How to completely remove a gnome shell extension?

Question

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/?

Solution 1

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.

Solution 2

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.

Solution 3

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.

Solution 4

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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Comments

[MorganSBailey]

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.

[Wilf]

This does not always work...

[Rahmani]

I uninstall extension from this page, but some of them come back again after restart!!! (i.e. application menu, AlternateTab and etc.)

[Rahmani]

I removed the folder of some extensions, but some of them come back again after restart!!! (i.e. application menu, AlternateTab and etc.)

[guttermonk]

@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.

[Steffen Winkler]

@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.

[ismailsunni]

@SteffenWinkler thanks, it works perfectly. I didn't know that it is installed system-wide

[bgoodr]

+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)