GNOME Extensions

36 Excellent GNOME Desktop Extensions (Updated 2022)

Last Updated on June 12, 2023

17. Recent Items

Recent ItemsRecent Items is an extension that shows a list of recently accessed files.

Left clicking on an entry opens that file or folder.

And there’s also support for right click, which opens the folder containing the selected file.

It supports the following media-types: Text, image, audio, video, application, multipart, message, and model.

Website: github.com/bananenfisch/RecentItems


18. you2ber

you2ber

We couldn’t leave out this treat for video enthusiasts.

you2ber is a GNOME shell extension for youtube-dl, a popular YouTube downloader.

This extension helps to download media content from online video services and convert the download to an appropriate format. There’s the option of downloading whole playlists.

It’s really simple and easy to use. An option to pause downloads would be a useful addition.

Features include:

  • Quality presets up to 8K Video (4320p) with audio.
  • Audio extraction.
  • Video tracks downloading.
  • Subtitles downloading.
  • Custom mixing audio and video formats.
  • Clipboard support.

You’ll need ffmpeg and youtube-dl installed on your system.

Website: github.com/konkor/you2ber


19. ddterm

GNOME Extensions: ddterm
Click image for full size

ddterm is a drop down terminal extension. For years we used Drop Down Terminal X, but sadly that extension was discontinued. ddterm is a capable alternative with features like tabs and the ability to resize the terminal window easily. It runs on Wayland natively.


20. Auto Move Windows

Auto Move Windows

If you use multiple workspaces on your GNOME desktop, this extension comes in handy. Auto Move Windows allows you to configure applications to open on a specific workspace when they create windows.

The extension is very easy to use. Just add a rule for each application, defining which workspace to use. Every time you open a program, it obeys that rule, and opens the window on the appropriate workspace. This saves you having to move windows to the desired workspace. A small time saver, but it all mounts up!

This extension is part of GNOME Shell Extensions.

Website: gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell-extensions


Next page: Page 6 – Places Status Indicator, Time ++, Just Perfection, Top Panel Workspace Scroll

Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Dash to Dock, Arc Menu, Section Todo List, OpenWeather
Page 2 – Internet Radio, Window-List, Custom Home Corners, Mpris Indicator Button
Page 3 – Vitals, Screenshot Tool, Net speed Simplified, Clipboard Indicator
Page 4 – Stocks-Extension, Timezone, Desktop Icons NG, GSConnect
Page 5 – Recent Items, you2ber, ddterm, Auto Move Windows
Page 6 – Places Status Indicator, Time ++, Just Perfection, Top Panel Workspace Scroll
Page 7 – Impatience, System monitor, Frippery Panel Favorites, Removable Drive Menu
Page 8 – No overview at start-up, Extension List, Caffeine, BlurMyShell
Page 9 – Burn My Windows, Coverflow Alt-Tab, Material Shell, Colosseum

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10 Comments
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Trent Calder
Trent Calder
3 years ago

There’s quite a few here which are undiscovered gems.

Sascha
Sascha
1 year ago

Burn My Windows should be much higher. It really adds sparkle to the drab default GNOME desktop

Cap
Cap
1 year ago
Reply to  Sascha

drab?

InnocentBystander
InnocentBystander
1 year ago

With those extensions, Gnome will gain as much flexibility as KDE. Is this the design intention?

TH
TH
1 year ago

GNOME extensions add additional functionality and are very useful particularly as the focus on GNOME is to make the desktop as easy to use as possible and so some features the community liked were removed

Neil
Neil
1 year ago

My issue with extensions is that so many are abandoned. This isn’t because the project code is too hard to maintain to remain compatible with newer releases of GNOME. I speculate it’s because many of the extensions’ authors are fairly new to programming. Writing an extension is a good introduction to learning how to program. Its just these developers move on to more substantial projects.

Smaug
Smaug
1 year ago
Reply to  Neil

I would love to see a group of developers take on abandoned extensions that were really popular. Too many times all the source code is effectively junked and someone new comes along, reinvents the wheel but the outcome is worse than the original.

Pep
Pep
1 year ago

Some people contend the simplification of GNOME was done for a target audience that doesn’t actually exist. My opinion was that many of the changes were motivated because the code base was in bad shape. It’s much easier to maintain and improve a software project if you reduce its complexity. Removing features is a start.

Saeed
Saeed
1 year ago

Burn My Windows is a super cool extension.

Rick
Rick
5 months ago

Thanks for not spamming this page with so many ads my vm crashes. Decent content, straight forward info. It’s appreciated.