Have many extensions installed on your GNOME desktop? Here’s a new tool to help managing them with a more efficient way.
Without launching Gnome Extensions app or Extension Manager every time, the new “Glass Grid” allows user to either press a keyboard shortcut or click the indicator on panel to quickly trigger an overview of all the installed extensions.
Then, user can either click on extension name to open its preference dialog. Or, use the buttons right beside them to turn on/off, refresh or configure extensions. There’s also a global ON/OFF switch in top-right to toggle all extension with one click. If you have too many extensions more than a page capacity, it supports scrolling horizontally with either mouse or keyboard arrow keys.
The extension grid view can be triggered either via keyboard shortcut or indicator applet. And, it will disappear when pressing Esc or clicking anywhere outside. It has a dark mode layout, and support quick launching extensions.gnome.org and Gnome Extensions app (if installed) via header buttons.
Extension Glass Grid dark layout
How to Install the ‘Glass Grid’ extension in GNOME
The extension so far supports GNOME 42, 43 & 44. Meaning, you can install it in Ubuntu 22.04/23.04, Fedora Workstation, Debian 12, and Arch etc with GNOME.
For Ubuntu, first search for and install “Extension Manager” from Ubuntu Software.
Install Extension Manager in Ubuntu 22.04+
Then, launch “Extension Manager” and navigate to ‘Browse’ tab. Finally, search for and install the Extensions Glass Grid extension.
For other Linux with GNOME, just go to link below in your web browser:
The popular free open-source Kdenlive video editor released version 23.08.0 more than a week ago. For those who are sticking to the native .deb package format, the official Ubuntu PPA finally updated with the new release package!
Kdenlive 23.08.0 introduced 2 new effects Audio Seam and Auto Fade, added AV1 NVENC profile, and had bug-fixes to Whisper engine with Nvidia GTX 16xx series.
There are also some usability improvements, such as new “Fit all tracks in view” context menu option, Shift + z shortcut adjusts timeline zone to selected clips, and keyboard shortcut to toggle between timeline tabs. See the release note for more details.
How to Install Kdenlive 23.08 in Ubuntu:
Kdenlive provides official Linux packages through AppImage, Flatpak, and Ubuntu PPA.
While the first two run in sandbox, the last PPA is a good choice for Ubuntu/Linux Mint users, which so far supports Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 23.04, and Ubuntu 23.10.
1. First press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, or search for and launch ‘Konsole‘ from start menu in KDE. When it opens, run command:
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.
2. After adding PPA, user can either open Software Updater (or Update Manager) to update the software package from an existing version:
Or run the command below to install or update the video editor:
sudo apt install kdenlive
NOTE: Linux Mint user has to run sudo apt update first to manually refresh package cache
And, if you got overwriting files issue due to the old dependencies: libmlt-data and melt, run command to remove them and then re-run the apt command above:
sudo dpkg -r melt libmlt-data
Once installed, press Super (Windows logo key) to open ‘Activities’ overview or start menu, and search for and open Kdenlive.
Uninstall Kdenlive
To remove Kdenlive, either use your system package manager or run the command below in a terminal window:
sudo apt remove --autoremove kdenlive
And remove the Ubuntu PPA either by running command in terminal:
This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest Firefox Nightly in all current Ubuntu releases!
Firefox Nightly is the bleeding edge version of the web browser that updates twice a day. It contains features that are still in developments months or even years before they become mainstream.
The Nightly build is more likely to crash than the stable release. For testing purpose or power-user who prefer the very latest features, here you can install Firefox Nightly via 3 ways!
Method 1: Install Firefox Nightly via Snap package
The easiest way to get Firefox Nightly is using the Snap package. It receives updates automatically, however, will override the pre-installed Firefox, by updating it to the latest edge channel.
Ubuntu 22.04 and higher users, can simply open Ubuntu Software (or App Center). Search Firefox and switch channel/source to “latest/edge”.
Or, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, run the command below instead to install Firefox Nightly:
snap refresh firefox --channel=latest/edge
NOTE: The Snap package will take use the previous profile. In the case, you can open about:profiles page, then create a new profile and set it as default.
