How to Customize Your GNOME Look

The ability to customize a desktop computer has been a popular feature since graphical user interfaces first appeared. The open source community continues to provide a wide range of themes, icons, fonts and wallpapers that allow Linux users to add their own unique touch to their computers. GNOME provides a variety of tools to make this easy, including the Gnome Tweaks and User Themes extensions.

GNOME is a collection of free software for operating systems that runs on the Linux kernel. While the kernel handles commands — such as ls, cd and cat — that translate the code to hardware, a desktop environment like GNOME allows you to interact with your operating system in a more intuitive manner.

A few of the most common ways to personalize your desktop include changing your theme, modifying your keyboard shortcuts and enabling or disabling autostart entries. You can also enable or disable a feature that displays the current weather conditions on your desktop.

For a look that is evocative of the Apple Mac OS, you can use the theme Default-GNOME or if you prefer a more traditional design try the Orchis or Numix themes. Using a color palette that is inspired by Google’s Chrome OS, Orchis has a clean, minimalist feel while Numix balances light and dark elements with an elegant aesthetic.

If you want to change your icons or fonts, you can do so in the Appearances tab of Gnome Tweak Tool. You can also adjust the size of windows and dialogs, as well as set which font should be used for window titles and the Default Font option (see image below). To adjust font hinting you can choose between Slight or None, with the latter being best for most monitors.

You can also modify which applications handle various protocols, such as videos, music or text documents by adjusting the Default Applications options in system settings. You can also enable or disable the automatic start of applications when you log in by using gnome-tweak-tool to manage your autostart entries. If you would like to be able to copy and paste items from one application into another, install the extension gnome-shell-extension-clipboard-indicatorAUR. You can also display the current weather on your desktop by installing gnome-shell-extension-openweatherAUR.

GNOME 40 introduced a new component called libadwaita which embeds the Adwaita theme, effectively enforcing it in all GTK apps that comply with the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines. This does mean that some apps may look different, but it’s worth trying for a cleaner, more refined appearance. If you don’t like the new Overview Mode when starting GNOME, you can install the gnome-shell-extension-no-overviewAUR to restore the older behaviour. There are many other extensions available for tweaking the way GNOME looks, so have a browse on sites such as DeviantArt and GitHub. You’re sure to find something to suit your tastes.