How to install Gnome Shell extensions the easy way with Extension Manager
Installing Gnome Shell extensions usually involves setting up a web browser, installing the official Gnome Shell browser extension, and setting up the “gnome-chrome-shell” package that connects the browser to the desktop. It’s tedious, especially for new users.
If you like installing Gnome Shell extensions, but want it to be more accessible, consider checking out Extension Manager. Extension Manager is a program that users can install on Linux that makes it possible to install any Gnome Shell extension without a browser quickly. Here’s how to use Extension Manager on your system.
Installing Extension Manager on Linux
The Extension Manager is supported on Linux via Flatpak. Users can also set up the app through the Arch Linux AUR. Open up a terminal window on the Linux desktop to start the installation.
How do you open up a terminal window? Press Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. Alternatively, search for “Terminal” in the app menu and launch that way. Follow the installation instructions below with the terminal window open and ready to use.
Flatpak via Flathub
The best way to get Extension Manager working on your Linux system is by installing the app as a Flatpak from Flathub. To start, you must install the Flatpak runtime on your system.
To set up the Flatpak runtime, install the “flatpak” package on your computer using the terminal. If you’re having issues setting up the Flatpak runtime on your system, please follow our tutorial on how to get it running.
With the Flatpak runtime working on your system, you can install the Flathub app store using the flatpak remote-add command below.
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
After adding the Flathub app store to your system, you’ll be able to install the Extension Manager program using the flatpak install command down below.
flatpak install flathub com.mattjakeman.ExtensionManager
Flatpak via GitHub
While we recommend installing Extension Manager on your system through the Flathub app store, this isn’t the only way you can get it working. It is also possible to download the Extension Manager as a standalone Flatpak directly from GitHub.
Note: installing Extension Manager as a Flatpak from GitHub should only be done if you cannot install the Flathub version of the app.
To start the installation, use the wget command and download the latest version of Extension Manager to your computer.
wget https://github.com/mjakeman/extension-manager/releases/download/v0.2.1/extension-manager.flatpak
After downloading the Extension Manager Flatpak package, you can install it on your computer using the flatpak install command below.
flatpak install extension-manager.flatpak
The installation should work. However, if Flatpak refuses to install it, it could be that Flatpak wasn’t able to install the correct runtimes.
Arch Linux
The Extension Manager tool is available for users to install through the Arch Linux User Repository. To start the installation process, use the pacman command to set up the “git” and “base-devel” packages.
sudo pacman -S git base-devel
Following the installation of the two packages, install the Trizen AUR helper tool. This program will make the setup of the Extension Manager much more accessible.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git
cd trizen/
makepkg -sri
Finally, install Extension Manager using the trizen -S command.
trizen -S extension-manager
How to install Gnome Shell extensions the easy way with Extension Manager
To install Gnome Shell extensions with Extensions Manager, launch the app. Then, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Inside the Extension Manager, find the “Browse” button and select it to access the extension search area in the app. Then, click on the search box and type in a keyword.
For example, if you want to search for “Dock from Dash,” type it into the search box.
Step 2: After typing a keyword into the search box, the search results appear instantly. From here, click on the extension in the search result to access the installation page for the extension.
Step 3: After accessing the extension’s installation page, locate the “Install” button and select it with the mouse. When you choose the “Install” button, it will download the Gnome Shell extension will download and install it to your computer.
Uninstalling extensions
Removing installed extensions through the Extension Manager application is easy. To do it, start by loading the Extension Manager app up. Once it is loaded up, find the “Installed” section of the app and click on it with the mouse.
Once inside of the “Installed” section of Extension Manager, look through for the extension you wish to remove from your Gnome Shell installation. Once you’ve found the extension, select it with the mouse, followed by the red “Remove” button.
Selecting the red “Remove” button under the extension will delete the files from your system and uninstall them entirely. Repeat this process to get rid of all Gnome Shell extensions you wish to remove.
