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			{{Short description\|Graphical shell of the GNOME desktop environment}}
	{{Infobox Software

	\| name = GNOME
			{{Use mdy dates\|date=June 2017}}
	\| title = GNOME Shell
			{{Infobox software
	\| screenshot = ]
	\| ~~caption~~ = GNOME Shell ~~3.10 in overview mode~~		\| title = GNOME Shell
	\| ~~developer~~ = ]		\| name = GNOME
			\| screenshot = ]
	\| released = {{Start date and age\|2011\|04\|06}}
			\| caption = GNOME Shell 46 (released in March 2024)
	\| frequently updated = yes
			\| developer = ]
	\| programming language = ] and ]<ref name="gnome3myths" />
			\| released = {{Start date and age\|2011\|04\|06}}
	\| operating system = ]
			\| latest release version = {{wikidata\|property\|edit\|reference\|Q1343860\|P548=Q2804309\|P348}}
	\| language = Multilingual<ref name="Languages" />
			\| latest release date = {{start date and age\|{{wikidata\|qualifier\|Q1343860\|P548=Q2804309\|P348\|P577}}}}
	\| genre = {{ubl\|]\|]}}
			\| repo = {{URL\|https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell}}
	\| status = Active
			\| programming language = ] and ]<ref name="gnome3myths" /><ref>{{cite web
	\| license = ]
	\| ~~website~~ = ~~{{URL\|~~https://~~wiki~~.~~gnome.org~~/~~Projects~~/~~GnomeShell}}~~		\| url = https://github.com/GNOME/gnome-shell
			\| title = GNOME/gnome-shell
			\| website = ]
			\| quote = C: 48.9%; JavaScript: 47.6%.
			\| access-date = March 4, 2017
			\| archive-date = October 27, 2017
			\| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171027092238/https://github.com/GNOME/gnome-shell
			\| url-status = live
			}}</ref>
			\| operating system = ], ], ]
			\| language = Afrikaans, Arabic, Aragonese, Assamese, Asturian, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Brazilian Portuguese, British English, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Friulian, Galician, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Interlingua, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Kirghiz, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Occitan, Oriya, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Scottish Gaelic, Serbian, Serbian Latin, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Uighur, Ukrainian, Uzbek (Cyrillic), Vietnamese
			\| language count = 75
			\| language footnote = <ref name="Languages" />
			\| genre = {{unbulleted list
			\| ]
			\| ]}}
			\| license = ]
			\| website = {{URL\|https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell}}
	}}		}}
	] '''GNOME Shell''' is designed to be operated via ] and ] as well as via ]. ]-based, GNOME Shell supports ].]]
	], an ] and ]]]
	'''GNOME Shell''' is the default graphical front-end of the ] ] starting with version 3,<ref name="gnome-3-planning" /> which was released on April 6, 2011. It provides basic functionality like launching applications, switching between ] and is also a ]. GNOME Shell replaced ]<ref name="shell-replaces-panel" /> and other software components from GNOME 2 to offer a user experience that breaks from the previous model of ], used in earlier versions of GNOME.

			'''GNOME Shell''' is the ] of the ] ] starting with ],<ref name="gnome-3-planning" /> which was released on April 6, 2011. It provides basic functions like launching applications and switching between ], and is also a ]. GNOME Shell replaced ]<ref name="shell-replaces-panel" /> and some ancillary components of GNOME 2.
	GNOME Shell is written in ] and also in ] as a plugin to ].

			GNOME Shell is written in ] and ] as a plugin for ].
	== Design ==

	As default graphical front-end/graphical shell/UX/UI of the GNOME desktop environment, its design is guided by the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines (HIG). The primary hardware target is a ] the size of a ]/], though it is also employable on bigger displays with keyboard and mouse.
			In contrast to the ], a software framework intended to facilitate the creation of multiple graphical shells for different devices, the GNOME Shell is intended to be used on ]s with large screens operated via ] and ], as well as ]s with smaller screens operated via their ], ] or ].

