GNOME is developed by theGNOME Project, which is composed of both volunteers and paid contributors, the largest corporate contributor beingRed Hat.[11][12][13] It is an international project that aims to developframeworks for software development, to program end-user applications based on these frameworks, and to coordinate efforts for theinternationalization, localization, andaccessibility of that software.
Since GNOME 2, productivity has been a key focus for GNOME. To meet this end, theGNOME Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) were created. All GNOME programs share a coherent style ofinterfaces but are not limited to the employment of the sameGUI widgets. Rather, the design of the GNOME's interface is guided by concepts described in theGNOME Human Interface Guidelines, itself relying on insights fromcognitive ergonomics.[15] Following theGNOME Human Interface Guidelines, developers can create high-quality, consistent, and usable GUI programs, as it addresses everything frominterface design to the recommended pixel-based layout of widgets. However, critics have complained about GNOME ignoring traditional user interface conventions, and the wasting of screen real estate.
During the GNOME 2 rewrite, many settings deemed of little value to the majority of users were removed. The guiding principle was outlined byHavoc Pennington – a software developer involved in the project – who emphasized the idea that it is better to make software behave correctly by default than to add a UI preference to get the desired behavior:
A traditional free software application is configurable so that it has the union of all features anyone's ever seen in any equivalent application on any other historical platform. Or even configurable to be the union of all applications that anyone's ever seen on any historical platform (Emacs *cough*).
Does this hurt anything? Yes it does. It turns out that preferences have a cost. [...] [E]ach one has a price, and you have to carefully consider its value. Many users and developers don't understand this, and end up with a lot of cost and little value for their preferences dollar.
GNOME Shell is the maingraphical shell of GNOME. It features a top bar holding (from left to right) an Overview button, a clock and an integrated system status menu.[18][19] The application menu displays the name of the application in focus and provides access to functions such as accessing the application's preferences, closing the application, or creating a new application window. The status menu holds various system status indicators, shortcuts to system settings, and session actions including logging out, switching users, locking the screen, and suspending the computer.
Clicking on the Activities button, moving the mouse to the top-left hot corner or pressing theSuper key brings up the Overview.[20] The Overview gives users an overview of current activities and provides a way to switch between windows and workspaces and to launch applications. The Dash on the bottom houses shortcuts to favorite applications, currently open windows, and an application picker button to show a list of all installed applications.[18] A search bar appears at the top and a workspace list for viewing and switching between workspaces is directly above it. Notifications appear from the top of the shell.[21]
Beginning with GNOME 3.8, GNOME provides a suite of officially supported GNOME Shell extensions that provide an Applications menu (a basicstart menu) and a "Places menu" on the top bar and a panel with a windows list at the bottom of the screen that lets users quickly minimize and restore open windows, a "Show Desktop" button in the bottom left corner, and virtual desktops in the bottom right corner.[22] GNOME Classic also adds the minimize and maximize buttons to window headers.
Anedited image of GNOME Flashback 3.36 that shows its functions including the Main menu, and the plug-ins ofGNOME Panel
GNOME Flashback is an official session for GNOME 3. Based onGNOME Panel andMetacity,[23] it is lightweight,[24][25] has lower hardware requirements, and uses lesssystem resources thanGNOME Shell.[26] It provides a traditional and highly customizabletaskbar (panel) with many plug-ins bundled in one package (gnome-applets), including a customizablestart menu. It provides a similar user experience to the GNOME 2.x series and has customization capacities built in.
GNOME Flashback consists of the following components:
Mockups of mobile GNOME Shell views (overview, app grid, system status area)
GNOME Mobile is a set of patches on top of the GNOME stack, that make GNOME suitable for mobile phones and touch devices.[29] A core component enabling this adaptability islibadwaita, aGTK-basedlibrary that provides consistent,adaptive UI components andwidgets forGNOME applications, which ensures a cohesivedesign language acrossplatforms.GNOME Mobile is available as a desktop environment inPostmarketOS.
There are a large number ofGTK-based programs written by various authors. Since the release of GNOME 3.0,GNOME Project concentrates on developing a set of programs that accounts for theGNOME Core Applications.[30] The commonalities of theGNOME Core Applications are the adherence to the currentGNOME Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) as well as the tight integration with underlying GNOME layers like e.g.GVfs (GNOME virtual filesystem) and also with one another e.g. GOA (gnome-online-accounts)[31] settings andGNOME Files withGoogle Drive[32][33] andGNOME Photos withGoogle Photos. Some programs are simply existing programs with a new name and revamped user interface, while others have been written from scratch.
