We talk a lot about switching from Windows 11 to Linux for a variety of reasons, and like many of my colleagues, I'm also on board with that sentiment. But moving to a completely new operating system with new UI paradigms can be hard for a lot of people, so it's just as important to find ways to make your new operating system feel familiar.

A common solution people will bring up is downloading one of the lesser-known distros, such as Zorin or AnduinOS. And while these are solid options on the surface, they're somewhat niche distributions of Linux, and that means support for them can be finicky. You never know if a project will be dropped or abandoned in a few months or years, which is less of a problem with a major distro like Ubuntu or Fedora.

So why not just use Ubuntu and make it look like Windows instead of taking a chance with these lesser-known distros? It's certainly possible, and here's how I did it.

Set up GNOME extensions

The first step

If you truly want to make Ubuntu look like Windows, you're going to have to start by setting up GNOME Extensions. Ubuntu doesn't come with a proper extension manager by default, which makes it a bit harder to get started, but it's not overly difficult to do. First, you'll need to set up Flatpak and Flathub if you haven't already. Open the terminal and type in:

sudo apt install flatpak && sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak

This will install Flatpak and also a new Software app that allows you to browse Fltapak apps more easily without the command line. You then need to add the official Flathub repository to your PC with this command:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Once this is done, you can find an app called GNOME Extension Manager in the Software app, which will help you set up the next few steps.

Bring back the Start menu and taskbar

The proper Windows feel

To get the true look and feel of Windows, you need two major elements: a taskbar and a Start menu. Thankfully, extensions exist for both of these. To bring the taskbar to Ubuntu, you'll want an extension called Dash to Panel, which turns Ubuntu's Dash into a more taskbar-like UI that's heavily customizable. You can move different areas around and resize the panel to be anything you need it to be, and it's honestly even better than the official Windows taskbar we have today thanks to the added flexibility.

I also recommend pairing this with another extension called Blur my Shell, which adds a blur effect to the panel for a little extra visual flair. You can customize the opacity of the panel in Dash to Panel and change the blur intensity with Blur my Shell, so you can nail just the right look for you.

As for the Start menu, I recommend an extension called ArcMenu, which also gives you an equivalent to the Windows 11 Start menu, but again, with heavy amounts of customization that Microsoft can only dream of offering. If you want the closest possible look to Windows 11, you'll want to start by choosing the layout called 11 on the Menu layout page, and then go into Menu Theme and choose to override the theme, but use the ArcMenu default colors. However, you can choose between dozens of different styles to match whatever look and functionality you prefer, and each style is then customizable in terms of the sizes of panels, colors, and more. You may be doing this to mimic Windows, but you end up with an experience that's far better.

There are a couple of last touches you may want to do here to get the proper Windows feel. There are extensions like Media Controls to add media playback controls to the taskbar, Notification Banner Reloaded so you can change where notifications appear on screen, and SimpleWeather to add a small weather widget to the taskbar, like Windows 11, but without the bloat of all the useless widgets that come with the weather. Some of these may require some tweaking to get the right look, but you can get it looking very close to Windows 11.

A couple of extras

It's not just about looks

To nail both the look and feel of Windows 11, there are a couple of features worth adding before we wrap up. First, there's the Clipboard History extension, which is fairly self-explanatory. This extension saves a history of your clipboard items so you can always go back and grab something you've copied before, even across sessions if you've turned off or rebooted your computer. You can pin certain items you want frequent access to, and you can also search your history to find specific items more easily, so it's even better than what you get in Windows.

Finally, I'll also mention Emoji Copy. This extension gives you quick access to pretty much every emoji in existence, making it so you can use them as easily as you do on Windows. Emoji Copy offers a very responsive experience with search capabilities, so you can easily pick out an emoji and use it in a flash. I'd say it's even more convenient than the Windows version, which can feel clunky at times.

Improve your multitasking

Better tiling

A lot of Linux users like tiling window managers, but the simplicity of managing your open apps on windows does make it very easy for anyone to multitask and organize their windows their way. That default Windows behavior is more closely replicated with the Tiling Assistant extension, which is included by default with Ubuntu.

Personally, though, I'm a sucker for FancyZones, and if you want window management that's more like that, then there's another extension you might prefer, called Tiling Shell. This works almost exactly like the FancyZones tool in PowerToys, allowing you to easily snap apps into user-defined areas to maximize your productivity. Plus, it mixes in the layout menu from Windows 11, where you can drag your app to the top of the screen to choose where to place it in a layout of your choice. It's even better here since you can have your own custom layouts.

If you have a big screen, I recommend this option more, but Tiling Assistant already offers an experience that's pretty close to what Windows 11 has.

Finally, a wallpaper

You might almost fool your friends

To wrap things up, you might want some wallpapers from Windows 11, too. If nothing else, Microsoft does have some nice images to server as a desktop background, and you can easily bring those over. We've actually compiled all the Windows 11 desktop wallpapers that come with the operating system, so you can find and download your favorites here.

Otherwise, we also have collections for Windows 10, Windows 8 and 8.1, and even Windows 7. Some of these may be lower resolution than would be ideal today, but they still look great.

Ubuntu can be even better than Windows

All of these steps make it so your Ubuntu installation looks more like Windows, but they also make it an even better experience than what Windows offers. While you get the familiarity, these extensions offer a degree of customization that's simply nowhere to be found on Windows 11, making it more personal than ever.

It's true that many of these extensions are also part of AnduinOS, but that's the point. You don't need to install obscure distros to get the most important benefits, and these extensions prove it. If you want a reliable, consistent experience that still feels familiar, Ubuntu and these extensions are the way to go.