and add any extensions I did not mention or might have missed below and by all means share your own lists as well it y'all like!

For more information on GNOME extensions, check out:
https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell/Extensions
And please feel free to visit the excellant Youtuber from France:
The Linux Experiment - How to install GNOME extensions (Youtube)

That's all for now! Feel free to let me know what your must have extensions are below, cheers!

brent

My favorite thing about this post? Attribution! You gave all software creators name credit and link. Right on, and nice to see.

Scotty-Trees

brent Honestly I was just trying to be as thorough as possible, but thanks for noticing!

Junglist thank you! I have tried Vitals as well, but for some reason it always offset/shifted my top panel icons over a few pixels, so instead I use Freon which is very similar, albeit a little more basic. I'm sure the Vitals dev will update to 3.34 though, they've been on top of every release since 3.18.

linny happy to share, thanks for stopping by and reading!

ruskofd I could survive on maybe 5 extensions, but I don't know about just 2! Hehe, as vanilla as possible is a good way to go, glad to hear others GNOME setups!

Junglist

Excellent list, you've included numerous extensions I already use, and some new to me that are very nice ideas as well.

The only extension I use that you haven't included is Vitals - it shows various system info you choose on the top bar.

According to the comments, it needs an update for GNOME 3.34, I hope it'll receive it, as it's a nice extension.

There are some extensions I used to use, and I'd like to use, but no longer work 100% correctly as of GNOME 3.32 (Pixel Saver, Pixel Saver Fork, NoTitleBar and others). I liked those extensions, as they removed the title bar from maximized windows, and instead displayed the title bar content in the top bar.

I think it has something to do with the application menu being disabled in Solus in the top bar, as they worked by substituting app menu in top bar with title bar content (yes, I tried them with app menu enabled in GNOME tweak tool).

linny

Very useful list! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

ruskofd

Nice list, thanks for sharing ! I only use two of them :

Dash to Dock : a must have
TopIconsPlus : provided by Solus

I try to keep my GNOME as vanilla as possible 😀

Junglist

Scotty-Trees
I've installed 2 additional extensions to fix up the icons at the top: Center Area Horizontal Spacing and Status Area Horizontal Spacing

ruskofd

Scotty-Trees Yeah, for me GNOME vanilla is perfect for me, I don't need additional stuff. I'm little bit KISS 😄

Scotty-Trees

Junglist Nice, I'm giving those a try now. Is there by chance one for the left side of the panel as well?

edit - found this one: Icon Area Horizontal Spacing

just

I'd add Animation Tweaks extension to the list. All Gnome3 graphical elements may be animated. The amount of available animations is impressive. All animations duration may be set to desired values, separately for each single animation.

Gnome3 looks really sweet with this extension. On par with Plasma, though nothing beats Compiz level.

Scotty-Trees

just That's a great one! Wish that type of functionality was integrated already into the settings.

Lucien_Lachance configuring the clock the way you like it is a great one! I like my notifications in the center so the default works fine for me, but it's great to give yourself different options. That's the beauty of the extension framework. Thanks very much for posting!

Lucien_Lachance

some that are a must for me:

clock override
Customize the date and time format displayed in clock in the top bar in GNOME Shell.
https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1206/clock-override/

No Topleft Hot Corner
https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/118/no-topleft-hot-corner/

NoAnnoyance
Removes the 'Windows is ready' notification and puts the window into focus.
https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1236/noannoyance/

Panel OSD
Configuring where on the (main) screen notifications will appear
https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/708/panel-osd/

Junglist

I've come upon a nice little nifty extension: tweaks in system menu, it adds a button in the top right dropdown menu to access gnome tweak tool.

I've also finally managed to replicate the old Pixel Saver functionality of removing titlebars from maximized windows and putting titlebar content on the top bar, by using 2 different extensions together:

GTK title bar - removes the titlebar from maximized windows
Window Title in Top Bar

I already had xprop installed, but I think it might be needed (not sure tho) for those 2 extensions (Pixel Saver needed it), so install it if they don't work.

sudo eopkg install xprop

[deleted]

Great list, but I am a bit apprehensive to install extensions that aren't in the repo. Should I be?

Junglist

[deleted] I've never had any issues because of extensions. If an extension doesn't work, I simply remove it. After removal you sometimes need to restart GNOME shell (so either reboot, relog, or do alt-f2 and type -r)

If you want to play it safe, disable the extensions from outside the repo before doing major GNOME upgrades, and enable them after the reboot.

Afaik the extensions don't make any permanent modifications to the system - if you remove an extension and restart the shell, it should be the same, as if the extension never was installed.

Scotty-Trees

[deleted] Any questions you might have about extensions have been answered over here:
https://extensions.gnome.org/about/
The main question is are extensions safe? Generally speaking yes. Extensions go through code review before they are uploaded to the extensions website. As for the extensions that are in the Solus repo, those extensions are guaranteed to support the latest GNOME, otherwise it wouldn't be in the repo. Hence being a curated rolling distro.

Now me personally, I think extensions are safe, they either work as advertised, or they don't really work at all. If it works and I need it, I'll keep it and make sure to check every so often if there are new updates for it. If an extension doesn't work or is buggy I'll a.) file a bug report and/or b.) uninstall that extension.

[deleted]

Ah ok cool, thank you all for the feedback. Would definitely keep this in mind.

shbach

Reviving this thread to list my top GNOME extensions:

KStatusNotifierItem/AppIndicator Support
- Not sure why Solus comes instead with TopIcons Plus which isn't actively maintained and tray icons don't seem to work as well
GSConnect
- Pretty much a must if you have an android phone. Integrates your desktop with your phone and vice versa
Weather In The Clock
- Nicely displays the weather in an integrated way with the system and updates based on location. Better than the similar OpenWeather
- Make sure you have gnome-weather installed
- Unfortunately automatic location doesn't seem to work on my Solus install (works on my Ubuntu install) but if you disable automatic location and set it manually it works
Bing Wallpaper Changer
- I've never used Bing but I must admit they are a fantastic source of high quality and relevant daily wallpaper
Vitals
- This is my favorite of the system monitor extensions I've tried
Dash to Dock
- Comes with Solus and for good reason
Workspaces to Dock
- A great companion to Dash to Dock
Dynamic Panel Transparency
- I'm a fan of transparency and like to see all of my wallpaper
- I've found 70% opacity to strike a good balance between eye candy and legibility
Transparent Notification and Transparent OSD
- More transparency!
- The default opacity is too transparent for my tastes. Unfortunately the extensions don't have an easy way to adjust that but you can modify the files at ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/transparentnotification@ipaq3870/stylesheet.css and ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/transparentosd@ipaq3870/stylesheet.css and change 0.25 to 0.7
Extensions Sync
- Now that we have all these extensions it's nice to have a way to sync them
- Unfortunately this doesn't seem to work on my Solus install (works on my Ubuntu install) but in theory this is a good extension to have

Bonus

I've been trying out tiling windows managers and the one I like the most so far is Tilingnome. Seems a bit glitchy sometimes though. Pop Shell looks promising but still in development.