GNOME’s Tiling Shell Extension Just Got a Major Upgrade — Here’s Why Power Users Are Obsessed

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by GNOME’s basic window management, you’re not alone. The default window snapping in GNOME is functional but bare-bones, leaving many Linux users craving more sophisticated tiling options. That’s exactly why Tiling Shell has become the go-to extension for GNOME users who want to take their window management to the next level.

The Big Update: Edge Tiling Modes Redefined

The v17.3 update dropped this weekend, and it’s packed with features that make window management feel almost magical. The star of the show? Three brand-new edge tiling modes that give you unprecedented control over how windows behave when you drag them to your screen’s edges.

Adaptive Mode: The Best of Both Worlds

The new Adaptive mode is pure genius. It maintains GNOME’s traditional half-screen snapping while simultaneously supporting Tiling Shell’s custom tiling zones. Think of it as having your cake and eating it too—you get the familiarity of standard GNOME behavior with the power of custom layouts.

Granular Mode: Precision Control

For those who want absolute control, Granular mode ignores all underlying snapping options and forces windows to snap exclusively to your custom layout zones. Drag a window to the edge, and it snaps exactly where you want it—no compromises, no exceptions.

Default Mode: Classic Behavior

Default mode does the opposite of Granular, prioritizing GNOME’s native snapping while still allowing access to custom zones if you need them. It’s perfect for users transitioning from vanilla GNOME who want to ease into more advanced tiling.

Layout Management Gets a Major Boost

The update brings several quality-of-life improvements that might seem small but make a huge difference in daily use:

Sync Layout When Tiling with Snap Assistant: This feature is deceptively powerful. When enabled, dragging a window onto a layout using the slide-in Snap Assistant automatically makes that layout active. No more manual switching—it just works.

Reverse Layout Cycling: Keyboard warriors, rejoice! You can now cycle through layouts in reverse by holding the Shift key along with your custom keybinding. It’s a small addition that makes navigation feel more natural and intuitive.

Reorder Layouts Directly: The ability to reorder layouts from the edit dialog is long overdue. Now you can prioritize your most-used layouts, putting them at your fingertips without digging through menus.

The Hidden Power of Tiling Shell

Most users don’t realize just how capable Tiling Shell really is. Beyond basic quarter-tiling, it offers:

• Custom tiling grids that adapt to your workflow
• An on-screen slide-in drop zone that makes window placement intuitive
• Window control integration that surfaces snapping options right where you need them
• Configurable keyboard shortcuts and mouse options
• Toggle switches to enable/disable features you don’t need

It’s like having a Swiss Army knife for window management—there’s always another tool when you need it.

Bug Fixes and Polish

The v17.3 update isn’t just about new features. It includes several important fixes:

• Wacom stylus and finger interaction now works correctly with window suggestions
• Window borders scale properly across different display configurations
• The annoying bug where borders overlapped context menus in tiled windows? Fixed.

Installation and Compatibility

Tiling Shell v17.3 is available now for GNOME versions 42 through 49. You can grab it directly from the GNOME Extensions site. If you have an older version installed, the update downloads and applies automatically the next time you log out.

Important for Ubuntu users: If you’re running Ubuntu with the default Tiling Assistant extension, you’ll want to disable it to avoid conflicts. Head to Settings > Ubuntu Desktop > Enhanced Tiling and toggle it off.

Download Tiling Shell on GNOME Extensions

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