GNOME was formerly a part of theGNU Project,[36][41][42][43] but that is no longer the case. In 2021, GNOME Executive Director Neil McGovern publicly tweeted that GNOME was not a GNU project and that he had been asking GNU to remove GNOME from their list of packages since 2019.[44][45] In 2021, GNOME was removed from the list.[46] GNOME proceeded to remove mentions of any link to GNU from their code and documentation.[47] The name "GNOME" was initially an acronym forGNU Network Object Model Environment, referring to the original intention of creating adistributed object framework similar toMicrosoft'sOLE,[48][49] but the acronym was eventually dropped because it no longer reflected the vision of the GNOME project.[49]
The California startupEazel developed theNautilus file manager from 1999 to 2001. De Icaza andNat Friedman founded Helix Code (laterXimian) in 1999 in Massachusetts; this company developed GNOME's infrastructure and applications and was purchased byNovell in 2003.
During the transition to GNOME 2 and shortly thereafter, there were brief talks about creating aGNOME Office suite.[50][51] On 15 September 2003 GNOME-Office 1.0, consisting ofAbiWord 2.0,GNOME-DB 1.0, andGnumeric 1.2.0, was released.[52][53][54] Although some release planning for GNOME Office 1.2 was happening on the gnome-office mailing list,[55][56][57] and Gnumeric 1.4 was announced as a part of it,[58] the 1.2 release of the suite itself never materialized. As of 4 May 2014[update], the GNOME wiki only mentions "GNOME/GTK applications that are useful in an office environment".[59]
GNOME 2 was released in June 2002[60][61] and was very similar to a conventional desktop interface, featuring a simple desktop in which users could interact with virtual objects such as windows, icons, and files. GNOME 2 started out withSawfish as its defaultwindow manager, but later switched toMetacity in GNOME 2.2.[62][63] The handling of windows, applications, and files in GNOME 2 is similar to that of contemporary desktop operating systems. In the default configuration of GNOME 2, the desktop has a launcher menu for quick access to installed programs and file locations; open windows may be accessed by a taskbar along the bottom of the screen; and the top-right corner features a notification area for programs to display notices while running in the background. However, these features can be moved to almost any position or orientation the user desires, replaced with other functions, or removed altogether.
GNOME 3 has a modern approach touser interface design and naming the applications. This screenshot shows GNOME Weather running onGNOME Shell, both in version 3.14 (September 2014).
In 2008, an increasing discontent among the community and developers about the lack of project direction and technical progress prompted the announcement of GNOME 3.0. Originally, the plan was to make only incremental changes and avoid disruption for users.[65] This changed when efforts led to the creation of theGNOME Shell.[66]
GNOME 3 was released in 2011.[67] While GNOME 1 and 2 interfaces followed the traditionaldesktop metaphor, the GNOME Shell adopted a more abstract metaphor with a minimalistic window management workflow, where switching between different tasks andvirtual desktops occurs in a separate area calledtheoverview.[66] TheMinimize andmaximize buttons were hidden by default, leaving only the close button and application name in thewindow decoration.[68][69]
The release of GNOME 3 caused considerable controversy in theGNU andLinux communities.[75] Aiming to provide an easy-to-use and uncluttered user experience has led to some criticized design decisions, like the removal ofminimize andmaximize buttons, the simplification of configuration options, and visual cues that could lead to confusion.[66]
Several projects have been initiated to either continue development of GNOME 2.x, modify GNOME 3.x to be more like the 2.x releases, or create a desktop environment with a traditional design metaphor entirely from scratch due to the negative reception of GNOME 3:
TheMATE desktop environment wasforked in August 2011 from the GNOME 2 code-base with the intent of preserving the traditional desktop metaphor associated with GNOME 2 while keeping compatibility with modern Linux-related technologies, such asWayland,Systemd,PipeWire, andGTK3.[76][77]
TheLinux Mint team addressed the issue by developing "Mint GNOME Shell Extensions" that ran on top of GNOME Shell and allowed it to be used via the traditional desktop metaphor. This eventually led to the creation of theCinnamon desktop environment in 2011, which was forked from the GNOME 3 codebase.[78] Cinnamon became a completely independent desktop environment from GNOME Shell with Cinnamon 2.0 on October 9, 2013.[79]
