Desktop Environment Modding

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
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1

Hi,

I am one of those people who would like to convert to Linux, but has been so ingrained with Windows over the years that fully swapping is very difficult for me and I always end up swapping back. One of the biggest issues I have is that I am yet to find a user environment that I am sufficiently happy enough with to stick with. I have tried most of the big ones; Gnome, KDE, Cinnamon, etc. Some of them come close with their built in customisation options and software like gnome tweak, but none of them come close enough.

That brings me onto my question: I have a vision of the kind of dektop I would like to have, so where would one start looking if they wanted to have full desktop customisation. I am not talking about writing my own desktop framework, but customising a pre-existing one to better match what it is I want from a desktop environemnt.

Any help is appreciated, and more documentation is always better. Thank you in advanced

2

You can write your own extensions for Gnome. Otherwise look at window managers instead of full DEs. Enlightenment and i3 come to mind. You can also look around r/unixporn and ask questions.

3

Not sure what result you want to achieve, but take a look at this video to get some ideas of what you can do with KDE:

4

For window managers, you can’t get much more customisable than the likes of Fvwm, and StumpWM, you do basically get a blank canvas though. There are pre-built configurations, at least for Fvwm, like Fvwm Crystal that could provide a starting point.

For StumpWM you need to know Common Lisp, so that might be a bit of a turn-off if you’re not familiar with it already.

5

Lisp is pretty easy to pick up so don’t let it deter you.

6

Thanks for all the suggestions. Definitely gonna try KDE again, but Gnome extensions might end up being the better choice