Client: Gnome will deprecate status icons

[hevanaa]

https://blogs.gnome.org/aday/2017/08/31/status-icons-and-gnome/

From GNOME 3.26, status icons will not be shown in GNOME Shell by default.

This requires re-designing applications or instructing users to use the Gnome TopIcons extension: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/495/topicons/

[cacarr-pdxweb]

Please pay attention to this. This needs to be addressed.

Topicons extensions are no longer being supported. And when using the Topicons Plus Gnome extension, the icon displays in rather mangled fashion.

[cjb]

Hi -- we're a cross-platform app, using the same panel/icon code across all Linux distributions, macOS, and Windows. We're unlikely to make invasive changes for any one desktop environment, but we can adopt simple changes. I don't know what a simple change here would be, though.

It sounds like GNOME users should install TopIcons. I didn't realize the icon is looking mangled; we'd be happy to accept a patch to fix that. (If one isn't contributed, we'll likely come up with a fix ourselves but it will take longer.)

[jalberto]

@cjb topicons extension is not longer maintained (not working in latest stable gnome).

As a kind suggestion, add an option to disable status icon and create a simple gnome-shell-extension (js) to replace it

[jalberto]

a most modern options to topicons will be https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/615/appindicator-support/ but it doesnt works with keybase (it does works with discord and skype thoug)

[echosa]

I came to post this issue, but it looks like it's already been posted twice: this one and https://github.com/keybase/client/issues/5772

I'd really like to see Keybase work with Gnome's new APIs. All these extensions aren't a great solution. TopIcons isn't great. TopIcons-Plus mostly works, but for some reason some icons (like Dropbox) that were working aren't showing up anymore. AppIndicator shows maybe half the icons that TopIcons-Plus does, etc. It's a mess.

I realize it's extra work on the Keybase team, but the end result would be a better product for Gnome users, and I think I read there were benefits to the new APIs even for other DEs (but don't quote me on that).

[jalberto]

Something important to notice is: Gnomes is the default desktop for ubuntu and fedora, probably the most used desktop editions linux distributions

[spielkind]

TopIcons is just depcrecated with Electron 8:
https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/21445
https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/65483

The status icon issue for gnome users is currently very annoying.

[echosa]

In case it helps anyone, I use these two extensions at the same time and between the two of them, I have the icons I need.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/615/appindicator-support/
https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1497/topicons-redux/

I'd still love to see more software, including Keybase, natively support GNOME better, though.

[vladimiry]

I'd still love to see more software, including Keybase, natively support GNOME better, though.

Tray icons support comes from upstream projects. Here is the hierarchy: @chromium => @electron => https://github.com/keybase/client desktop.

[echosa]

Then the solution is simple.... drop chromium/electron! /s

[spielkind]

In case it helps anyone, I use these two extensions at the same time and between the two of them, I have the icons I need.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/615/appindicator-support/

I use this extension too, but also had to use hardcoded-tray because I had problems with the icon size (too small) with electron 8.0.1

[vladimiry]

(too small) with electron 8.0.1

Possibly related issues:

• https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/22207
• https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/21445#issuecomment-565710027

[spielkind]

(too small) with electron 8.0.1

Possibly related issues:

• electron/electron#22207
• electron/electron#21445 (comment)

actually it's not blury it's really small... next thing after suspend the icon is just gone.... probably this issue:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-shell-extension-appindicator/+bug/1719192-
Slack Desktop just works (probably because they bundled an older version of electron). I think I'll also switch to a version with an old electron bundled for keybase.

[vladimiry]

actually it's not blury it's really small...

In https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/22207 it's blurry because the icon got downscaled but being rendered as a huge one, so wrong downscalling need detection. Electron since v8 downscales the tray icons to small/22x22 size https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/21904 The guess is that the logic that detects a need to downscale has room for improvement.

[greyltc]

I've had my keybase icon disappear from my gnome tray maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago. Not having an icon is a pretty big deal since when I close the main window the app seems to secretly run in the background with no way to get it back!

[dotenorio]

See my solution:

https://github.com/zulip/zulip-desktop/issues/910#issuecomment-608056150

[heronhaye]

We're fixing the small/blurry icon issue and looking into ways to address the other issues as well.