TheLXDE Project, which was experimenting with aQt port at the time,[80] merged with theRazor-qt project to formLXQt in 2013.[81] The main developer of LXDE, Hong Jen Lee, cited that the reason he wanted to port LXDE to Qt was due to dissatification with the memory and CPU consumption of GTK3 and GNOME libraries when testing a GTK3 version of LXDE.[82] Hong eventually posted a blog post about how an early build of LXQt used less memory than GTK3-based XFCE.[83]
Canonical, the company developing Ubuntu, ceased working with the GNOME Shell developers during the GNOME 3 planning phases[84][85][86] and released their own desktop environment,Unity, replacing GNOME as the default desktop shell inUbuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" released in April 2011.[87] Previously, Unity had only been intended for use with theUbuntu Netbook Edition starting with version 10.10 and a now-canceled edition of Ubuntu called Ubuntu Light.[88] However, Ubuntu has since switched to a modified version of GNOME as of Ubuntu 17.10.[89]
TheSolus Project developed theBudgie desktop environment in response to GNOME 3 in 2014, aiming to provide a simpler and more modern interface. Budgie is built using GTK and GNOME technologies, but offers a different user experience, focusing on providing a lightweight, simple, and elegant user experience.[90]
TheelementaryOS team created thePantheon desktop environment as a new GTK-based desktop environment distinct from GNOME. Built from scratch, Pantheon aims to provide a user-friendly and visually appealing aesthetic, focusing on a cohesive and minimal design, and integrating tightly with the elementaryOS ecosystem.[91]
System76, an American computer manufacturer selling computer hardware with Linux preinstalled and the creators of a set of GNOME extensions for their own Linux distributionPop!_OS known collectively as COSMIC, built a newdesktop environment of the same name in Rust.[92] The reasons cited by System76 for building a new desktop environment from scratch included limitations with GNOME extensions as well as disagreements with GNOME developers on the desktop experience, such as withsupporting server-side decorations in addition to client-side decorations onWayland. COSMIC will support both client-side and server-side window decorations, unlike GNOME, which only supports the former.[93]
Among those critical of the early releases of GNOME 3 isLinus Torvalds, the creator of theLinux kernel. Torvalds abandoned GNOME for a while after the release of GNOME 3.0, saying, "The developers have apparently decided that it's 'too complicated' to actually do real work on your desktop, and have decided to make it really annoying to do". He subsequently switched toXfce.[94]
Over time, critical reception has grown more positive. In 2013, Torvalds resumed using GNOME, noting that "they have extensions now that are still much too hard to find; but with extensions you can make your desktop look almost as good as it used to look two years ago".[95][96]Debian, a Linux distribution that had historically used GNOME 2, switched toXfce when GNOME 3 was released, but re-adopted GNOME 3 in time for the release of Debian 8 "Jessie".[97] Ubuntu switched from Unity to GNOME 3 with several extensions to resemble Unity, such as a persistent left application panel instead of a hidden dock and re-enabling desktop icons, withUbuntu 17.10 Artful Aardvark in 2017. This release also saw theUbuntu GNOME edition merge with the mainline release.[98] However,Ubuntu Unity was then released, keeping the Unity desktop and continuing to update it.
GNOME 40 was released on 24 March 2021.[99][100] It immediately follows version 3, but adopts a newversioning scheme and a schedule of future major releases on a fixed six-month cycle (seeRelease Cycle).[101] With this quicker release cadence, major releases became somewhat leaner, because full rewrites of major packages were not occurring as often as they were in the jumps between GNOME 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 versions.
GNOME 40 organizes the activities overview in a horizontal fashion, instead of using a vertical design like its predecessors.[99] The release also brings newtouchpad gestures.[102]
GNOME 41 was released on 22 September 2021 and introduced a rewritten and redesignedGNOME Software application manager, a multitasking panel and a mobile network (forWWAN) panel in settings, a newremote desktop app called Connections, updates to GNOME Music app, and improvements to the power mode settings.[103]
GNOME 42 was released on 23 March 2022[104] and introduced the option to screen record and switch light/dark themes using a new GTK API calledLibadwaita. Several default apps were replaced with more modern versions such as Text Editor instead ofGedit and Console instead of Terminal.[105]
GNOME 43 (Guadalajara) was released on 21 September 2022[106] and introduced a new quick settings menu, aGNOME Files update toGTK4, and a new 'Device Security' panel in settings, among many other changes.GNOME Web was updated, bringing in support for web apps and experimentalFirefox andChrome extension support.