			==History==
			The first concepts for GNOME Shell were created during GNOME's ''User Experience Hackfest'' 2008 in Boston.<ref>{{cite web\|title=My glimpse at Gnome-Shell\|publisher=Mad for Ubuntu \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523200336/http://www.madforubuntu.com/apps-and-tools/my-glimpse-at-gnome-shell/ \|archive-date=May 23, 2010 \|url=http://www.madforubuntu.com/apps-and-tools/my-glimpse-at-gnome-shell/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/Events/Summit/2008/GUIHackfest \|title=User Experience Hackfest \|publisher=GNOME \|date=October 14, 2008 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=August 1, 2020 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801085059/https://wiki.gnome.org/Events/Summit/2008/GUIHackfest \|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|url=http://bethesignal.org/blog/2011/03/15/timeline-gnome-user-experience-hackfest-2008/ \|title=Timeline: The Greatest Show on Earth \|publisher=Be the signal \|date=March 15, 2011 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=May 17, 2011 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517033841/http://bethesignal.org/blog/2011/03/15/timeline-gnome-user-experience-hackfest-2008/ \|url-status=live }}</ref>

			After criticism of the traditional GNOME desktop and accusations of stagnation and lacking vision,<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://wingolog.org/archives/2008/06/07/gnome-in-the-age-of-decadence \|title=gnome in the age of decadence \|publisher=wingolog \|date=June 7, 2008 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=February 10, 2013 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210004142/http://wingolog.org/archives/2008/06/07/gnome-in-the-age-of-decadence \|url-status=live }}</ref> the resulting discussion led to the announcement of ''GNOME 3.0'' in April 2009.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://mail.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2009-April/msg00004.html \|title=Planning for GNOME 3.0 \|date=April 2, 2009 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=March 7, 2012 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307191311/http://mail.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2009-April/msg00004.html \|url-status=live }}</ref> Since then Red Hat has been the main driver of GNOME Shell's development.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Matthew Garrett (mjg59) wrote, October 26, 2010 18:39:00 \|url=http://mjg59.livejournal.com/128650.html \|title=mjg59: Fun facts \|publisher=Mjg59.livejournal.com \|date=October 26, 2010 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505082557/http://mjg59.livejournal.com/128650.html \|archive-date=May 5, 2012 \|df=mdy-all }}</ref>

			Pre-release versions of GNOME Shell were first made available in August 2009<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://ftp.accum.se/pub/GNOME/sources/gnome-shell/2.27/ \|title=ftp.gnome.org \|publisher=Ftp.accum.se \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=December 17, 2022 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217022353/http://ftp.accum.se/pub/GNOME/sources/gnome-shell/2.27/ \|url-status=live }}</ref> and became regular, non-default part of GNOME in version 2.28 in September 2009.<ref name="gnome2.28">{{cite web \|url=http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.28/ \|title=GNOME 2.28 Release Notes \|publisher=GNOME \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=October 16, 2009 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016053903/http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.28/ \|url-status=live }}</ref> It was finally shipped as GNOME's default user interface on April 6, 2011.<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/TwoPointNinetyone/ \|title=GNOME 2.91.x Development Series \|publisher=GNOME \|date=March 24, 2011 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=January 6, 2014 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106215657/https://wiki.gnome.org/TwoPointNinetyone \|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/04/06/gnome-30-gnome-shell-officially-launched/ \|title=GNOME 3.0 with GNOME Shell officially launched \| ITProPortal.com \|publisher=Thinq.co.uk \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227122435/http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/04/06/gnome-30-gnome-shell-officially-launched/ \|archive-date=December 27, 2011 \|df=mdy }}</ref>

			==Design==
			{{Seealso\|Adwaita (design language)}}
			As graphical shell (graphical front-end/graphical shell/UX/UI) of the GNOME desktop environment, its design is guided by the GNOME UX Design Team.<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/Design/ \|title=GNOME UX Design Team \|access-date=November 13, 2014 \|archive-date=December 26, 2014 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226015520/https://wiki.gnome.org/Design \|url-status=live }}</ref>

