The modern GNOME desktop is a masterclass in focused, minimalist design. It’s clean, elegant, and stays out of your way. But for many users, especially those coming from Windows, macOS, or other Linux desktops, this minimalism can feel… restrictive.
“Where is my dock?” “Where are my app tray icons?” “How can I see my CPU temperature?”
This is where the magic of the GNOME ecosystem comes in. Thanks to a massive library of extensions, you can mold the desktop to your exact needs. However, the extension library is vast, and it’s easy to get lost. We’ve cut through the noise to find the three truly must-have GNOME extensions that solve the most common frustrations and dramatically improve the default experience.
Before You Start: How to Install & Manage Extensions in 2025
Forget the old, clunky web browser plugins. Managing GNOME extensions is easier than ever. You have two excellent, modern options.
1. The ‘Extensions’ App (The Native Way)
Many modern distributions, like Fedora, now ship with the Extensions application pre-installed. You can simply open it to manage your currently installed extensions. To find new ones, you would still use the website, but this app handles the local management.
2. The ‘Extension Manager’ App (The Best Way)
This is the method we recommend for everyone. Extension Manager is a third-party application, available on Flathub, that provides a single, beautiful interface for browsing, searching, installing, and managing all extensions. It completely replaces the need to use a web browser.
You can get it from Flathub. If you have Flathub set up, one command is all you need:
Bash
flatpak install flathub com.mattjakeman.ExtensionManager
Once installed, all the extensions listed below can be found and installed with one click inside this app.
The 3 Must-Have GNOME Extensions for Every User
These plugins are the best GNOME plugins because they add crucial, everyday functionality that many users feel is missing from the default experience.
1. AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support
- What it does: This is arguably the single most essential extension in the entire library. It brings back the system tray icon area (often called the “app indicator” or “status notifier” area) to your top panel.
- Why you need it: By default, GNOME doesn’t show tray icons for most applications. This means apps that are designed to run in the background—like Discord, Steam, Slack, Dropbox, or your VPN client—have no icon. You can’t see their status or quickly access their menus. This extension fixes that immediately, restoring the functionality you expect from any modern desktop.
2. Dash to Dock
- What it does: This extension takes GNOME’s “Dash” (the favorites bar you only see in the Activities Overview) and turns it into a permanent, highly-configurable dock, similar to what you’d find on macOS or Ubuntu.
- Why you need it: The default GNOME workflow requires you to press the
Superkey (Windows key) to open the Activities Overview just to launch a new app or switch to an open one. For many, this is an inefficient extra step. Dash to Dock places your favorite and open applications right on the desktop, always visible and accessible with a single click. You can place it on the bottom, left, or right, change its size, and customize its appearance. - Pro-Tip: If you prefer a full panel (like Windows 11), a popular alternative is DASH TO PANEL. It merges the top bar and the dock into one single, unified panel.
3. Vitals
- What it does: Vitals is a clean, comprehensive, and modern system monitoring extension. It places key statistics about your computer directly in your top panel.
- Why you need it: Linux power users and regular users alike love to keep an eye on their system’s performance. Does GNOME provide any built-in, at-a-glance way to see your CPU temperature, fan speed, RAM usage, or network speed? No. Vitals does it all. It’s endlessly configurable—you can choose to see only your CPU temp or monitor a dozen different sensors. It’s the perfect tool for checking if a runaway process is lagging your machine or if your laptop is getting too hot.
You may also read:
How to Customize GNOME: A Word of Warning
While extensions are GNOME’s greatest strength, they can also be its greatest weakness.
- Updates Can Break Things: When a major new version of GNOME is released (e.g., GNOME 47 -> 48), extension developers must update their code. If you rely on a dozen obscure extensions, you may find your desktop “broken” after a big system update, forcing you to wait until the developers catch up.
- Performance: Running 30 extensions will use more RAM and CPU than running zero.
This is precisely why we recommend this “Top 3” list. By sticking to a few popular and well-maintained extensions like AppIndicator, Dash to Dock, and Vitals, you get all the benefits of customization with almost none of the risk. These developers are fast to update, and the performance impact is negligible.
Conclusion
Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re “using GNOME wrong.” The beauty of Linux is choice. By spending just five minutes installing these three must-have GNOME extensions, you can transform the default desktop from a spartan, minimalist environment into a powerful, productive, and personalized workstation that perfectly fits your workflow.
What are your personal must-have extensions? Did we miss a critical one? Share your top picks and recommendations in the comments below!