GNOME 44 (Kuala Lumpur) was released on 22 March 2023. Named afterKuala Lumpur in recognition of work done by the GNOME.Asia community,[107] GNOME 44 introduced a new file chooser grid view, updated settings panels, and redesigned accessibility settings. The new quick settings menu introduced in GNOME 43 was updated, alongside the addition of several new apps and improvements to existing apps.[107]
GNOME 45 (Rīga) was released on 20 September 2023.[108] It introduced redesigned app styles alongside a new activities button, which replaced both the previous "Activities" label and the app menu with a graphicalworkspace indicator. Other updates to the system bar included a new camera usage indicator and akeyboard shortcut to open and close the quick settings menu. GNOME 45 also introduced two new image viewer and camera apps, keyboard backlight controls, and numerous enhancements to existing apps.[108]
GNOME 46 (Kathmandu) was released on 20 March 2024[109] and featured an enhanced files app with global search, support for headless remote login viaGDM, and a refreshed settings app, amongst many other app changes.[110] Other system changes included accessibility improvements and experimental support for variable refresh rates.
GNOME 47 (Denver) was released on 18 September 2024 and featured user-chosen accent color support in Libadwaita applications as well as many other smaller improvements.[111]
GNOME 48 (Bengaluru) was released on March 19, 2025, and is included in Fedora 42 and Ubuntu 25.04.[112]
GNOME 49 (Brescia) was released on September 17, 2025, and can be found in Fedora 43 and Ubuntu 25.10 releases.[113]
GNOME Panel was a highly configurabletaskbar for GNOME. It formed a core part of the desktop inGNOME 1 andGNOME 2. It has been replaced in GNOME 3 by default withGNOME Shell, which only works with theMutter window manager. GNOME Panel served asFallback Mode until GNOME 3.8 when Mutter could not be executed,[114] then it was replaced with a suite of officially supported GNOME Shell extensions namedGNOME Classic.[115] Now it is part ofGNOME Flashback, an official session for GNOME 3 which provides a user experience similar to GNOME 2.[116] In GNOME 3, customizing GNOME Panel is done by pressing theAlt key while right-clicking on the panel.
By default, GNOME Flashback contains two panels (one on the top, and one to its opposite on the bottom) spanning the width of the screen. The top panel usually contains navigation menus labeled "Applications" and "Places" in that order, as the "System" menu from GNOME 2.x has been replaced by a control panel in GNOME 3.x. These menus hold links to common applications and areas of the file system, respectively. A user menu placed on the opposite side of the screen, which has been available since GNOME 2.14 but has become more prominent in GNOME 3.x, holds access to account and system settings as well as options to log out, switch user, and shut down the computer.[117] The top panel usually contains a clock/calendar and a notification area, which can double as a sort ofdock, as well. The bottom panel is commonly empty by default (other than a set of buttons to navigate between desktops) due to its use in the navigation between windows (windows minimize to the bottom panel by default).
GNOME Panel, its "Properties Dialog Menu" - Ubuntu 18.04
Users can populate these panels with other completely customizable menus and buttons, including new menus, search boxes, and icons, with the icons in particular (calledlaunchers) performing functions similar to thequick-launch feature found in theMicrosoft Windows 98–Vista taskbar. Other applications can also be attached to the panels, and the panels are highly reconfigurable: anything on these panels can be moved, removed, or configured in other ways. For example, a migrating Microsoft Windows user might move the menus usually positioned in the top panel into a 'start' menu on the bottom panel as well as moving the notification area into the place normally positioned by the Windows notification area, then remove the top panel altogether, to interact with GNOME Panel similarly to the Windows taskbar. The version of GNOME Panel available in the repository forUbuntu 12.04 offers a modified version of Fallback Mode with the addition of a custom theme and ports of Ubuntu's own Indicators from their old GNOME 2.x desktop.[118]Trisquel uses Fallback Mode (Flashback) for its main desktop, because GNOME Shell requires 3D acceleration as it relies on graphics composition, while some free software drivers do not support 3D acceleration, among other reasons like more usability and more stability.[119]
Each of the component software products in the GNOME project has its own version number andrelease schedule. However, individual module maintainers coordinate their efforts to create a full GNOME stable release on an approximately six-month schedule,[120] alongside its underlying libraries such as GTK and GLib. Some experimental projects are excluded from these releases.[citation needed]
