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As it is the only way to activate transparent themes in Gnome-shell:

  • How to disable Nautilus from handling the desktop?
  • Can I make it handle the desktop again?
  • What will happen to the unity and desktop icons?
  • How to handle the desktop icons without nautilus?
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  • 3
    use gnome-tweak-tool ... it's like the first option in the interface (to disable this specific thing)
    – user258097
    Mar 14, 2014 at 5:44

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
22

I found that running gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons false instantly disabled the desktop icons.

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  • This is a way better answer
    – Ben
    Jul 21, 2015 at 9:42
  • This doesn't work on Pop_OS
    – Miladiouss
    Jan 27, 2023 at 21:00
6

You should remove the file /etc/xdg/autostart/nautilus-autostart.desktop (or at least modify the OnlyShowIn line into it).

Then you should always run nautilus with the --no-desktop option (this could also require to modify some menu item or quicklist).

You can manage the desktop with nautilus again at any time launching nautilus without the option --no-desktop.

To manage the desktop in an alternative way you could look at some other file manager.

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  • Works well.But i was shocked when opening Unity-DE that desktop icons still there, i was thinking that disable nautilus from handling the desktop will happen to all DE-s(i,e, nautilus still handling the desktop in unity and not handling the desktop in Gnome-shell and it is great)
    – Black Block
    Dec 3, 2011 at 20:19
  • 1
    This is a workaround. The solution is the one given by Jon Wood
    – elzapp
    Jan 18, 2015 at 17:02
5

If you install the gnome tweak tool (which you'll want anyway) you can disable file manager handling the desktop (see Picture). But as far as I know you will then have no desktop icons. Most if not all DEs are structured such that the file manager handles desktop icons.

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  • This worked wonderfully for me to prevent nautilus from loading the desktop backgrounds of gnome desktop manager (which were different than those I had in the des Xcfe desktop manager)
    – loved.by.Jesus
    Mar 6, 2019 at 14:51

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