Bringing a modern and efficient app launcher experience to your desktop with app grouping, auto-hide, and extensive customization options.
- Multi-Column Layout – Organize your favorite apps in a configurable grid with 1-5 columns
- Dock Position – Place the dock on the left or right side of your screen
- Smooth Scrolling – Seamlessly scroll through all your apps when you have many pinned
- Running App Indicators – Visual dots showing which applications are currently running
- Drag & Drop Support – Reorder your favorite apps with intuitive drag and drop
- Multi-Monitor Support – Option to display the dock on all connected monitors
- Notification Badges – See app notification counts (Unity API compatible)
- Custom Groups – Organize apps into named, color-coded groups
- Collapsible Groups – Click group headers to collapse/expand
- Per-Group Styling – Customize each group's background color, border, and opacity
- Ungrouped Apps Section – Apps not in groups appear in a separate "Other" section
- Drag & Drop Between Groups – Move apps between groups easily
- Smart Auto-Hide – Dock hides automatically when not in use
- Hot Zone Activation – Move mouse to screen edge to reveal the dock
- Configurable Delays – Set custom show/hide delay timings
- Adjustable Hot Zone Size – Control the trigger area size
- Icon Size – Adjust icon size from 16px to 128px
- Icon Padding – Fine-tune spacing around icons
- Background Color & Opacity – Full control over dock appearance
- Corner Radius – Customize dock and group corner roundness
- Group Header Size – Adjust the height of group labels
- Group Spacing – Control spacing between groups
- HiDPI Support – Manual scale factor override for high-resolution displays
- Integrated Show Apps Button – Quick access to the GNOME app grid
- Tooltips – Hover over icons to see app names
- Right-Click Menus – Access app actions, pin/unpin, and quit options
- Favorites Integration – Syncs with GNOME favorites
Visit GNOME Extensions and search for "Multi-Column Dock".
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Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/AITwinMinds/Multi-column-dock.git cd Multi-column-dock -
Run the install script:
./install.sh
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Enable the extension:
gnome-extensions enable AITwinMinds@gmail.com -
Restart GNOME Shell:
- X11: Press
Alt+F2, typer, pressEnter - Wayland: Log out and log back in
- X11: Press
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Copy the extension files to your GNOME extensions directory:
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/AITwinMinds@gmail.com cp -r * ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/AITwinMinds@gmail.com/
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Compile the schemas:
glib-compile-schemas ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/AITwinMinds@gmail.com/schemas/ -
Restart GNOME Shell and enable the extension.
Open the extension preferences to customize all settings:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Dock Position | Left or Right side of screen | Left |
| Columns | Number of icon columns (1-5) | 2 |
| Icon Size | Size of app icons in pixels | 48px |
| Icon Padding | Spacing around icons | 15px base |
| Background Color | Dock background color | #1e1e1e |
| Background Opacity | Transparency level (0-1) | 0.95 |
| Corner Radius | Dock corner roundness | 0 |
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Hide | Enable automatic hiding | Off |
| Hide Delay | Ms before dock hides | 300ms |
| Show Delay | Ms before dock appears | 100ms |
| Hot Zone Size | Trigger area in pixels | 5px |
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Groups | Turn on app grouping | Off |
| Group Header Size | Height of group labels | 24px |
| Group Spacing | Space between groups | 8px |
| Group Corner Radius | Group border roundness | 6 |
| Show Ungrouped | Show "Other" section | On |
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Monitor | Show dock on all monitors | Off |
| Scale Factor | HiDPI override (0=auto) | Auto |
Access preferences via:
gnome-extensions prefs AITwinMinds@gmail.comOr through the GNOME Extensions app.
- Open extension preferences
- Go to the "Groups" tab
- Click "Add Group" to create a new group
- Set the group name, colors, and appearance
- Select which apps belong to this group
- Enable "Enable Groups" in the Appearance tab
Groups can be reordered, collapsed, and styled individually!
- GNOME Shell 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50+ (Ubuntu 23.10 to Ubuntu 26.04+)
- GLib 2.0
gnome-extensions disable AITwinMinds@gmail.com
rm -rf ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/AITwinMinds@gmail.com- Ensure the extension is enabled:
gnome-extensions info AITwinMinds@gmail.com - Check for errors:
journalctl -f -o cat /usr/bin/gnome-shell
- Adjust the Scale Factor in preferences (try values between 1.0-2.0)
- Increase the Hot Zone Size in preferences
- Ensure no other extensions are blocking the screen edge
This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
- ⭐ Star this repository on GitHub
- 🐛 Report issues on the Issues page
- 📧 Contact: AITwinMinds@gmail.com