Before GNOME 40, GNOME version numbers followed the schemev.xx.yy.[citation needed] Here,v is a major version, which can include large changes such asABI breakage; these have no regular schedule and occur in response to requirements for large-scale changes.[citation needed]xx is a minor version, released on the above schedule of approximately every 6 months, in which the 1- or 2-digit number's parity indicates the type of release: ifxx is even (e.g. 3.20) the release is considered stable, whereas ifxx is odd, it represents a current development snapshot (e.g. 3.21) that will eventually evolve into the next stable release.[121]yy indicates a point release, e.g. 3.20.6; these are made on a frequency of weeks in order to fix issues, add non-breaking enhancements, etc.[citation needed]
GNOME 40 started a new versioning scheme in which a single number is incremented with each semi-annual release. The number is followed by a dot and then "alpha", "beta", or "rc" for a development release, or a decimal for a minor stable release (much like theyy mentioned previously).[101]
GNOME releases are made to the main FTP server in the form ofsource code withconfigure scripts,[citation needed] which are compiled by operating system vendors and integrated with the rest of their systems before distribution. Most vendors only use stable and tested versions of GNOME and provide it in the form of easily installed, pre-compiled packages. The source code of every stable and development version of GNOME is stored in the GNOMEgitsource code repository.[citation needed]
A number of buildscripts (such as JHBuild or formerly GARNOME) are available to help automate the process of compiling the source code.[citation needed]
Codename "Tranquility"[124][125]Nautilus became the default file manager in GNOME, replacing GNU Midnight Commander, the previous default file manager used since GNOME 1.0.
Lower memory requirements and performance improvements. Adds: new panel applets (modem control, drive mounter and trashcan); and theTotem andSound Juicer applications.[131]
2.12
September 2005
Nautilus improvements; improvements in cut/paste between applications and freedesktop.org integration. Adds:Evince PDF viewer; New default theme:Clearlooks;Alacarte menu editor; keyring manager and admin tools. Based on GTK 2.8 with cairo support.[132]
2.14
March 2006
Performance improvements (over 100% in some cases); usability improvements in user preferences; GStreamer 0.10 multimedia framework. Adds:Ekigavideo conferencing application; Deskbar search tool; Pessulus lockdown editor;Fast user switching; Sabayon system administration tool.[133]
2.16
September 2006
Performance improvements. Adds:Tomboy notetaking application;Baobab disk usage analyser;Orca screen reader; GNOME Power Manager (improving laptop battery life); improvements to Totem, Nautilus;compositing support for Metacity; new icon theme. Based on GTK 2.10 with new print dialog.[134]
2.18
March 2007
Performance improvements. Adds:SeahorseGPG security application, allowing encryption of emails and local files; Baobab disk usage analyser improved to support ring chart view; Orca screen reader; improvements to Evince, Epiphany and GNOME Power Manager, Volume control; two new games, GNOME Sudoku andglChess. MP3 and AAC audio encoding.[135]
2.20
September 2007
Tenth anniversary release. Evolution backup functionality; improvements in Epiphany, EOG, GNOME Power Manager; password keyring management in Seahorse. Adds: PDF forms editing in Evince; integrated search in the file manager dialogs; automatic multimediacodec installer.[136]
2.22
March 2008
Addition ofCheese, a tool for taking photos from webcams andRemote Desktop Viewer; basic window compositing support inMetacity; introduction ofGVfs; improved playback support for DVDs andYouTube,MythTV support in Totem; internationalised clock applet;Google Calendar support and message tagging inEvolution; improvements in Evince, Tomboy, Sound Juicer and Calculator.[137] DeprecateGnomeVFS in favor ofGVfs andGIO.[138]
2.24
September 2008
Addition of theEmpathy instant messenger client,Ekiga 3.0, tabbed browsing in Nautilus, better multiple screens support and improved digital TV support.[139]
Addition of GNOME Bluetooth module. Improvements to Epiphany web browser, Empathy instant messenger client, Time Tracker, and accessibility. Upgrade toGTK version 2.18.[141]
2.30
March 2010
Improvements to Nautilus file manager, including the reversion from aspatial file manager back to anavigational file manager, Empathy instant messenger client, Tomboy, Evince, Time Tracker, Epiphany, andVinagre. iPod and iPod Touch devices are now partially supported via GVfs through libimobiledevice. UsesGTK 2.20.[142]
2.32
September 2010
Addition of Rygel and GNOME Color Manager. Improvements to Empathy instant messenger client, Evince, Nautilus file manager and others. 3.0 was intended to be released in September 2010, so a large part of the development effort since 2.30 went towards 3.0.[143] This version of GNOME and many of its applications were forked as part of theMATE desktop environment.