			===Design components===
			{{overlay
			\| columns = 2
			\| image = GNOME Shell.png
			\| float = right
			\| width = 400
			\| height = 225
			\| legend1title = {{center\|GNOME Shell Overview mode}}
			\| overlay1 = Activities button
			\| overlay1top = 1
			\| overlay1left = 1
			\| overlay2 = Dash
			\| overlay2top = 220
			\| overlay2left = 195
			\| overlay3 = Search bar
			\| overlay3top = 8
			\| overlay3left = 150
			\| overlay4 = Notifications and messaging tray
			\| overlay4top = 1
			\| overlay4left = 195
			\| overlay5 = System status area
			\| overlay5top = 1
			\| overlay5left = 392
			\| overlay6 = Workspace list
			\| overlay6top = 110
			\| overlay6left = 392
			\| overlay7 = Indicators tray
			\| overlay7top = 205
			\| overlay7left = 0
			}}

			The GNOME Shell comprises the following graphical and functional elements:<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell/Design \|title=GNOME Shell Design \|access-date=May 21, 2014 \|archive-date=March 16, 2014 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316080502/https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell/Design \|url-status=live }}</ref>
	=== Components ===
	The GNOME Shell comprises of following graphical and functional elements:<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell/Design \|title=GNOME Shell Design \|accessdate=2014-05-21}}</ref>
	* Top bar		* Top bar
	* System status area		* System status area
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	* Notifications and messaging tray		* Notifications and messaging tray
	* Application switcher		* Application switcher
			* Indicators tray (deprecated, waiting on new specification<ref>{{Cite web \|title=Update StatusNotifierItem/systemtray spec (#84) · Issues · xdg / xdg-specs · GitLab \|url=https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-specs/-/issues/84 \|access-date=2023-02-12 \|website=GitLab \|date=January 17, 2022 \|language=en}}</ref>)

	==Software architecture==		==Software architecture==
			{{external media\|title=GNOME Wiki\|image1=}}
	GNOME Shell is tightly integrated with ], a ] and ]. It is based upon ] to provide visual effects and ]<ref name="mutter-gnome-future" /> According to GNOME Shell maintainer<ref name="behind-the-scenes" /> Owen Taylor, it is set up as a Mutter plugin largely written in JavaScript.<ref name="mutter-in-js" /> and uses ]s provided by ] version 3.
			GNOME Shell is tightly integrated with ], a ] and ]. It is based upon Clutter to provide visual effects and ].<ref name="mutter-gnome-future" /> According to GNOME Shell maintainer<ref name="behind-the-scenes" /> Owen Taylor, it is set up as a Mutter plugin largely written in JavaScript<ref name="mutter-in-js" /> and uses ]s provided by ] version 3.

	===Features===		===Features===
	Changes to the ] (UI) include, but are not limited to:		Changes to the ] (UI) include, but are not limited to:
	* Clutter ~~supports~~ ].{{~~cn\|date=October~~ ~~2013}}~~ <!-- ~~some~~ ~~video~~ by ~~Emanuelle~~ ~~Bassi~~ on ~~youtube~~ -->		* Clutter and Mutter support ].<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/ftp-release-list/2014-July/msg00088.html \|title=Mutter 3.13.4 release \|access-date=July 26, 2014 \|archive-date=August 9, 2014 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809044738/https://mail.gnome.org/archives/ftp-release-list/2014-July/msg00088.html \|url-status=live }}</ref>
			* Support for ] monitors.<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/ftp-release-list/2014-July/msg00087.html \|title=GNOME Shell 3.13.4 \|access-date=July 26, 2014 \|archive-date=August 9, 2014 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809044255/https://mail.gnome.org/archives/ftp-release-list/2014-July/msg00087.html \|url-status=live }}</ref>
	* A new ''Activities overview'', which houses:		* A new ''Activities overview'', which houses:
	** A ] (called "Dash") for quickly switching between and launching applications		** A ] (called "Dash") for quickly switching between and launching applications
	** A window picker, similar to ~~Mac OS X~~'s ], also incorporating a workspace switcher/manager		** A window picker, similar to ]'s ], also incorporating a workspace switcher/manager
	** An application picker		** An application picker which allows for reordering application icons and creating application groups.
			** A search bar which handles launching applications, searching for files, and performing web searches.
	** Search
	* A ''messaging tray'', an area at the bottom of the screen used for housing both interactive and static notifications separately from system status icons
	* "Snapping" windows to screen borders to make them fill up a half of the screen or the whole screen		* "Snapping" windows to screen borders to make them fill up a half of the screen or the whole screen
	* A single window button by default, Close, instead of three (configurable). Minimization has been removed due to the lack of a panel to minimize to, in favor of workspace window management. Maximization can be accomplished using the afore-mentioned window snapping, or by double-clicking the window title bar.		* A single window button by default, Close, instead of three (configurable). Minimization has been removed due to the lack of a panel to minimize to, in favor of workspace window management. Maximization can be accomplished using the afore-mentioned window snapping, or by double-clicking the window title bar.
	* A fallback mode is offered in versions 3.0–3.6 for those without hardware acceleration which offers the GNOME Panel desktop. This mode can also be toggled through the System Settings menu.<ref name="gnome3-fallback" /> GNOME 3.8 removed the fallback mode and replaced it with GNOME Shell extensions that offer a more traditional look and feel.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://blogs.gnome.org/mclasen/2012/12/05/gnome-3-7-what-is-happening-now/ \|title=GNOME 3.7: what is happening now \| Goings on \|publisher=~~Blogs.gnome.org~~ \|date=2012-12-05 \|~~accessdate~~=~~2013~~-03-12}}</ref>		* A fallback mode is offered in versions 3.0–3.6 for those without hardware acceleration which offers the GNOME Panel desktop. This mode can also be toggled through the System Settings menu.<ref name="gnome3-fallback" /> GNOME 3.8 removed the fallback mode and replaced it with GNOME Shell extensions that offer a more traditional look and feel.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://blogs.gnome.org/mclasen/2012/12/05/gnome-3-7-what-is-happening-now/ \|title=GNOME 3.7: what is happening now \| Goings on \|publisher=GNOME \|date=December 5, 2012 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=December 9, 2012 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209013058/http://blogs.gnome.org/mclasen/2012/12/05/gnome-3-7-what-is-happening-now/ \|url-status=live }}</ref>