Method 2: Use New Apt Repository
Mozilla announced new official apt repository recently. It contains the .deb package of most recent Firefox Nightly package for all current Ubuntu and Debian releases.
1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, run command to download & install the key for that repository:
2. Next, add the apt repository by running the single command below:
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.mozilla.org.gpg] https://packages.mozilla.org/apt mozilla main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mozilla.list > /dev/null
This command will create the ‘mozilla.list‘ file under /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory and write the source line into it.
3. Finally, refresh the system package cache:
sudo apt update
And, install the Nightly build of Firefox from that repository by running command:
sudo apt install firefox-nightly
Method 3: Install Firefox Nightly via Ubuntu PPA
For choice, there’ a daily build PPA maintained by Ubuntu members. Which, so far supports Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 23.10, and Ubuntu 24.04
The PPA is a good choice, since it contains native .deb package. It will NOT override any other Firefox Stable package (neither deb nor snap), and uses its own profile for storing user data.
1. To add the PPA, first press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command:
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.
2. Linux Mint user needs to manually update the system package cache after adding PPA, though its done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 and higher:
sudo apt update
3. Finally, install the Firefox Nightly build by running command:
sudo apt install firefox-trunk
After installing the package, launch it from ‘Activities’ overview screen or app menu depends on your desktop environments. And, you can use “Software Updater” (or Update Manager) every day to keep the package up-to-date.
Uninstall Firefox Nightly
For the Snap package, just open terminal and run command will restore to the pre-installed Firefox package:
snap refresh firefox --channel=latest/stable
However, the restored Firefox Snap will create a new user profile instead of using the original one, though you can manually backup and restore your important data.
For the apt repository package, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to remove it:
sudo apt remove --autoremove firefox-nightly
To remove the source repository, just delete the source file and key by running the 2 commands below one by one:
Documentation previews for Hugging Face models and datasets
local ML-based full line code completion for JavaScript and TypeScript
sticky lines in the editor
in-editor code review
New Terminal in Beta.
And new AI assistant functionality (Pro only)
The new release is available to install in Ubuntu via different ways. They include Snap, Flatpak, official tarball, and Ubuntu PPA. Choose either one that you prefer.
Method 1: Install PyCharm via Snap package
JetBrains provides official Linux package through both Snap and tarball. Which is super easy to install for Ubuntu users.
The Snap package Features:
Official package by JetBrains.
Run in sandbox environment.
amd64 (x86_64) only.
For all current Ubuntu releases, just launch Ubuntu Software (or App Center), then search and install pycharm-community or pycharm-professional.
Or, run command below in a terminal window (Ctrl+Alt+T) instead to install the package:
snap install pycharm-community --classic
The snap package installs updates automatically. To manually check (and install if any) updates, use command:
snap refresh pycharm-community
Method 2: Install PyCharm via Flatpak package
Another easy way to install PyCharm is using Flatpak package. Which works in most Linux, though also run in sandbox environment.
The Flatpak package Features:
Community maintained.
Run in sandbox environment.
amd64 (x86_64) and arm64 support.
Ubuntu users just need to press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then run the 2 commands below one by one to install the package.
First, run command to install the Flatpak daemon:
sudo apt install flatpak
Then, run the command below to install PyCharm as Flatpak:
Depends on you needs, either download the Professional, or scroll down and select the Community edition. For ARM64, click the down arrow (▿) icon to select from drop-down menu.
2. After downloaded the tarball, just extract and move the source folder to any location that you want for long time use.
In my case, I created a “Apps” folder in user home, and put PyCharm source folder into it as sub-directory.
3. Without installation, you can now go to the ‘bin‘ sub-folder, right-click on “pycharm.sh” and select “Run as Program” to launch the IDE.
4. Create app shortcut, so to launch from start/application menu.
First, press Ctrl+H in file manager and navigate to .local/share/applications directory. Then, create a new document and re-name to ‘pycharm.desktop’.For choice, you may open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to create the file instead:
gedit ~/.local/share/applications/pycharm.desktop
Replace gedit with gnome-text-editor for Ubuntu 24.04 or other text editor according to your desktop environment. Or use nano that works in most desktops
Then, paste following lines into the file you just created and save it.