3.0
April 2011
Introduction ofGNOME Shell. A redesigned settings framework with fewer, more focused options. Topic-oriented help based on theMallard markup language. Side-by-side window tiling. A new visual theme and default font. Adoption of GTK 3.0 with its improved language bindings, themes, touch, and multiplatform support. Removal of long-deprecated development APIs.[68]
3.2
September 2011
Online accounts support; Web applications support; contacts manager; documents and files manager; quick preview of files in the File Manager; greater integration; better documentation; enhanced looks and various performance improvements.[144]
3.4
March 2012
New Look for GNOME 3 Applications: Documents, Epiphany (now called Web), andGNOME Contacts. Search for documents from the Activities overview. Application menus support. Refreshed interface components: New color picker, redesigned scrollbars, easier to use spin buttons, and hideable title bars. Smooth scrolling support. New animated backgrounds. Improved system settings with new Wacom panel. Easier extensions management. Better hardware support. Topic-oriented documentation. Video calling and Live Messenger support in Empathy. Better accessibility: Improved Orca integration, better high contrast mode, and new zoom settings. Plus many other application enhancements and smaller details.[69]
3.6
September 2012
Refreshed Core components: New applications button and improved layout in the Activities Overview. A new login and lock screen. Redesigned Message Tray. Notifications are now smarter, more noticeable, easier to dismiss. Improved interface and settings for System Settings. The user menu now shows Power Off by default. Integrated Input Methods. Accessibility is always on. New applications: Boxes, that was introduced as a preview version in GNOME 3.4, and Clocks, an application to handle world times. Updated looks for Disk Usage Analyzer, Empathy and Font Viewer. Improvedbraille support inOrca. In Web, the previously blank start page was replaced by a grid that holds your most visited pages, plus better full screen mode and a beta of WebKit2. Evolution renders email using WebKit. Major improvements to Disks. Revamped Files application (also known as Nautilus), with new features like Recent files and search.
3.8
March 2013
Refreshed Core components: A new applications view with frequently used and all apps. An overhauled window layout. New input methods OSD switcher. The Notifications & Messaging tray now react to the force with which the pointer is pressed against the screen edge. Added Classic mode for those who prefer a more traditional desktop experience. The GNOME Settings application features an updated toolbar design. New Initial Setup assistant. GNOME Online Accounts integrates with more services. Web has been upgraded to use the WebKit2 engine. Web has a new private browsing mode. Documents has gained a new dual page mode & Google Documents integration. Improved user interface of Contacts.GNOME Files,GNOME Boxes andGNOME Disks have received a number of improvements. Integration ofownCloud. NewGNOME Core Applications:GNOME Clocks andGNOME Weather.
3.10
September 2013
A reworked system status area, which gives a more focused overview of the system. A collection of new applications, includingGNOME Maps,GNOME Notes,GNOME Music andGNOME Photos. New geolocation features, such as automatic time zones and world clocks.HiDPI support[145] and smart card support.D-Bus activation made possible withGLib 2.38[146]
Improved keyboard navigation and window selection in the Overview. Revamped first set-up utility based on usability tests. Wired networking re-added to the system status area. Customizable application folders in the Applications view. Introduction of new GTK widgets such as popovers in many applications. New tab style in GTK.GNOME Videos,GNOME Terminal andgedit were given a fresh look, more consistent with the HIG. A search provider for the terminal emulator is included inGNOME Shell. Improvements toGNOME Software and high-density display support. A new sound recorder application. New desktop notifications API. Progress in theWayland port has reached a usable state that can be optionally previewed.[citation needed]
3.14
September 2014
Improved desktop environment animations. Improved touchscreen support.GNOME Software supports managing installed add-ons. GNOME Photos adds support forGoogle. Redesigned UI forEvince, Sudoku, Mines and Weather. Hitori is added as part ofGNOME Games.[citation needed]
3.16
March 2015
Major changes include UI color scheme goes from black to charcoal. Overlay scroll bars added. Improvements to notifications including integration with Calendar applet. Tweaks to various apps including Files, Image Viewer, and Maps. New Preview applications: Calendar, Characters, Books. Continued porting from X11 to Wayland.[148]
3.18
September 2015
Major changes include Google Drive integration in Files. Firmware updates through Software. Automatic screen brightness. Touchpad gestures. Several new applications:GNOME Calendar andGNOME Character Map. Significant improvements to Files, Boxes and Polari. Smaller changes and bug fixes.
