{"id":49972,"date":"2025-11-10T13:19:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/?p=49972"},"modified":"2025-11-10T13:19:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:19:56","slug":"manage-gnome-shell-extensions-from-command-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/2025\/11\/manage-gnome-shell-extensions-from-command-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Manage Gnome Shell Extensions from Command Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This tutorial shows how to install, remove, enable or disable Gnome Shell extensions and configure extensions’ preferences in Ubuntu, Fedora, etc Linux distributions with Gnome Desktop.<\/p>\n

We usually install\/uninstall Gnome Shell extension by either visiting extensions.gnome.org<\/a> in web browser or using Extension Manager app<\/a>, then manage them through either GNOME Extensions or Extension Manager.<\/p>\n

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Gnome Extension Manager App<\/p><\/div>\n

For choice, Gnome has a built-in command line tool that can help sometimes without using a graphical user interface.<\/p>\n

Why using Command Line<\/h3>\n

The command line tool gnome-extensions<\/code> is useful for advanced users and developers for scripting purpose.<\/p>\n

It’s also a good choice for installing extensions from local packages (e.g., ZIP archive) without internet connection. And, in some cases you may use gsettings<\/code> command to configure extension preferences.<\/p>\n

Install an Extension from Command Line<\/h3>\n

Besides using web browser or Extension Manager, user may manually install an extension by putting the source folder (usually name@xxx.xxx.com<\/code>) to .local<\/code>\/share<\/code>\/gnome-shell<\/code>\/extensions<\/code> directory.<\/p>\n

Say you downloaded an extension package from extensions.gnome.org<\/em>, by choosing Gnome Shell version and Extension version.<\/p>\n

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Download an extension from extensions.gnome.org<\/p><\/div>\n

You may then install it by running command:<\/p>\n

gnome-extensions install \/path\/to\/extension.zip<\/pre>\n
The command do the job decompressing the ZIP archive (.tar.xz<\/code>, .tar.gz<\/code> etc also supported) and moving the source to the user’s extension directory mentioned above.<\/p>\n
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This method however need a log out and back in<\/b>, before being able to enable the new installed extension.<\/p>\n
List Installed Extensions from Command Line<\/h3>\n
To list all the installed extensions, simply use command:<\/p>\n
gnome-extensions list<\/pre>\n
For choice, you may list user installed extensions via --user<\/code> option, or system extensions via --system<\/code>.<\/p>\n
gnome-extensions list --user<\/pre>\n
And, use --enabled<\/code> option for enabled extensions, --disabled<\/code> for disabled extensions, and --details<\/code> for more about extensions, including name, description, source URL, version, and state.<\/p>\n
gnome-extensions list --user --enabled<\/pre>\n
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Enable\/Disable Extensions<\/h3>\n
Once you got the extension IDs via the command above, you may get more about it by running command:<\/p>\n
gnome-extensions info ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com<\/pre>\n
Here replace the ID ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com<\/code> with yours.<\/p>\n
Then, enable or disable an extension by running command:<\/p>\n
gnome-extensions enable ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com<\/pre>\n
or:<\/p>\n
gnome-extensions disable ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com<\/pre>\n
Also replace the extension ID ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com<\/code>, and optionally add --quiet<\/code> flag to ignore error messages (if any).<\/p>\n
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Configure Extension Preferences from Command Line<\/h3>\n
NOTE<\/b>: if you just want to launch the graphical configuration dialog from command line, then use command (replace extension ID):<\/p>\n
gnome-extensions prefs ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com<\/pre>\n
To configure extension preferences from command line, use gsettings<\/code> command.<\/p>\n
For system extensions<\/b>, first run command below to list all the available keys and the values:<\/p>\n
gsettings list-recursively org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock<\/pre>\n
Here replace dash-to-dock<\/code> (Ubuntu Dock) to the extension name you’re going to configure. Or, press Tab twice before typing its name to print available choices.<\/p>\n
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After that, run similar command below to configure an extension key value:<\/p>\n
gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock always-center-icons false<\/pre>\n
Also replace extension name dash-to-dock<\/code>, key-name always-center-icons<\/code>, and key-value false<\/code> according to the last command output.<\/p>\n
Or, run command to reset an extension’s key value to default.<\/p>\n
gsettings reset org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock always-center-icons<\/pre>\n
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For user extensions,<\/b> run gnome-extensions list --user<\/code> to find the ID, then do following steps instead:<\/p>\n