[HOW TO] Install Pop OS Shell on Zorin 16

Tutorials & Guides
,
#1

How to Install Pop OS Shell on Zorin 16

1920×1080 235 KB

About Pop Shell :

Pop Shell is a keyboard-driven layer for GNOME Shell which allows for quick and sensible navigation and management of windows. The core feature of Pop Shell is the addition of advanced tiling window management — a feature that has been highly-sought within our community. For many — ourselves included — i3wm has become the leading competitor to the GNOME desktop.

Tiling window management in GNOME is virtually nonexistent, which makes the desktop awkward to interact with when your needs exceed that of two windows at a given time. Luckily, GNOME Shell is an extensible desktop with the foundations that make it possible to implement a tiling window manager on top of the desktop.

It works on Zorin 16.

  1. Open Zorin Appearance and select Gnome Layout
    Logout/Login and then proceed with the install otherwise the install will fail.

ZorinOS-16beta-7
ZorinOS-16beta-71000×562 120 KB

  1. Then Install following this guide For Ubuntu-Based Distros: https://support.system76.com/articles/pop-shell

In order to build Pop Shell from source, we'll first need to install the build dependencies and git to clone the repository:

sudo apt install git node-typescript make

Next we'll clone the repository using this command:

git clone https://github.com/pop-os/shell.git

Now we'll enter the directory for Pop Shell (called "shell") and build the package:

cd shell
make local-install

:warning: If you received an error after make local-install log out/in and try again in the terminal:

cd shell
make local-install

  1. Log out/in or Restart and Turn windows tiling on to use it:

Screenshot from 2021-08-02 07-46-41
Screenshot from 2021-08-02 07-46-41960×540 533 KB

You can select your desired layout in Zorin Appearance again.
Zorin-16-layout
Zorin-16-layout695×506 10.4 KB

9 Likes
Top X+1 things to do after installing Zorin OS 16
Help to installing Pop_OS auto tiling
Pop OS Shell
Tiling manager
Pop OS Shell on Zorin OS 16
More options to snap windows to screen areas for ultrawide screens
#4

That's my thing, too.
I run Zorin OS with zsh and with Cinnamon. Mostly XFCE, too.

Zorin OS has better performance and is put together very well. Cinnamon runs better on Zorin OS (a lot better) than it does on Mint. Having the ability to use Zorin OS as a base to then adapt your own system is what FOSS is all about.

3 Likes
#6

I've tried it and I like Zorin OS more ...
I've needed only this tiling feature from Pop!_OS.

6 Likes
#7

Does this work for Zorin 15 ?

#8

Does the pop shell include the quick launcher in pop os ?

#9

Yes it does.

2 Likes
#10

Thanks that is awesome. One more thing I wanted to ask is is it mapped to the super key ? if not than can it be mapped to the super key ?

1 Like
#11

Yes, it is mapped to the super key. Super key + /

Add Pop Shell
#12

have you tried mapping it to only the super key like in pop 21.04 ?

#13

No, I've not tried that. Don't know if it's possible.

1 Like
#14

Thank you for the trick!

1 Like
#15

what is the difference between Pop OS shell and the existing shell in zorin? I haven't tried Pop OS. does it look like Pop OS DE?

#16

I personally prefer ZorinOS, so I just installed Pop OS shell on ZorinOS to benefit from the windows tiling. The HowTo on the top of this page describes the process of that installation. Some videos of PopOS workflow:

2 Likes
Can we have a Tiling Window setup in the Pro version as well?
#17

6 posts were split to a new topic: Discusssion & issues of how to install PopOS shell on Zorin

#18

Is there a way to change the pop shell shortcuts?

#19

You can open gnome tweaks and click the cog next to pop os shell, that may have what you are looking for

1 Like
#20

Thanks, but no shortcuts there.