3.20
March 2016
Significant improvements to many core applications, such as system upgrades and reviews in Software, simple photo editing in Photos and improved search in Files. Platform improvements include shortcut help windows which are available in many applications, a refined font, and better control of location services.[149]
3.22
September 2016
GNOME 3.22 applications are based on GTK 3.22, the last gtk-3.x release Wayland is now default. Comprehensive Flatpak support. GNOME Software can install and update Flatpaks, GNOME Builder can create them, and the desktop provides portal implementations to enable sandboxed applications. Improvements to core GNOME applications include support for batch renaming in Files, sharing support in GNOME Photos, an updated look for GNOME Software, a redesigned keyboard settings panel, and much more.
3.24
March 2017
Night Light is a new feature and reduces eye strain at night by coloring the screen a little red. The date/time drop down now shows Weather information. A refined look to notifications. Gnome Calendar got a week view. Gnome Web got improvements to the experience of adding and managing bookmarks, and ships with Easy Privacy as default.[150] The online accounts, user and printer settings panel was redesigned.[151]
3.26
September 2017
New look for the Settings application, which has a new navigation sidebar and improved network and display settings, and browser synchronization thanks to the Firefox Sync service. Color emoji are now supported throughout GNOME and will be visible wherever they appear.[152]
Papers replacedEvince as the default document viewer and Showtime replacedTotem as the default Video Player.
The GNOMEX.Org session support for Mutter was disabled as of this release (this can be reverted at build time for GNOME 49) with plans to start removing theX.Org/X11 session in GNOME 50. (XWayland support remains unaffected for running X11 apps in GNOME Shell on Wayland.)[154][155]
GNOME is developed byGNOME Project.[156] GNOME development is loosely managed. Since the introduction ofDiscourse forum in 2019, the discussion moved frommailing lists and in October 2022, the project announced the plan to close all its public mailing lists.[157]
GNOME developers and users gather at an annualGUADEC meeting to discuss the current state and the future direction of GNOME.[158] GNOME incorporates standards and programs fromfreedesktop.org to better supportinteroperability with other desktops.
TheGLib data structures and utilities library,GObject object and type system andGTKwidget toolkit along with theAdwaita design language implemented by libadwaita, comprise the central part of the GNOME development platform. This foundation is further extended withD-BusIPC framework,Cairo 2D vector-based drawing library, Cogl accelerated graphics library,[159]Pango international text rendering library,PulseAudio andPipeWire low-level audioAPIs,GStreamer multimedia framework, and several specialized libraries includingNetworkManager,PackageKit,Telepathy (instant messaging), andWebKit.[160]
Tracker automatically searches the specified directories for files and keeps an index of them to provide fast search; heavily integrated into GNOME Shell and GNOME Files
GVfs, an abstraction layer framework for file systems augmenting GIO; well integrated into GNOME Files and GNOME Disks
The GNOME desktop environment does not consist solely of the graphical control element library GTK and the core applications that make use of it. There are quite a few additional software packages that make up the GNOME desktop environment, such as the above.
GNOME runs onWayland and theX Window System (specificallyX.Org).[161] Wayland support was introduced in GNOME 3.10[19] and deemed "for the majority of users […] a usable day to day experience" by 3.20,[162] at which point Wayland became the default user session.[163] With GNOME 3.24, Wayland compatibility was extended toNvidia drivers.[164] In GNOME 3.30 or later, it is possible to run GNOME without X running at startup, using only Wayland.[165]
In May 2011Lennart Poettering proposedsystemd as a GNOME dependency.[166] As systemd is available only on Linux, the proposal led to a discussion of possibly dropping support for other platforms in future GNOME releases. Since GNOME 3.2,multiseat support has only been available on systems using systemd.[144] In November 2012 the GNOME release team concluded there will be no compile time dependency on systemd for basic functionality, like session tracking. For non-basic functionality, like power management, compile time dependency is possible. For example, there is no concept of systemd inhibitors in alternatives like consolekit. A package manager may want to ensure that the system is not turned off while the upgrade is taking place.[167][168]
GNOME OS is an operating system designed to provide a streamlined, container-centric platform that serves as both an experimental testbed and a showcase for GNOME's user interface and application ecosystem.[172]
Unlike many Linux distributions, GNOME OS is not based on other distributions such asArch Linux,Debian, orFedora Linux. It is built from the ground up using tools like BuildStream,Freedesktop SDK, and GNOME Build Meta, ensuring a clean and consistent environment tailored for GNOME development.