Here, you need to replace the values of ‘Exec‘ and ‘Icon‘ according where you put the source folder. And, change ‘Name’ value for Professional edition.
If everything’s done correctly, you can then search for and launch PyCharm from app launcher or the overview screen depends on your DE a few moments later:
Method 4: Install PyCharm .deb package via Ubuntu PPA
Another choice to avoid Snap and Flatpak, is using an Ubuntu PPA. However, there are only third-party maintained PPAs.
The PPA features:
Third-party maintained.
PyCharm Community only so far.
amd64 (x86_64) only so far.
supports Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04 only so far.
As far as I know, the xtradeb PPA is keeping updated with the most recent packages including PyCharm Community.
To install PyCharm from the PPA, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. And, run commands below one by one:
Add the PPA by running command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xtradeb/apps
Then install the IDE:
sudo apt install pycharm-community
NOTE: Linux Mint user needs to run sudo apt update after adding PPA to manually refresh system package cache.
Uninstall PyCharm
For the Snap package, just remove it from Ubuntu Software or App Center, or use command:
snap remove --purge pycharm-community
For the Flatpak package, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to remove it:
This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest Intellij IDEA 2024.3 in Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 24.04.
IntelliJ IDEA 2024.2 was released on November 13, 2024. See the release note for the new features.
Key highlights include a visual representation of your code’s logical structure in the Structure tool window, a smoother debugging experience for Kubernetes applications, and cluster-wide Kubernetes log access.
Intellij IDEA is available to install in Ubuntu via different ways. They include Snap, Flatpak, official tarball, and Ubuntu PPA. Choose either one that you prefer.
Method 1: Install Intellij IDEA via Snap package
JetBrains provides official Linux package through both Snap and tarball. Which is super easy to install for Ubuntu users.
The Snap package Features:
Official package by JetBrains.
Run in sandbox environment.
amd64 (x86_64) only.
For all current Ubuntu releases, just launch Ubuntu Software (or App Center), then search and install ‘Intellij IDE Community, Ultimate, or Educational.
For choice, you may press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run command instead the install the Snap package:
snap install intellij-idea-community --classic
The snap package installs updates automatically. You can check (and install if any) updates manually by running command:
snap refresh intellij-idea-community
Method 2: Install Intellij IDEA via Flatpak package
Another easy way to install the IDE is using Flatpak package. Which works in most Linux, though also run in sandbox environment.
The Flatpak package Features:
Community maintained.
Run in sandbox.
amd64 (x86_64) and arm64 support.
Ubuntu users just need to press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then run the 2 commands below one by one to install the package.
First, run command to install the Flatpak daemon:
sudo apt install flatpak
Then, run the command below to install IDEA as Flatpak:
Depends on your need, either download the Ultimate, or scroll down and select the Community edition. For ARM64, click the down arrow (▿) icon to select from drop-down menu.
2. After downloaded the tarball, just extract and move the source folder to any location that you want for long time use.
In my case, I created a “Apps” folder in user home, and put IDEA source folder into it as sub-directory.
3. Without installation, you can now go to the ‘bin‘ sub-folder, right-click on “idea.sh” and select “Run as Program” to launch the IDE.
4. Create app shortcut, so to launch from start/application menu.
First, press Ctrl+H in file manager and navigate to .local/share/applications directory. Then, create a new document and re-name to ‘idea.desktop’.For choice, you may open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to create the file instead:
gedit ~/.local/share/applications/idea.desktop
Replace gedit with gnome-text-editor for Ubuntu 24.04, or other text editor according to your Ubuntu edition and desktop environment.
Then, paste following lines into the file you just created and save it.
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition
Comment=Develop with pleasure!
Exec=/PATH/TO/IDEA/EXECUTABLE
Icon=/PATH/TO/IDEA/ICON-FILE
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true
StartupWMClass=jetbrains-idea-ce
Categories=Development;IDE;Java;
Here, you need to replace the values of ‘Exec‘ and ‘Icon‘ according where you put the source folder. And, change ‘Name’ value for Ultimate edition.