	===Extensibility===		===Extensibility===
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	===Gallery===		===Gallery===
			{{Multiple image
	<gallery>
			\| image1 = VirtualBox_GnomeOS4_15_11_2024_13_36_04.png
	File:GNOME_Shell.png\|GNOME Shell Overlay Mode Windows
			\| align = center
	File:Gnome Shell Applications Screen.png\|GNOME Shell Overlay Mode Applications
			\| image2 = VirtualBox_GnomeOS4_15_11_2024_13_36_15.png
	</gallery>
			\| image3 = VirtualBox_GnomeOS4_15_11_2024_13_36_22.png
			\| image4 = VirtualBox_GnomeOS4_15_11_2024_13_36_28.png
			}}

	==Adoption==		==Adoption==
	<!-- Please don't add distributions that don't have their respective articles on Misplaced Pages -->		<!-- Please don't add distributions that don't have their respective articles on Misplaced Pages. -->
	* ~~The~~ Linux ~~distribution~~ ] ~~uses~~ GNOME ~~Shell~~ by ~~default~~ ~~since~~ ~~release~~ 15.<ref name="~~fedora~~-~~features~~" />		* ] dropped support of GNOME 2 in favor of GNOME 3 in its ] in April 2011.<ref name="arch-gnome" />
			* ] uses GNOME Shell by default since release 15, May 2011.<ref name="fedora-features" />
	* ] doesn't use GNOME Shell by default, but users are able to install it from the Ubuntu repositories since version 11.10.<ref name="ubuntu-pkg" /> In addition, an Ubuntu Gnome Remix is released alongside Ubuntu 12.10.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Andrew \|url=http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/prefer-gnome-shell-download-ubuntu.html \|title=Prefer GNOME Shell? Download Ubuntu GNOME Remix 12.10 ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog \|publisher=Webupd8.org \|date=2012-10-19 \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref> An official GNOME edition of Ubuntu released by ] with Ubuntu 13.04 and it was named ].<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME\|title=Introduction to Ubuntu GNOME}}</ref>
			* ] uses the latest version of GNOME Shell.
	* The GNOME version of ] 12.1 uses GNOME Shell by default.<ref name="opensuse-12.1" />
	* ] ~~dropped~~ ~~support~~ of GNOME~~ 2~~ in ~~favor~~ of ~~GNOME 3~~ in ~~its~~ ].<ref name="~~arch~~-~~gnome~~" />		* ]'s GNOME edition has used GNOME Shell since version 12.1 in November 2011.<ref name="opensuse-12.1" />
	* ] ~~will~~ ~~have~~ ~~the~~ ~~current version of~~ GNOME in ~~its~~ ~~version~~ 2.<ref name="mageia-rn" />		* ] 2 and later include GNOME Shell, since May 2012.<ref name="mageia-rn" />
	* ] ~~Wheezy (stable)~~ and ~~Sid~~ ~~(unstable) make~~ GNOME ~~3.4~~ ~~available~~.<ref name="debian-sid" /><ref name="debian-wheezy" />		* ] 8 and later features GNOME Shell in the default desktop, since April 2015.<ref name="debian-sid" /><ref name="debian-wheezy" />
			* ] 11.4 replaced GNOME 2 with GNOME Shell in August 2018.<ref name="solaris-11.4">{{Cite web\|title=Oracle Solaris 11.4 Officially Released - Phoronix\|url=https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Solaris-11.4-Released\|access-date=2020-06-25\|website=www.phoronix.com\|archive-date=June 27, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627145601/https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Solaris-11.4-Released\|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="g3-in-solaris-11.4">{{Cite web\|last=Coopersmith\|first=Alan\|title=Using GNOME 3 in Oracle Solaris 11.4\|url=https://blogs.oracle.com/solaris/using-gnome-3-in-oracle-solaris-114\|publisher=]\|access-date=June 25, 2020\|archive-date=August 1, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801051955/https://blogs.oracle.com/solaris/using-gnome-3-in-oracle-solaris-114\|url-status=live}}</ref>
	* ] uses latest version of GNOME Shell.
