GNOME is a fantastic desktop environment (DE) favored by many. The software has come a long way over the years and has become one of the most refined Linux-based user interfaces you can find without having to apply custom themes and make serious under-the-hood alterations. Although it's a great choice for those switching from macOS and Windows, GNOME isn't perfect, and I always make some tweaks to make it truly my own Linux OS. And that's what's great about GNOME and Linux distributions. You can edit it as little or as in-depth as desired.

Install GNOME Tweaks

Tweaking with tweaks

It wouldn't be a list of GNOME tweaks if I didn't mention ... well, GNOME Tweaks. This handy little app allows you to make a plethora of changes to your GNOME-powered Linux installation. Everything contained within this app is not available through official channels, such as changing themes, fonts, and even the placement of title-bar buttons. It's a little like the customization options you'd typically find in KDE Plasma, though the latter is still very much more in-depth.

GNOME Tweaks is a great way to make subtle changes to your GNOME installation without destroying what makes it a beautiful place to work and play in the first place. When wanting to use GNOME, I'd rather not customize it too much so that it no longer resembles the DE.

Set up a terminal shortcut

CTRL + ALT + T

I usually find myself firing up the terminal even if there's a GUI method of achieving the same results. That's why it bugs me that there's no shortcut for launching the CLI within GNOME. It's a quick and easy fix. Simply fire up the settings app and navigate to keyboard shortcuts. From here, we can configure keyboard shortcuts to our heart's content. For this example tweak, I always add a shortcut within GNOME to launch the distro's preinstalled CLI app using CTRL + ALT + T.

Now, whenever you wish to enter the CLI environment, simply hit CTRL + ALT + T and you're there. It's worth considering other frequently-launched apps, too. Such as CTRL + ALT + B for the browser or CTRL + ALT + R to launch an app list launcher.

Install Dash to Panel

Bring back the taskbar

I love minimalism, but I'm not a fan of it when it goes a little too far, and that's how I find GNOME's default setup with the dash on the left side of the screen. Thankfully, because the Linux community is incredibly talented, we have Dash to Panel, a simple GNOME shell extension that takes a few seconds to install. What this epic community-made plugin does is create a traditional desktop experience without interfering with GNOME too much.

We get a bottom-mounted taskbar, taking over from the dash. This area has a dedicated section for application tabs and launchers, as well as a system tray and applications list shortcut. If you've tried KDE Plasma and used Windows for a while (or even earlier versions of GNOME itself), you'll likely appreciate this change. It's a brilliant application that's both light and versatile, changing the way you interact with GNOME. Since I frequently switch between distros, it's good to maintain some similarity.

Install Caffeine

Giving GNOME a quick jolt

As a coffee (and Sneak energy drink) lover, I'm all about that daily caffeine hit, and the aptly named GNOME extension does the same for my PC. All this extension does is disable suspend and screensaver calls. If you want your Linuxz OS to remain live and running with quick access should you require it, activate Caffeine, and it won't sleep unless you command it to. It's a great add-on that adds a single icon to your top bar, creating a wonderfully accessible way to quickly disable (or re-enable) sleep functions.

Because sometimes, GNOME will put your system to sleep, and when you return, you don't wish to spend those valuable seconds logging in using your randomly generated user account password.

Enable zRAM

A more responsive PC

This is something I do on many Linux installations and isn't technically GNOME-specific, though it's still something I carry out on distros with the DE installed that may not have 64 GB of RAM. But even if you do believe you have enough RAM, your browser with 50 tabs open and video editing software may make you think otherwise, which is where zRAM comes into play. It's also rather handy with virtual machines. zRAM is a Linux feature that creates a compressed block of RAM that acts like swap, reducing how often the system has to write to slower disk storage when memory gets tight.

zRAM can dramatically improve responsiveness when multitasking or running heavier applications. The setup is straightforward on most distributions, with many offering built-in tools or configuration scripts to enable it. How much of an impact this tweak makes depends on your system specifications and what software you plan on running, but I notice more consistent performance, even when resources are stretched. It's also handy for reducing the wear on your SSD, which can be particularly useful for devices with soldered parts.