Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@danielfreitasce
Created June 30, 2025 18:28
Show Gist options
  • Save danielfreitasce/ed30e1822b9fc503c1f57c9ebfed5ecd to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save danielfreitasce/ed30e1822b9fc503c1f57c9ebfed5ecd to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Background Logo - Gnome Shell Extension

Since the Background Logo extension has not been updated for the latest versions of GNOME Shell at Gnome Extension Store, you can download the extension directly from https://pagure.io/background-logo-extension/releases and install it manually.

To do this, follow these steps after downloading the files:

How to Install a GNOME Shell Extension with meson.build

This guide explains how to compile and install a GNOME Shell extension that uses the Meson build system. The presence of a meson.build file indicates that the extension needs to be built and installed into the system, rather than just being placed in your user's local extensions folder.

1. Prerequisites: Install Necessary Tools

First, you need to ensure you have the required tools to build and manage the extension. These are meson, ninja, git, and the gnome-shell-extensions package.

Open your terminal and run the command corresponding to your Linux distribution.

For Debian, Ubuntu, or derivatives:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install meson ninja-build git gnome-shell-extensions

For Arch Linux or derivatives:

sudo pacman -S meson ninja git gnome-shell-extensions --needed

2. Compile and Install the Extension

Once the prerequisites are installed, navigate to the root directory of the extension's source code (the folder containing the meson.build file).

Step 1: Set up the build directory

Create a directory where the compiled files will be stored. The standard practice is to name it build.

meson setup build

Step 2: Compile and install

Now, run the installation command. This will compile the necessary files (like GSettings schemas) and copy everything to the correct system-wide directory (/usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/).

Using sudo is necessary because you are writing to a system directory.

sudo meson install -C build

3. Enable the Extension

After the installation is complete, you need to make GNOME Shell aware of the new extension and then enable it.

Step 1: Restart GNOME Shell

To ensure the new extension is recognized, you need to restart the shell.

  • On X11: Press Alt + F2, type r into the dialog that appears, and press Enter.
  • On Wayland: You must log out of your session and log back in.

Step 2: Activate the extension

  1. Open the Extensions application (search for it in your Activities Overview).
  2. Find the new extension in the list (in this case, likely named "Background Logo").
  3. Click the toggle switch to turn it on.

Your extension should now be installed and running correctly.

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment