My first reaction to the new GNOME 3.2 was that I hate it! Resistance to anything new lives strong in me, apparently. Then the realization kicked in: I can make it work exactly like I want. Modifying the JavaScript-powered GNOME Shell is as easy as hacking a web page.

And here came the extensions, and then the modified versions of existing extensions!

All of a sudden, after an hour of first whining and then hacking, GNOME 3.2 feels like home and I’m actually liking this ease of modifying my desktop to my preferences. This desktop is mine and I could have pink flying ponies in it if I wanted to. Brilliant!

To get all things going you just need a few easy steps.

Load and install an extension from https://extensions.gnome.org Fork the extension project that you want to modify from git or wherever Make it your own Save your progress Run $ cp -r file_where_your_extension_is ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ on terminal Reload your desktop with Alt-F2 and to the prompt r. If Alt-F2 doesn’t launch the prompt, fix it with this.

After few iterations enjoy your own modifications to your desktop!



The looking glass debugger is a useful additional tool that can also be launched from command prompt. So, Alt-F2 yet again and then just type lg.

And there you have your tools to hack your browser-like desktop an inspector and a reloader. Happy hacking, everyone!