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I'm running gnome-shell 3.4.1 under Ubuntu 12.04. I've been trying out various extensions from http://extensions.gnome.org and now I want to completely remove some, expecially so as they don't take up space in Gnome Tweak Tool.
Is it safe to just delete the extension folder under ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/?

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5 Answers 5

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From Gnome shell page It says:

There are some bugs in GNOME 3.2 that prevented uninstallation from working properly for some extensions. GNOME Shell 3.2.2.1 has fixed these problems. Make sure your system is fully updated if you are having issues uninstalling extensions.

If you do not have GNOME Shell 3.2.2.1 and may be unable to get it, or are unsure, you can uninstall the extension manually. Remove the extension's directory, and then restart the Shell. The extension should be stored under ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions. Removing the directory won't be enough: you will need to restart the Shell to make sure the extension is completely uninstalled: open the run dialog with Alt+F2, and enter restart.

So, You'll Be Fine removing extension under ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions manually.

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    This seems to suggest there's a certain uninstallation process in versions after 3.2.2.1 (other than manually deleting the folder and restarting) - which is, however, not specified. Anyway, thanks.
    – MorganSBailey
    May 2, 2013 at 12:26
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    I removed the folder of some extensions, but some of them come back again after restart!!! (i.e. application menu, AlternateTab and etc.)
    – Rahmani
    Dec 3, 2017 at 9:03
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    @Rahmani if you still have that issue: Look at /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/. Apparently some extensions are installed system-wide and at least in my case they weren't removable by the website.
    – Steffen Winkler
    Nov 28, 2018 at 18:59
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    @SteffenWinkler thanks, it works perfectly. I didn't know that it is installed system-wide
    – ismailsunni
    Jan 17, 2019 at 7:11
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OK, found it. In https://extensions.gnome.org, navigate under Installed extensions, where there is an X button next to each extension that uninstalls it. As mentioned in the previous answer, that only works after version 3.2.2.1.

enter image description here

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    This does not always work...
    – Wilf
    Nov 7, 2013 at 18:53
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    I uninstall extension from this page, but some of them come back again after restart!!! (i.e. application menu, AlternateTab and etc.)
    – Rahmani
    Dec 3, 2017 at 9:03
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    @Rahmani - Those are both extensions by fmuellner extensions.gnome.org/accounts/profile/fmuellner ...I downloaded his User Settings extension and it added a bunch of his other extensions. Now I can't delete any of them.
    – guttermonk
    May 2, 2018 at 0:53
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The extensions form 'fmuellner' seem to get stored in a directory "/usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/" and other extensions get stored in a directory "~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions". I too had this problem before. I solved it by deleting these directories and restarting the computer. You cannot delete them from the file browser or explorer. So, super user permissions are required to delete them. Use the following command in the terminal. $ sudo rm -r /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ $ sudo rm -r ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/

and then to restart computer from the gui or you can use $ sudo init 6

Careful not to delete other directories by mistake. The above fix worked for me. Hope that helps.

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I saw last activity "2 months ago" , otherwise i wouldn't answer.

I don't know how hard it was before, but nowdays you can simply go to ubuntu software center, "installed" section

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  • +1 but I found that the Ubuntu Software Center, "Installed" section required me to have to scroll all the way down to see my installed extensions: i.stack.imgur.com/ueopi.png (this is using a US installation of Ubuntu 19.10)
    – bgoodr
    Dec 15, 2019 at 17:37
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I also try to uninstall my extensions from https://extensions.gnome.org/local/, but when I restart the system, some of them come back.

What I do then is delete them manually from my filesystem as follows:

  1. I check these two file places: /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ and ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/.

  2. I find the directory of the extension I want to delete and run:

    (sudo) rm -rf xxx

    where xxx is the path to the extension's directory.

    CAUTION: one has to be extra careful to enter the correct path to the above command, as it recursively deletes the contents of the specified directory without asking for confirmation from the user! If the path is wrong, it can destroy the whole system!

  3. Finally, restart your computer and it surprisingly works.

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