			* ] uses GNOME Shell by default since 17.10, October 2017, after Canonical ceased development of Unity.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/06/ubuntu-17-10-daily-builds-gnome\|title=GNOME is now the Default Desktop in Ubuntu 17.10 Daily Builds\|date=June 7, 2017\|access-date=July 13, 2017\|archive-date=July 19, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719124151/http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/06/ubuntu-17-10-daily-builds-gnome\|url-status=live}}</ref> It has been available for installation in the repositories since version 11.10.<ref name="ubuntu-pkg" /> An alternative flavor, ], was released alongside Ubuntu 12.10,<ref>{{cite web \|author=Andrew \|url=http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/prefer-gnome-shell-download-ubuntu.html \|title=Prefer GNOME Shell? Download Ubuntu GNOME Remix 12.10 ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog \|publisher=Webupd8.org \|date=October 19, 2012 \|access-date=March 12, 2013 \|archive-date=March 10, 2013 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310195150/http://www.webupd8.org/2012/10/prefer-gnome-shell-download-ubuntu.html \|url-status=live }}</ref> and gained official flavor status by Ubuntu 13.04.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME\|title=Introduction to Ubuntu GNOME\|access-date=April 27, 2013\|archive-date=October 15, 2016\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015053652/https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME/\|url-status=live}}</ref>

	===Reception===		===Reception===
	{{See also\|~~Controversy over~~ GNOME 3}}		{{See also\|GNOME 3#Reception}}
	GNOME Shell has received mixed reviews: It has been criticized for a variety of reasons, mostly related to design decisions and reduced user control over the environment. For example, users in the ] have raised concerns that the planned tight integration with ] will mean that users of GNOME Shell will not be able to switch to an alternative ] without breaking their desktop. In particular, users might not be able to use ] with GNOME Shell while retaining access to the same types of features that older versions of GNOME allowed.<ref name="metacity-mutter-shell-2.28" />

			GNOME Shell has received mixed reviews: it has been criticized for a variety of reasons, mostly related to design decisions and reduced user control over the environment. For example, users in the ] have raised concerns that the planned tight integration with ] will mean that users of GNOME Shell will not be able to switch to an alternative ] without breaking their desktop. In particular, users might not be able to use ] with GNOME Shell while retaining access to the same types of features that older versions of GNOME allowed.<ref name="metacity-mutter-shell-2.28" />
	Reviews have generally become more positive over time, with upcoming releases addressing many of the annoyances reported by users.<ref name=wallen2014>{{cite web \| title=GNOME 3.10 has resurrected what was once the darling of the Linux desktop \| last=Wallen \| first=Jack \| url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/gnome-3-10-has-resurrected-what-was-once-the-darling-of-the-linux-desktop/ \| publisher=TechRepublic \| deadurl=no \| date=March 28, 2014 \| archivedate=March 28, 2014 \| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328234824/http://www.techrepublic.com/article/gnome-3-10-has-resurrected-what-was-once-the-darling-of-the-linux-desktop/ }}</ref>
	<ref>{{cite web\|title=In Defense of Gnome 3\|url=http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/48967/in-defense-of-gnome-3-las-s30e04/\|work=]\|publisher=Jupiter Broadcasting\|accessdate=2 April 2014\|author=Matt Hartley, Chris Fisher\|date=5 January 2014\|year=2014}}</ref>