This approach allows GNOME OS to provide a standardized platform for developers to develop the latest GNOME software without the variability introduced by other distributions. While GNOME OS shares similarities with immutable distributions likeFedora Silverblue, it remains distinct in its purpose and design, focusing solely on the GNOME ecosystem.
The concept of GNOME OS began to take shape around 2010, with discussions and planning sessions focused on creating a more unified and cohesive system for GNOME. The vision was inspired by other platforms likeAndroid,WebOS, andMeeGo, with the goal of designing an operating system that could offer a better experience for both users and developers.[173]
In 2012, during the GUADEC conference held inA Coruña, a significant planning session, known as a Birds of a Feather (BoF) session, was conducted on July 30. This session brought together key members of the GNOME community to discuss and plan the future direction of GNOME OS. The discussions covered several critical areas, including application development, testing, core user experience (UX), pattern language, and support for touch and mobile devices.[174]
EarlyOSTree-based build efforts were sometimes informally referred to as "gnome-ostree", but the continuous integration pipeline that emerged became known asGNOME Continuous,[175] reflecting its primary role as a continuous integration and testing platform for GNOME. It was designed to provide arolling-release environment where developers could test GNOME 3.x features and applications in isolation.[176]
Technologically, GNOME Continuous adoptedOSTree for atomic updates, allowing the system to roll back to previous states if updates failed, ensuring system stability. This technology was later popularized byFedora Silverblue and other immutable Linux distributions.
Key milestones during this period include:
2013: OSTree matures and GNOME presents the idea publicly. OSTree development and the concept of an OSTree-based GNOME build pipeline were showcased atGUADEC 2013 and in contemporaneous OSTree releases, signaling the technical basis for a continuous build approach.[177]
2014: First public builds of GNOME Continuous released, enabling developers to test GNOME 3.x.[178]
2016: Integration withFlatpak, which introduced application sandboxing and cross-distribution compatibility, aligning with GNOME's vision for secure and portable applications.[179]
2018: The GNOME project formalised build metadata and adopted gnome-build-meta, moving from prototype CI to structured upstream builds.[180]
GNOME OS first became publicly visible as a testable reference platform around 2020, when the project published a “GNOME OS Nightly” page offering downloadable images and instructions for running the system in virtual machines or on real hardware.[181]
Since then the project has continued to evolve: in October 2024 Adrian Vovk published proposals to make GNOME OS more suitable for everyday use,[182] and in mid-2025 the community launched initiatives to expand real-hardware testing and to revise update and dependency mechanisms (notably the “Summer of GNOME OS” program and discussion of stronger systemd dependencies).[183][184]
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^"How do I pronounce GNOME?".Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved13 September 2022.Since GNU is GNOME's first name, GNOME is officially pronounced "guh-NOME". However, many people pronounce GNOME as just "NOME" (like those short people from legend), nobody will hurt you if you find this pronunciation easier.
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^Clasen, Matthias (19 February 2014)."On portability".Goings on.Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved30 June 2022.
^Sevior, Martin (30 June 2004)."Next GNOME-Office release".gnome-office-list (Mailing list).Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved4 May 2014.
^Welinder, Morten (19 December 2004)."Gnumeric 1.4 is Here!".gnome-office-list (Mailing list).Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved4 May 2014.
^"Introducing Cinnamon".The Linux Mint Blog.Archived from the original on 29 February 2012.Under the hood Cinnamon is forked from Gnome Shell and based on Mutter and Gnome 3
^"GNOME 2.8 release notes" (Press release). Boston, Massachusetts: GNOME Project. 15 September 2004.Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved19 February 2019.
^"GNOME 2.10 released!" (Press release). Boston, Massachusetts: GNOME Project. 9 March 2005.Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved8 June 2014.
^abVitters, Olav; Klapper, André; Day, Allan."GNOME 3.2 Release Notes". GNOME Project.Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved5 October 2011.
^Peters, Frederic (6 November 2012)."20121104 meeting minutes".release-team (Mailing list).Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved12 June 2014.
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