Score:5

Gnome extensions under Ubuntu 21.10

mp flag

I have upgraded from 21.04 to 21.10 having first switched off my gnome extensions as I have had problems upgrading with Gnome extensions switched on in the past. The upgrade seems to have worked ok but my extensions are no longer available. The Tweak tool no longer supports the extensions and https://extensions.gnome.org/local/ shows that a lot of extensions are now "Out of Date" due to 21.10 using Gnome 4. The extensions that are not greyed out and marked "Out of Date" can be switched on with the toggle but do not actually appear on the desktop, and the next time I look on https://extensions.gnome.org/local/ they are switched off again.

Is there any way to use Gnome extensions in Ubuntu 21.10/Gnome 4? I need some of them for my daily work and I haven't the time to discover other ways to do what I have used them for for years now. I'm afraid I'll have to revert back to 21.04 if Gnome extensions are gone for good in 21.10.

br flag
Check gnome-extensions website if they have specific version support..for Ubuntu 21.10 check for gnome-shell version 40
heynnema avatar
ru flag
Edit your question with a screenshot of https://extensions.gnome.org/local/. Report back.
mp flag
@ heynnema The problem has been solved as reported in my answer below. Why do you take such a rude, military approach to helping people? Don't you think a more polite request for more information might be more effective?
Score:3
cn flag

Gnome extensions tend to break between upgrades of Gnome Shell because the Gnome Developers do not formally support them through a stable API. Many third party extensions thus can break. In particular Gnome 40 had some rather important changes. Many older extensions are broken. For their availability, you depend on the developer willing to update the extension, unless you know coding such extensions yourself. Sometimes, other extensions that are maintained may provide similar functionality.

You will need to update all extensions that do not anymore work, or try to find an alternative for these that are not anymore available.

  • You may delete all your manually installed extensions right away by deleting all items in your ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions folder. Then reinstall the extensions you need from the Gnome Shell extensions website, in as far as they have been updated to work with Gnome 40. Your system wide installed extensions will have been updated during the upgrade process, and should still work.
  • Some extensions are available in the Ubuntu software repositories. If possible, prefer to use and install extensions from the Ubuntu software. These have been packaged and tested for your distribution, and their use is "officially supported". Most of that selection includes extensions that are around for some time, and have regularly been updated. Installing extensions from the Gnome Shell Extensions website, on the other hand, is not officially supported (and even not possible with the snap version of Firefox that comes with 21.10). So there, you are on your own: it may work or it may not work.
  • On a fresh install, Gnome Tweaks informs that extension management is relegated to a dedicated tool, "Extensions". Install that tool from the Snap Store or with the command sudo apt install gnome-extension-prefs. Start it by searching for "Extensions". With it, you can enable and disable both manually and system wide installed extensions, and change their options. The tool, when installed, also checks for updates of the extensions.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
I'm not sure I agree with your idea to en-mass delete everything in ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions. Also, some added extensions might install themselves into /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions. Why not just click on the red X at https://extensions.gnome.org/local/ to delete the out-dated extensions, and then go and see if newer, or substitute extensions exist?
vanadium avatar
cn flag
@heynnema that is where extensions installed from the website lived. You could do the same manually (e.g. on 21.10 where the snap version of Firefox does not work with the site). In this case, the easiest solution is to get rid of all outdated extensions and install compatible ones anew. System wide extensions are installed through apt. These will have been updated through the upgrade, or will have been deleted if not anymore packed (e.g. gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons).
Score:3
mp flag

The Gnome extensions can be switched on after typing "extensions" in the activities search box. Even "Dash to Dock" still works.

heynnema avatar
ru flag
`Dash to Dock` just got updated for Gnome 4.x compatibility.
Score:0
ng flag

This is just a workaround as some extensions are still compatible. Developer didn't change the list of supported version of gnome-shell.

  1. Go to ~/.local/share/gnome-shall/extensions/
  2. Open metadata.json of an extension and add current gnome version to it.
  3. Logout/login to test it.
  4. If it does not work than it need code modification, just disable it. You may report it upstream project. (Link can be found in extensions.gnome.org)

Carry on with other extensions.

Gnome GJS docs are lagging behind, so casual extension developers do usually struggle to follow and say on the top of compatibility bugs.

Libraries still evolving. Need to watch out for which version of API is running.

Score:-1
sa flag
Kay

It may also help to disable version check at all:

$ sudo apt install dconf-editor

https://www.maketecheasier.com/disable-extension-version-checks-gnome/

Use at own risk!

ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - [From Review](/review/late-answers/1185970)
mangohost

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.