			Reviews have generally become more positive over time, with upcoming releases addressing many of the annoyances reported by users.<ref name=wallen2014>{{cite web \| title=GNOME 3.10 has resurrected what was once the darling of the Linux desktop \| last=Wallen \| first=Jack \| url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/gnome-3-10-has-resurrected-what-was-once-the-darling-of-the-linux-desktop/ \| publisher=TechRepublic \| url-status=live \| date=March 28, 2014 \| archive-date=March 28, 2014 \| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328234824/http://www.techrepublic.com/article/gnome-3-10-has-resurrected-what-was-once-the-darling-of-the-linux-desktop/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|title=In Defense of Gnome 3\|url=http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/48967/in-defense-of-gnome-3-las-s30e04/\|work=]\|publisher=Jupiter Broadcasting\|access-date=April 2, 2014\|author=Matt Hartley, Chris Fisher\|date=January 5, 2014\|archive-date=March 13, 2014\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313113912/http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/48967/in-defense-of-gnome-3-las-s30e04/\|url-status=live}}</ref>
	== History ==
	The first concepts for GNOME Shell were created during GNOME’s ''User Experience Hackfest'' 2008 in Boston.<ref>{{cite web\|title=My glimpse at Gnome-Shell\|publisher=Mad for Ubuntu \|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100523200336/http://www.madforubuntu.com/apps-and-tools/my-glimpse-at-gnome-shell/ \|archivedate=2010-05-23 \|url=http://www.madforubuntu.com/apps-and-tools/my-glimpse-at-gnome-shell/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=https://live.gnome.org/Boston2008/GUIHackfest \|title=Boston2008/GUIHackfest - GNOME Live! \|publisher=Live.gnome.org \|date=2008-10-14 \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://bethesignal.org/blog/2011/03/15/timeline-gnome-user-experience-hackfest-2008/ \|title=Timeline: The Greatest Show on Earth \|publisher=Be the signal \|date=2011-03-15 \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref>

	After criticism of the traditional GNOME desktop and accusations of stagnation and lacking vision,<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://wingolog.org/archives/2008/06/07/gnome-in-the-age-of-decadence \|title=gnome in the age of decadence \|publisher=wingolog \|date=2008-06-07 \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref> the resulting discussion lead to the announcement of ''GNOME 3.0'' in April 2009.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://mail.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2009-April/msg00004.html \|title=Planning for GNOME 3.0 \|publisher=Mail.gnome.org \|date=2009-04-02 \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref> Since then Red Hat is the main driver of GNOME Shell’s development.<ref>{{cite web\|author=Matthew Garrett (mjg59) wrote, 2010-10-26 18:39:00 \|url=http://mjg59.livejournal.com/128650.html \|title=mjg59: Fun facts \|publisher=Mjg59.livejournal.com \|date=2010-10-26 \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref>

	Pre-release versions of GNOME Shell were first made available in August 2009<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://ftp.acc.umu.se/pub/GNOME/sources/gnome-shell/2.27/ \|title=ftp.gnome.org \|publisher=Ftp.acc.umu.se \|date= \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref> and became regular, non-default part of GNOME in version 2.28 in September 2009.<ref name="gnome2.28">{{cite web\|url=http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/2.28/ \|title=GNOME 2.28 Release Notes \|publisher=Library.gnome.org \|date= \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref> It was finally shipped as GNOME’s default user interface on 6 April 2011.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://live.gnome.org/TwoPointNinetyone/ \|title=TwoPointNinetyone - GNOME Live! \|publisher=Live.gnome.org \|date=2011-03-24 \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/04/06/gnome-30-gnome-shell-officially-launched/ \|title=GNOME 3.0 with GNOME Shell officially launched \| ITProPortal.com \|publisher=Thinq.co.uk \|date= \|accessdate=2013-03-12}}</ref>

