{"id":1012,"date":"2024-08-05T13:03:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T13:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serverhost.com\/blog\/gnome-introduces-official-extension-to-support-legacy-tray-icons\/"},"modified":"2024-12-10T04:56:51","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T04:56:51","slug":"gnome-introduces-official-extension-to-support-legacy-tray-icons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serverhost.com\/blog\/gnome-introduces-official-extension-to-support-legacy-tray-icons\/","title":{"rendered":"GNOME Introduces Official Extension to Support Legacy Tray Icons"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of every GNOME release (spanning GNOME Shell, Mutter, core apps, etc) is an official set of GNOME Shell extensions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This non-default package is “a collection of extensions providing additional and optional functionality to GNOME Shell”<\/em> that are developed and maintained by GNOME developers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ubuntu, like other Linux distributions that use GNOME Shell, doesn\u2019t include this pack of desktop bolt-ons in its default install but does package it and keep it in their repositories. On Ubuntu, you can run sudo apt install gnome-shell-extensions<\/code> to get it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Most of these \u2018official\u2019 extensions are available to install from the GNOME Extensions website. You may be familiar with a few, like the User Themes<\/em> extension<\/a> to change GNOME Shell theme, or the Apps Menu<\/em> extension<\/a> that puts a GNOME 2 style app menu in the top bar.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This weekend a new \u201cStatus Icons\u201d extension was added to the GNOME Shell Extensions set<\/a>. This add-on supports showing \u2018legacy tray icons\u2019 in the top bar.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yes, tray icons \u2013 the sort that Steam<\/em>, Skype<\/em>, Discord<\/em>, Telegram<\/em>, etc. use.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For reference, GNOME Shell dropped support for status icons<\/a> in 2017 (and explained its reasoning), recommending<\/a> that users who still relied on them install a third-party extension for support.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Six years later it\u2019s offering an official one.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ubuntu, as I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware, already supports tray icons through the pre-installed \u2018appindicator-support\u2019 extension<\/a>. This lets third-party apps show non-standard icons\/applets\/menus in the top panel status area, and allow you to interact with them.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Will GNOME\u2019s new1<\/a><\/sup> Status Icons<\/em> extension support as many of those apps as Ubuntu\u2019s appindicator extension? I haven\u2019t been able to test it to find out (GNOME 47 beta hits this week, and parts of it are due to land in Ubuntu 24.10 daily builds in the next fortnight).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Given the multitude of inconsistent specs, UX, protocols, etc that third-party apps that use legacy tray icons implement, chances are there\u2019ll be some<\/em> edge-case gaps.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But even some support is better than none, right? <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Official extension, but not default<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

A ton of tray icon GNOME extensions exist, and have existed for some time. So while this \u201cofficial\u201d effort is great to see, it isn\u2019t offering anything users haven\u2019t been able to \u2018get\u2019 of their own accord prior to now.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And that \u201cof their own accord\u201d still stands here \u2014 GNOME\u2019s official Status Icons<\/em> extension is NOT a default feature and NOT something GNOME Shell will include out-of-the-box unless Linux distribution maintainers choose to bundle it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

However, Status Icons<\/em> is now part of the GNOME Shell Extensions<\/em> package (for the GNOME 47 release) that users can install. Plus, its likely to be added to the GNOME Extensions website for standalone installs too, as the new System Monitor<\/em> extension in GNOME 46<\/a> was.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ubuntu users should continue to use Canonical\u2019s own AppIndicator Extension<\/em>. It\u2019s preinstalled out of the box, maintained by Ubuntu developers, and covered for critical updates, bug fixes, etc. It also works incredibly well \u2014 I\u2019ve never had an issue with it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But those on more vanilla GNOME Shell setups and\/or who prefer as much upstream code as they can get, the addition of an official legacy tray icons extension is sure to be an enticing addition.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Thanks Matias S<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. New to the GNOME Shell Extensions<\/em> package. The extension was first developed 5 years ago<\/a> and seems to have lived in limbo while deciding where\/how best to release it \u2013 until now. Code has been cleaned up and renamed for inclusion in this package. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As part of every GNOME release (spanning GNOME Shell, Mutter, core apps, etc) is an official set of GNOME Shell extensions. This non-default package is “a collection of extensions providing additional and optional functionality to GNOME Shell” that are developed and maintained by GNOME developers. Ubuntu, like other Linux distributions that use GNOME Shell, doesn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[139,437,54,602,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gnome","category-gnome-47","category-gnome-extensions","category-legacy-tray","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGNOME Legacy Tray Icons Extension Released Officially | ServerHost<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The GNOME Legacy Tray Icon Extension brings a new era, providing better integration of legacy apps and ensuring a seamless experience for GNOME users.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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