Customizing Your Linux Desktop with GNOME Tweaks
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Customizing Your Linux Desktop with GNOME Tweaks

#linux #gnome #desktop customization #themes #productivity

Customizing Your Linux Desktop with GNOME Tweaks

GNOME is one of the most popular desktop environments for Linux, known for its clean and minimalist approach. While the default GNOME experience is polished, you might want to customize it to better suit your workflow and preferences. This is where GNOME Tweaks comes in, offering a user-friendly way to modify various aspects of your desktop environment.

What is GNOME Tweaks?

GNOME Tweaks (formerly known as GNOME Tweak Tool) is an application that provides access to advanced GNOME settings that aren’t available in the default Settings application. It lets you customize the appearance, behavior, and functionality of your GNOME desktop without having to edit configuration files or use command-line tools.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you’ll need:

  • A Linux distribution running GNOME desktop environment (such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Pop!_OS, or Debian)
  • Administrative privileges on your system
  • Basic familiarity with using a terminal

Installing GNOME Tweaks

The installation process varies slightly depending on your Linux distribution.

Ubuntu/Debian-based distributions

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

Fedora

sudo dnf install gnome-tweaks

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S gnome-tweaks

Once installed, you can find GNOME Tweaks in your applications menu, usually under “Utilities” or by searching for “Tweaks”.

Essential Customizations

Appearance Settings

The Appearance section allows you to customize themes, icons, cursor, and fonts.

Changing Themes

GNOME Tweaks allows you to change both the Application theme (which affects how applications look) and Shell theme (which affects the top bar, activities overview, and notification area).

  1. Open GNOME Tweaks
  2. Navigate to the “Appearance” section
  3. Under “Themes”, you’ll see options for:
    • Applications
    • Cursor
    • Icons
    • Shell

To install additional themes:

# For Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install gnome-themes-extra

# For more themes, you can install from websites like gnome-look.org
# Place downloaded themes in ~/.themes or /usr/share/themes

Popular theme choices include:

  • Adwaita (default)
  • Adwaita-dark
  • Yaru (Ubuntu’s default)
  • Arc
  • Materia
  • Orchis
  • Nordic

Customizing Icons

To change icon themes:

  1. In the Appearance section, find “Icons”
  2. Select your preferred icon theme from the dropdown

To install additional icon packs:

# For Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install papirus-icon-theme

# Place downloaded icon themes in ~/.icons or /usr/share/icons

Popular icon themes include:

  • Papirus
  • Numix
  • Tela
  • Flat Remix
  • Zafiro

Adjusting Fonts

GNOME Tweaks provides detailed font settings:

  1. In the “Fonts” section, you can customize:

    • Interface Text: Font used in the UI
    • Document Text: Font used in documents
    • Monospace Text: Font used for code and terminals
    • Legacy Window Titles: Font used for window titles
    • Font Scaling: Adjusts the overall size of fonts

  2. You can also enable or disable antialiasing and choose its method

Top Bar Customizations

The “Top Bar” section lets you customize the GNOME shell’s top bar:

  1. Toggle the display of weekday in the clock
  2. Toggle the display of seconds in the clock
  3. Toggle the display of week numbers in the calendar
  4. Position the clock (left, center, right)

Window Titlebars

In the “Window Titlebars” section, you can:

  1. Change which buttons appear on window titlebars (maximize, minimize, close)
  2. Change their position (left or right side)
  3. Enable or disable the titlebar buttons for maximized windows

Keyboard & Mouse

The “Keyboard & Mouse” section provides options to:

  1. Modify mouse acceleration profile
  2. Adjust touchpad settings
  3. Enable or disable “Mouse Click Emulation”
  4. Enable “Disable While Typing” for touchpads

Startup Applications

The “Startup Applications” section allows you to:

  1. View currently enabled startup applications
  2. Add new startup applications
  3. Remove existing startup applications

Installing and Using GNOME Extensions

GNOME extensions add extra functionality to your desktop. GNOME Tweaks makes it easy to manage them.

Setting Up the GNOME Extensions Framework

First, install the GNOME Extensions tool and browser integration:

# For Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extensions chrome-gnome-shell

# For Fedora
sudo dnf install gnome-extensions-app chrome-gnome-shell

# For Arch
sudo pacman -S gnome-shell-extensions

Then, install the browser extension:

Managing Extensions with GNOME Tweaks

  1. Open GNOME Tweaks
  2. Navigate to the “Extensions” section
  3. Toggle extensions on or off using the switches

Essential GNOME Extensions

Here are some popular extensions that can enhance your GNOME experience:

  1. Dash to Dock: Transforms the dash into a dock that is always visible

    sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-dash-to-dock  # Ubuntu/Debian

  2. User Themes: Allows you to use Shell themes

    sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-user-theme  # Ubuntu/Debian

  3. Sound Input & Output Device Chooser: Shows a list of sound input and output devices in the status menu

  4. Caffeine: Prevents your system from going to sleep when you’re watching videos or giving presentations

  5. GSConnect: Integrates your Android device with your desktop

Advanced GNOME Settings with dconf-editor

For even more customization options beyond what GNOME Tweaks offers, you can use dconf-editor:

# Install dconf-editor
sudo apt install dconf-editor  # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo dnf install dconf-editor  # Fedora
sudo pacman -S dconf-editor    # Arch

With dconf-editor, you can browse and modify all GNOME settings, including hidden ones not exposed in the UI. Be careful when changing values here, as incorrect settings could cause issues.

Final Tips

  1. Backup Your Settings: Before making significant changes, consider backing up your settings:

    dconf dump /org/gnome/ > gnome-settings-backup.txt

  2. Restore Settings:

    dconf load /org/gnome/ < gnome-settings-backup.txt

  3. Reset to Defaults:

    dconf reset -f /org/gnome/

  4. Find Extensions: Browse https://extensions.gnome.org/ for more extensions

By using GNOME Tweaks, you can transform the look and feel of your Linux desktop while enhancing its functionality to better suit your workflow. Whether you prefer a macOS-like dock, Windows-style minimize/maximize buttons, or a completely unique setup, GNOME Tweaks gives you the power to create your ideal desktop environment.

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