If everything’s done correctly, you can now search for and launch the IDE from app launcher or the overview screen depends on your DE a few moments later:
Method 4: Install IntelliJ IDEA via Ubuntu PPA
Another choice to avoid Snap and Flatpak, is using an Ubuntu PPA. However, there are only third-party maintained PPAs.
The PPA features:
Third-party maintained.
IDEA Community only.
amd64 (x86_64) and arm64.
supports Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 only so far.
As far as I know, the xtradeb PPA is keeping updated with the most recent packages including the IDEA Community.
To install the IDE from the PPA, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. And, run commands below one by one:
Add the PPA by running command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xtradeb/apps
Then install the IDE:
sudo apt install intellij-idea-community
NOTE: Linux Mint user needs to run sudo apt update after adding PPA to manually refresh system package cache.
Uninstall IntelliJ IDEA
For the Snap package, just remove it from Ubuntu Software or App Center.
For the Flatpak package, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to remove it:
This simple tutorial shows how to replace ‘Recent Used‘ with current working directory as default in GTK file chooser in Ubuntu.
Many apps use “Recent Used” as default in their “Open File” dialog. It’s great, but there’s a choice to make it default to the directory of current editing files.
GTK4 File Chooser
This is quite useful when working with many files in same directory. For example, when editing image via GIMP, press Ctrl+O (or Ctrl+Alt+O) will open file chooser and automatically open the directory of current image, instead of always ‘Recently Used’.
For GTK2 Apps
There are still some popular applications, such as GIMP, use GTK2 toolkit for their user interface.
1. First, open ‘Files’ (the file browser), press Ctrl+H to show hidden files/folders. Then navigate to .config -> gtk-2.0.
2. In that folder, click edit the ‘gtkfilechooser.ini‘ file. When file opens, change StartupMode=recent to StartupMode=cwd and save the file.
For GTK3/GTK4 Apps
GTK3 file chooser in Ubuntu 22.04/23.10 by default selects current working directory, but GTK4 chooses recent files as default. And, they have hidden option to configure this behavior.
Option 1: Use gsettings command
For those who are OK with Linux commands, just press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window.
When terminal opens, run command to set current working directory as default for GTK3 file chooser:
gsettings set org.gtk.Settings.FileChooser startup-mode 'cwd'
For GTK4 applications, run this command instead in terminal window:
gsettings set org.gtk.gtk4.Settings.FileChooser startup-mode 'cwd'
Option 2: Use Dconf Editor (Graphical)
For graphical way, first search for and install ‘Dconf Editor‘ in Ubuntu Software:
or run command in terminal to install the tool, in case the Software App does not work for you:
sudo apt install dconf-editor
Then, search for and launch the ‘Dconf Editor’ tool:
When it opens, navigate to ‘org.gtk.Settings.FileChooser’. Finally, click ‘startup-mode’,turn off ‘Use default value’ and set custom value to ‘cwd’.
Also, navigate to ‘org.gtk.gtk4.Settings.FileChooser’ and change the value of ‘startup-mode’ to ‘cwd’ for GTK4 file chooser.
After making the changes, all your GTK file chooser dialog should use current working directory as default instead of ‘Recently Used’ immediately!
Ubuntu 23.10 with GNOME 45 has replaced the top-left ‘Activities’ with a workspace indicator. By hovering over it, you can use mouse scroll to switch workspaces.
This is done by a simple extension called “Workspace Scroll”. Like the volume icon, with that extension, you can move mouse cursor over the top-left indicator, then scroll the middle mouse button to switch workspaces (aka Windows’ Virtual Desktop).
This can be useful for mouse heavily users, since it saves you a few mouse clicks!
UPDATE: THIS BEHAVIOR NOW IS DEFAULT OUT-OF-THE-BOX!!! You don’t have to follow any tutorial, just move mouse cursor over the workspace indicator and scroll middle button.
Want to install the latest Linux Kernel 6.5? It’s there in your Ubuntu 22.04 system repository!
