How to activate System Tray icon on Linux

Linux users love system tray icons for having quick access to background apps like team chat for status, notifications, and controls. Even as GNOME moved away from them, many Linux users use extensions for this crucial "always-on" functionality. It offers convenience for non-windowed tasks like pausing music or checking sync status without opening the full app, a core feature for many users.

Let's see why Linux users rely on system tray icons:

  • They check notifications there. E.g., new message or new email notification.
  • It's convenient to monitor background activities of essential apps like team chat, Spotify or Dropbox without opening the main window.
  • This feature is familiar to Windows and MacOS users who expect the same behavior in Linux OS.

Unfortunately, GNOME officially moved away from the system tray icons for design reasons, aiming for a cleaner interface and relying on its Activities overview and notification system. Still, many users desperately miss this feature. Check our guidelines for activating the system tray icon on Ubuntu and Fedora.

How to activate System Tray icon on Ubuntu

On Ubuntu, system tray icons can be activated using the extensions manager. To install the extensions manager, please do the following:

  1. Open Terminal and execute the command sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager
  2. Open Extensions Manager app
  3. Search there for AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support and install the extension
    Screenshot of the Extensions Manager app settings
  4. Activate AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support
  5. The system tray icons on your applications will start displaying in the top right corner
    Screenshot of the system tray icon

How to activate System Tray icon on Fedora

Install the extensions manager to activate system tray icons on your GNOME Fedora:

  1. Open Terminal and execute the command sudo dnf install gnome-shell-extension-manager
  2. Open the Extensions Manager and search there for AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support
  3. Install the extension
  4. Then activate AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support