	==See also==		==See also==
			{{Portal bar\|Linux\|Free and open-source software}}
	{{Commons category}}
			* ] – a shell interface for GNOME used by old versions of ]
	{{Portal\|Free software}}
			* ] - a shell built with ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ], a shell interface for GNOME created by ]
	* ], a shell interface for GNOME used by ]

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	}}		}}

	== External links ==		==External links==
			{{Commons category\|GNOME Shell}}
	*
	*		* {{Official website}}
	*

	{{GNOME}}		{{GNOME}}
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	{{Use MDY dates\|date=August 2012}}

Latest revision as of 17:37, 20 November 2024

Graphical shell of the GNOME desktop environment

GNOME Shell
GNOME Shell 46 (released in March 2024)
Developer(s)	The GNOME Project
Initial release	April 6, 2011; 13 years ago (2011-04-06)

Stable release	47.2 / 23 November 2024; 26 days ago (23 November 2024)

Repository	gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell
Written in	C and JavaScript
Operating system	BSD, Linux, Unix
Available in	75 languages
List of languagesAfrikaans, Arabic, Aragonese, Assamese, Asturian, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Brazilian Portuguese, British English, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, Friulian, Galician, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Interlingua, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Kirghiz, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Occitan, Oriya, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Scottish Gaelic, Serbian, Serbian Latin, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Uighur, Ukrainian, Uzbek (Cyrillic), Vietnamese
Type	Graphical Shell Linux on the desktop
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Website	wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell

GNOME Shell is the graphical shell of the GNOME desktop environment starting with version 3, which was released on April 6, 2011. It provides basic functions like launching applications and switching between windows, and is also a widget engine. GNOME Shell replaced GNOME Panel and some ancillary components of GNOME 2.

GNOME Shell is written in C and JavaScript as a plugin for Mutter.

In contrast to the KDE Plasma Workspaces, a software framework intended to facilitate the creation of multiple graphical shells for different devices, the GNOME Shell is intended to be used on desktop computers with large screens operated via keyboard and mouse, as well as portable computers with smaller screens operated via their keyboard, touchpad or touchscreen.

History

The first concepts for GNOME Shell were created during GNOME's User Experience Hackfest 2008 in Boston.

After criticism of the traditional GNOME desktop and accusations of stagnation and lacking vision, the resulting discussion led to the announcement of GNOME 3.0 in April 2009. Since then Red Hat has been the main driver of GNOME Shell's development.

Pre-release versions of GNOME Shell were first made available in August 2009 and became regular, non-default part of GNOME in version 2.28 in September 2009. It was finally shipped as GNOME's default user interface on April 6, 2011.

Design

Design components

1234567

GNOME Shell Overview mode

1	Activities button
2	Dash
3	Search bar
4	Notifications and messaging tray

5	System status area
6	Workspace list
7	Indicators tray

The GNOME Shell comprises the following graphical and functional elements:

Top bar
System status area
Activities Overview
Dash
Window picker
Application picker
Search
Notifications and messaging tray
Application switcher
Indicators tray (deprecated, waiting on new specification)

Software architecture

GNOME Wiki
Projects/GnomeShell/Technology

GNOME Shell is tightly integrated with Mutter, a compositing window manager and Wayland compositor. It is based upon Clutter to provide visual effects and hardware acceleration. According to GNOME Shell maintainer Owen Taylor, it is set up as a Mutter plugin largely written in JavaScript and uses GUI widgets provided by GTK+ version 3.

Features

Changes to the user interface (UI) include, but are not limited to:

Clutter and Mutter support multi-touch gestures.
Support for HiDPI monitors.
A new Activities overview, which houses:
- A dock (called "Dash") for quickly switching between and launching applications
- A window picker, similar to macOS's Mission Control, also incorporating a workspace switcher/manager
- An application picker which allows for reordering application icons and creating application groups.
- A search bar which handles launching applications, searching for files, and performing web searches.
"Snapping" windows to screen borders to make them fill up a half of the screen or the whole screen
A single window button by default, Close, instead of three (configurable). Minimization has been removed due to the lack of a panel to minimize to, in favor of workspace window management. Maximization can be accomplished using the afore-mentioned window snapping, or by double-clicking the window title bar.
A fallback mode is offered in versions 3.0–3.6 for those without hardware acceleration which offers the GNOME Panel desktop. This mode can also be toggled through the System Settings menu. GNOME 3.8 removed the fallback mode and replaced it with GNOME Shell extensions that offer a more traditional look and feel.