Linux Kernel 6.5 was released a week ago with exciting new features, including initial USB4 v2, MIDI 2.0 support, much faster parallel direct I/O overwrite on EXT4, Acer Aspire 1 Arm laptop, Sony Xperia M4 Aqua phone, open-source driver support for Lenovo ThinkPad X13s laptop, enhanced load balancing for Intel hybrid CPUs, Intel SoundWire ACE2.x support, and more.
Ubuntu built the Kernel package in the Mainline PPA, which sadly only installs in Ubuntu 23.10 so far due to dependency issue.
Now, for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Linux 6.5 has been made into the main repository as OEM Kernel!
What is OEM Kernel
Ubuntu LTS has a few different Kernel series. They include GA Kernel that is default in first stable release, HWE Kernel (6.2 at the moment) backported from newer Ubuntu short-term releases and default in point release (e.g., Ubuntu 22.04.1, 22.04.2).
The OEM Kernel is an Ubuntu derivative kernel, specifically for use in OEM projects.
It is a staging Kernel series with shorter life cycle. It will get rolled off to the next HWE kernel once all the fixes have been forward-ported. Meaning, Linux 6.5 will probably be the default in next Ubuntu 22.04.4.
The OEM Kernel is made and officially supported by Ubuntu Team. It’s SAFE to run in any machine according to the Wiki page.
How to Install OEM Kernel 6.5 in Ubuntu 22.04
To install the Kernel package, simply press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window.
When terminal opens, run command to refresh package cache:
sudo apt update
Finally, install the kernel package via:
sudo apt install linux-oem-22.04d
When done. Restart your computer, and verify by running command in a terminal window:
uname -a
Uninstall OEM Kernel 6.5
To restore the old Kernel, first start/restart your machine and choose the previous Kernel (under “Advanced”) in boot menu.
In case you removed the old Kernels, install it back by running command:
For those who are sticking to Firefox ESR, the latest 115 release is now easy to install in all current Ubuntu releases via PPA.
Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) is a slow moving release series target for organizations, including schools, universities, businesses. It has different release circle compare to the general Firefox series.
Mozilla keeps updating the ESR with stability, security fixes and policy updates every few weeks, and rolls out major updates on average every 42 weeks. See update differences between Firefox ESR and Rapid releases.
The latest version now is Firefox ESR 115.x, which was firstly released almost 2 months ago. It includes all the new features since Firefox 102. But of course lacks features in v116, 117, and next releases until they are included in next major ESR release. See the release note for details.
Like the rapid releases, you can download the latest Firefox ESR as portable tarball from the ftp page. However, PPA is a good choice with better Ubuntu integration and easily to keep it up-to-date. It’s also a good alternative for Ubuntu 22.04+ users who hate Snap packages.
In the recent update of Ubuntu 23.10 daily build, the GNOME desktop has been updated to v45 beta. And, here are some visual changes.
The default wallpaper now has a dark variant. Meaning changing Ubuntu Desktop to dark style will also change to dark style wallpaper. Though, the final wallpaper is not revealed yet!
The ‘Files’, aka Nautilus file manager, has been redesigned with more stylish layout. Which, supports drag and drop web image into file, and implements Global Search.
Redesigned Nautilus File Manager
And, there’s new system extension to enhance tiling window support. Not only half screen tiling, it also support tiling window to quarter screen size, with either drag’n’drop or keyboard shortcuts, as well as features such as Tiling Pop-up and Tiling group.
By going to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Ubuntu Desktop’, you’ll see the new toggle options. Though, you can get even more by using “Extension Manager”.
Via the latest Gnome Shell package updates, the top-left ‘Activities’ button is finally replaced by an indicator. Now, it displays a white pill that indicates which workspace you’re on. Depends on how many workspaces you have, all others are indicated via gray dots.
As well, you may found the app menu, to indicate which app window is on focus, has also been removed. Though, the new Window Focus animation is not implemented at the moment.
They are even more great new features in Ubuntu 23.10. To try it out, just download the latest daily build image from the link below and install it in either real or virtual machine.
