Best 5 Gnome extensions for better user experience

This guide lists the best 5 Gnome desktop environment extensions that should improve your user experience while using Gnome.

Gnome is by far the most loved desktop environment for Linux distributions. It is being developed by the Gnome foundation along with the open-source community. It gets regular updates and has comparatively the best touch support.

A very good feature of Gnome is that it supports extensions just like a browser does. Extensions are great as you can easily extend functionalities and add new stuff. So this guide shows you the best 5 Gnome extensions for a better user experience with the Gnome desktop environment on your favorite Linux distribution.

Pre-requisites

In order to install any of the listed extension, you must meet these requirements.

• You must be using the Gnome desktop environment in your Linux distribution.
• Your system has Gnome extension support.

Gnome extensions for better user-experience

1. Coverflow Alt-Tab

The first Gnome extension in the list is Coverflow Alt-Tab. If you enable it in your system, it will replace the default tab switching animation with Windows 10 tab switching animation.

So if you like that cover-flow manner like tab switch then you can install and enable the extension with the given link.

Coverflow Alt-Tab

2. Compiz alike windows effect (Wobbly)

This extension adds the Compiz wobbly effect to the application windows on the Gnome desktop environment. As Gnome uses a different window manager so it is not compatible with Compiz effects, hence you need this one to enable it.

Compiz alike windows effect

Check out: Compiz like wobbly window effect in Ubuntu 20.04

3. Compiz alike magic lamp effect

If you have used MacOS then you probably know about the Genie effect that it makes when you minimize or maximize an application window in macOS.

The same effect can also be applied in Linux with Compiz but because Gnome is special when it comes to the window manager. So Compiz stuff is not possible.

But you can use this extension to enable magic lamp or Genie effect on application windows.

Compiz alike magic lamp effect

Check out: Compiz like magic lamp or genie window effect in Gnome

4. User Themes

I don’t why this one is not included by default with Gnome. This is one of the must-have extensions for Gnome. It basically loads the shell themes installed by the user, you can set different shell themes using the Tweak tool to apply the GTK theme everywhere in the distro.

User Themes

Also, check out: Installing Gnome tweak tool in Linux | 2019

5. Floating Dock

If you ask me to name one Gnome extension that is most in the demand, I would name the dash-to-dock extension. The dash-to-dock extension allows user to customize Gnome’s default dock to make it more appealing.

However, the extension is not getting any new functionality, I have using it for years now and nothing new has been introduced by the author.

Introducing Floating Dock, a fort of dash-to-dock with updated new features like:

• Change the margin to the dock.
• Customize the border-radius of the dock.
• And all the features of dash-to-dock.

This simply adds four moon to the default dock.

Floating Dock

Watch Video guide on YouTube

Additionally, You can also watch a step-by-step video guide on YouTube to get a better understanding of it.

Conclusion

So these are the best 5 Gnome extensions that can improve your user experience with the Gnome desktop environment on your favorite Linux distribution. Let me know what you think about it in the comments and subscribe to the LinuxH2O Youtube channel. Till then, keep enjoying Linux.

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