Extensibility

The functionality of GNOME Shell can be changed with extensions, which can be written in JavaScript. Users can find and install extensions using the GNOME extensions website. Some of these extensions are hosted in GNOME's git repository, though they are not official.

Gallery

Adoption

Arch Linux dropped support of GNOME 2 in favor of GNOME 3 in its repositories in April 2011.
Fedora Linux uses GNOME Shell by default since release 15, May 2011.
Sabayon Linux uses the latest version of GNOME Shell.
openSUSE's GNOME edition has used GNOME Shell since version 12.1 in November 2011.
Mageia 2 and later include GNOME Shell, since May 2012.
Debian 8 and later features GNOME Shell in the default desktop, since April 2015.
Solaris 11.4 replaced GNOME 2 with GNOME Shell in August 2018.
Ubuntu uses GNOME Shell by default since 17.10, October 2017, after Canonical ceased development of Unity. It has been available for installation in the repositories since version 11.10. An alternative flavor, Ubuntu GNOME, was released alongside Ubuntu 12.10, and gained official flavor status by Ubuntu 13.04.

Reception

References

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"Introduction to Ubuntu GNOME". Archived from the original on October 15, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
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External links

Official website

GNOME

Core Applications

Extras

Development	Anjuta Builder Glade Interface Designer Meld GNOME Devhelp Nemiver Geany Gtranslator
Office	AbiWord Dia Evolution GNOME LaTeX Gnumeric OCRFeeder
Graphics	F-Spot GIMP gThumb Inkscape Shotwell Simple Scan
Internet	Balsa Empathy Ekiga Geary GNOME Connections GNOME Fractal Gobby Jami Transmission-gtk
Media	Banshee EasyTag Pitivi Rhythmbox Sound Juicer SoundConverter sushi
Games	GNOME Games Chess Mines gbrainy PyChess
Utilities	Archive Manager Brasero dconf-editor gedit gnote GParted Seahorse Tomboy Yelp

Components

User interface

GNOME 40	Mutter on GSK …
GNOME 3	Client-Side Decoration Cantarell GDM Mutter GNOME Shell Tango Desktop Project Orca
GNOME 2	Metacity GNOME Panel Clearlooks
Other	Adwaita Cinnamon MATE Diodon GNOME Do Avant Window Navigator

GNOME Base

Other

freedesktop.org

Community

People

Linux portal
Free and open-source software portal
Category
Commons
WikiProject

Desktop environments and window managers based on X11 or Wayland

Desktop
environments
(comparison)

GTK-based	Budgie Cinnamon GNOME 1 2 3 GPE Java Desktop System LXDE MATE ROX Desktop Sugar Xfce
Qt-based	Deepin DE KDE SC 1 2 3 4 Lumina LXQt Razor-qt Trinity UKUI
Motif-based	CDE IRIX Interactive Desktop VUE X.desktop
Other	COSMIC Looking Glass OpenWindows (XView- and OLIT-based) UDE (Xlib/XCB-based)

Graphical
shells

GNOME Shell
KDesktop
KDE Plasma
- 4
- 5
- 6
- Plasma Bigscreen
- Plasma Mobile
Maynard
Phosh
Unity

X window
managers
(comparison)

Compositing	Compiz Enlightenment KWin Metacity Metisse Moksha Muffin Mutter Project Looking Glass Xfwm
Stacking	4Dwm AfterStep amiwm Blackbox CTWM cwm Fluxbox FLWM FVWM IceWM Matchbox Motif Window Manager olwm Openbox Qvwm Sawfish swm twm tvtwm vtwm Window Maker WindowLab wm2
Tiling	awesome dwm i3 Ion larswm ratpoison StumpWM wmii xmonad

Wayland
compositors

Categories: