Space Bar

GNOME Shell extension that replaces the top-panel workspace indicator with an i3-like workspaces bar.

On GNOME Extensions: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/5090/space-bar/

Originally a fork of the extension Workspaces Bar by fthx, this extension grew into a more comprehensive set of features to support a workspace-based workflow.

Project Status

Note

Maintenance mode

The extension covers its intended features and currently no new features are planned. This means that:

• Migrations to new GNOME versions and fixing of unintended behavior continue to take place.
• Feature requests and pull requests with new features will generally not be addressed.
• Discussions, questions, feedback, thoughts, or contributions of any kind are always welcome!

Features

• First class support for static and dynamic workspaces as well as multi-monitor setups
• Add, remove, and rename workspaces
• Rearrange workspaces via drag and drop
• Automatically assign workspace names based on started applications
• Keyboard shortcuts extend and refine system shortcuts
• Scroll through workspaces by mouse wheel over the panel
• Customize the appearance

Build

The source code of this extension is written in TypeScript. The following command will build the extension and package it to a zip file (requires pnpm, zip, and glib2).

pnpm install
./scripts/build.sh

Install

The following command will build the extension and install or update it locally.

./scripts/build.sh -i

Alternatively, just unzip the space-bar@luchrioh.zip to ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/space-bar@luchrioh.

Log out and back in for the installation to take effect.

Debug

Run a GNOME shell instance in a window:

dbus-run-session gnome-shell --devkit --wayland

View logs:

journalctl -f -o cat /usr/bin/gnome-shell

View logs of settings:

journalctl -f -o cat /usr/bin/gjs

Configuration:

GSETTINGS_SCHEMA_DIR=::$HOME/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/space-bar@luchrioh/schemas dconf-editor /org/gnome/shell/extensions/space-bar/ &>/dev/null