How to bring back minimize and maximize buttons in Gnome 3

window window-control gnome customization

139,807

The command line way

add the values at the left side of : for buttons on the left side

close,minimize,maximize:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout "close,minimize,maximize:"

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add the values at the right side of : for buttons on the right side

:minimize,maximize,close

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout ":minimize,maximize,close"

enter image description here

or mix them

close:minimize,maximize

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences button-layout "close:minimize,maximize"

enter image description here

The GUI way

Start the gnome-tweak-tool, open the Windows tab and switch the buttons for Titlebar Buttons in the right panel

enter image description here

139,807

Community

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Community over 1 year
I have recently installed Ubuntu Gnome which has the latest version of Gnome 3 running on it, and I have noticed that on windows there are no minimize buttons, and no maximize buttons, although I can see that you do get the options if you do a right-click. I have already read this question, and its answers, and have found that still none of them answer my question.

So my question is, as made clear in the title, how can I bring back the minimize and maximize buttons? Is this a bug? Or have Gnome decided not to have them?

OS Information:
```
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 15.04
Release:    15.04
Codename:   vivid
```
Dennis Williamson almost 9 years

But it doesn't seem to affect Nautilus, at least for me on 14.04.
Dennis Williamson almost 9 years

OK. I don't know what that means in regard to your answer in relation to what I mentioned.
jpo38 about 8 years

Unfortunately, this does not work anymore with Ubuntu 15.10
SRDC about 8 years

Works on Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 (obviously doesn't work on a stock install ofUbuntu 15.10, since Ubuntu switched to the Unity desktop). Thanks for the tip - have used Xubuntu and Ubuntu ... switched to Ubuntu Gnome, love it, but needed to know where to easily customize the desktop. Thanks!
Kim Johansson over 4 years

This worked perfectly on Fedora 31.
nomen about 4 years

Do I need to run this as my user? (I presume so) Or is there a global setting I can do?
Benjamin over 3 years

Works for me on Ubuntu 16.04 running GNOME 3.18.
petrosmm about 2 years

If you dont find it under Windows, try Window Titlebars.