System76's tiling extension for the GNOME desktop environment has proven to be yet another game-changer in the Linux universe. Since it's official release with the upgrade to 20.04, Pop-Shell has continually and consistently improved. Pop-Shell's stability and unique integration with GNOME has earned it a deserved place as a default inclusion in many Linux distributions. New functionality is being introduced on a regular basis. The new "stacking mode" is one fantastic example. Another is the augmentation of the Pop-Shell Launcher with an amazing plugin system. Let's unpack this a little, because the plugin system will take Pop-Shell functionality through the roof!
Typical of any good plugin system, the sky is the limit in regard to what can be achieved. Vim can be configured to almost any degree via the Vim-plug system. Z shell frameworks, like Oh-My-Zsh for example, can tap into many capabilities that is not included in Zsh by default. To clarify what this really means: There is now a way to make the Pop-Shell Launcher do almost anything that you want!
Currently, the Pop-Shell launcher plugins include a default set, but as the Pop community become aware of what can be achieved, many more will be available to choose from. Best of all, if you have a little Linux know how, you can add bespoke private plugins to manage, control and achieve anything you need. The default set includes the following plugins;
Calc is just the math.js functionality that has always been in the launcher, moved to it's own plugin. Just use super + / and then an
Files will search the file system if you begin with
In the example below, If I hit enter, (or ctrl + 4) it will launch Gedit at
Files will also exclusively search your home folder (
Pulse adds necessary and easy control for audio. I believe it is used with
Recent will find any recent documents with lightning speed with
Terminal makes the launcher a useful command line tool. Starting with
Beginning with
Web is an interesting inclusion which focuses Pop-shell's functionality beyond the desktop. By first typing
As you can see, the list is reasonably diverse, and with a little knowledge you can add whatever you desire to this list. It can be added privately, or you can share it with the community. I'll likely create a guide that will help people understand and create plugins for themselves in future, but I'm sure you'll agree the defaults are pretty awesome.
A couple of additional mentions are GNOME shell control and easy access to System76 Power. These are so simple to use. Just start typing what you want, select and press enter. The choices are;
Give it all a try!
Earlier, I said that the sky is the limit in regard to what functionality the plugin system can add to Pop-Shell. The System76 team are eager to see what the community can come up with. I hope you enjoy experimenting with all these great features.
Typical of any good plugin system, the sky is the limit in regard to what can be achieved. Vim can be configured to almost any degree via the Vim-plug system. Z shell frameworks, like Oh-My-Zsh for example, can tap into many capabilities that is not included in Zsh by default. To clarify what this really means: There is now a way to make the Pop-Shell Launcher do almost anything that you want!
Currently, the Pop-Shell launcher plugins include a default set, but as the Pop community become aware of what can be achieved, many more will be available to choose from. Best of all, if you have a little Linux know how, you can add bespoke private plugins to manage, control and achieve anything you need. The default set includes the following plugins;
Calc
Files
Pulse
Recent
Terminal
Web
Gnome-session
Calc is just the math.js functionality that has always been in the launcher, moved to it's own plugin. Just use super + / and then an
= to begin any calculation or conversion. Below I'm converting ten meters to feet. The answer to calculations are right there in the 0verview. Hit enter to have the answer in the text field. Files will search the file system if you begin with
/ <search-term>. TAB will autocomplete a directory. In the example below, If I hit enter, (or ctrl + 4) it will launch Gedit at
/etc/apt/sources.list. Files will also exclusively search your home folder (
$HOME) by beginning with ~. If you only type ~ and enter, it will launch Nautilus at your users home folder. Additionally, if you type ~/<file> it will search $HOME. For example: ~/.config. Once again, TAB will autocomplete directories.Pulse adds necessary and easy control for audio. I believe it is used with
"<command>". For example "volume up", "volume down" or "toggle mute". [edited]Recent will find any recent documents with lightning speed with
d: <name>. The document being a markdown file will open with my default, Marktext. Terminal makes the launcher a useful command line tool. Starting with
: <command> will enable you to run a single command. Beginning with
t: <command> will execute the command, but launch it in a new terminal window.Web is an interesting inclusion which focuses Pop-shell's functionality beyond the desktop. By first typing
ddg and adding a search term, the launcher will open a new default browser window, in which a DuckDuckGo search will initiate. As of today's update and inclusion of the plug-in system, you can search the following sites directly through the launcher;wiki <term>will search Wikipedia. The top-level-domain should default to your browser and desktop settings.bing <term>will conduct a Bing search.ddg <term>will conduct a DuckDuckGo searchgoogle <term>will conduct a Google search.yt <term>will search for videos on YouTube.amazon <term>will search for products on Amazon.stack <term>will search for information on Stack Overflow.crates <term>will search for Rust crates that you may need.arch <term>will conduct a search o the Arch Wiki.pp <term>will conduct a search on Pop!_Planet forums.ppw <term>will conduct a search on Pop!_Planet wiki.rdt <term>will initiate a search of Reddit.bc <term>will initiate a search for music on Bandcamp.
As you can see, the list is reasonably diverse, and with a little knowledge you can add whatever you desire to this list. It can be added privately, or you can share it with the community. I'll likely create a guide that will help people understand and create plugins for themselves in future, but I'm sure you'll agree the defaults are pretty awesome.
A couple of additional mentions are GNOME shell control and easy access to System76 Power. These are so simple to use. Just start typing what you want, select and press enter. The choices are;
- reboot
- shutdown
- logout
- hybrid
- compute
- integrated
Give it all a try!
Earlier, I said that the sky is the limit in regard to what functionality the plugin system can add to Pop-Shell. The System76 team are eager to see what the community can come up with. I hope you enjoy experimenting with all these great features.
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