Make Ubuntu Look and Feel Exactly How You Want

One of the great advantages of Linux is the freedom to customize your desktop environment. Ubuntu's default GNOME desktop is clean and functional, but with a few tools and tweaks you can transform it into something that truly feels like yours — whether you want a macOS-inspired look, a minimal setup, or a feature-packed powerhouse.

Essential Tool: GNOME Tweaks

GNOME Tweaks is the go-to utility for customizing aspects of GNOME that aren't exposed in the standard Settings app. Install it with:

sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

Once installed, open it from the Applications menu. GNOME Tweaks lets you change themes, fonts, icon sets, window behavior, startup applications, and more.

Installing GNOME Extensions

GNOME Extensions are small add-ons that modify or add functionality to the GNOME shell. To manage them easily:

  1. Install the Extension Manager app: sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager
  2. Open Extension Manager from your Applications menu
  3. Browse and install extensions directly from within the app

Recommended Extensions to Try

  • Dash to Dock — Turns the GNOME dash into a persistent, customizable dock (great for users coming from macOS or Windows)
  • AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support — Restores system tray icons in the top bar
  • Blur my Shell — Adds a frosted-glass blur effect to the top bar and overview
  • GSConnect — Integrates your Android phone with your desktop (KDE Connect for GNOME)
  • Caffeine — Prevents your screen from sleeping when you need it
  • Just Perfection — Fine-grained control over almost every GNOME shell UI element

Changing the Desktop Theme

GNOME supports shell themes, GTK application themes, and icon themes independently.

Installing a Theme

Popular themes like Adwaita (the GNOME default), Yaru (Ubuntu's default), WhiteSur, and Nordic are available from sources like GNOME-Look.org. Once downloaded:

  1. Extract the theme folder
  2. Move it to ~/.themes/ (create the folder if it doesn't exist)
  3. Open GNOME Tweaks → Appearance and select your new theme

Icon Themes

Icon packs like Papirus are available directly from the Ubuntu repositories:

sudo apt install papirus-icon-theme

Then switch to it in GNOME Tweaks → Appearance → Icons.

Customizing Fonts

GNOME Tweaks gives you full control over the fonts used across the interface. You can set separate fonts for:

  • Interface text
  • Document text
  • Monospace text (used in terminals and code editors)
  • Window title bars

Popular choices include Inter for UI, Source Code Pro for monospace, and Noto Sans for broad language support.

Configuring the Dock

Ubuntu 22.04 and later include Ubuntu Dock (based on Dash to Dock) built in. Right-click the dock to access settings, or go to Settings → Ubuntu Desktop to control dock position, icon size, and auto-hide behavior.

Setting a Custom Wallpaper and Accent Color

Right-click the desktop and choose Change Background to pick from built-in wallpapers or set your own image. Ubuntu 23.10 and later also let you choose a custom accent color in Settings → Appearance, which tints folder icons and UI highlights to match your taste.

Saving Your Configuration

If you want to back up your GNOME settings or apply them to another machine, you can export your configuration with dconf:

dconf dump / > gnome-settings-backup.dconf   # export
dconf load / < gnome-settings-backup.dconf   # import

Customizing your desktop is one of the most enjoyable parts of using Linux. Start with one or two changes and build from there — you'll quickly discover a setup that makes you more productive and happy to sit down at your computer.