Gnome Desktop Environment is no longer supported on Artix Linux

GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

24 September 2025, 00:04:54

Some of you have probably seen the blog post a few months ago about how GNOME is more strongly depending on systemd. The changes mentioned there have landed into the latest stable versions of the mentioned software (GNOME 49) and do affect us. In particular, the main culprit is the removal of the non-systemd fallback code in gnome-session. This makes it currently impossible to launch gnome-shell/mutter on a non-systemd system. A fairly straightforward patch of using elogind, like what was previously done, no longer works either.

Since we don't have the time or interest to write a new non-systemd codepath for gnome-session, this means that all support for gnome-based desktops has to be dropped. In particular, the affected packages would be gnome-session, gnome-shell, mutter, and gnome-settings-daemon. For now, the old versions are still in the repos but because there is so much intertwining between other gtk/gnome packages, there is no guarantee they actually work and will later be removed from our repos.

Standalone gnome applications will still continue to be packaged, but it is simply not feasible anymore to support gnome desktops without systemd.

• 19 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #1 – 24 September 2025, 00:14:50

Noted, and a merry "good riddance". Use case for GNOME?

• Last Edit: 24 September 2025, 00:50:05 by K0rpZ0uth
• 10 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #2 – 24 September 2025, 01:06:54

Someone has written a gnome-session replacement for Shepherd/GNU Guix, and one of the OpenRC developers is planning one for OpenRC.

Unfortunately, it seems these hardcode their choice of init as much as the upstream launcher hardcodes systemd.

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Slackware managed to ship GNOME 49 by basically reinstating the deleted nonsystemd fallback path. Time will tell if it's sustainable (since it's huge, over 9k lines, and GNOME themselves said it was a bitrotten hack).

• Last Edit: 24 September 2025, 17:01:38 by capezotte

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #3 – 24 September 2025, 03:23:20

Fuck, this day has come...

Update

Gnome, Pantheon, what else will be removed?

• Last Edit: 24 September 2025, 08:49:29 by Worm_Jim
• 2 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #4 – 24 September 2025, 19:26:54

Yeah I considered that, but as you said it's a massive amount of code. It wouldn't be as simple as just keeping a patch and rebasing it from time to time. You'd effectively maintain a fork. If some other distro wants to keep a usable fork for all non-systemd distros, that would be nice and we could maybe bring this back. That would be a big undertaking though and I'm not really a gnome user nor have interest in doing that.

• 2 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #5 – 24 September 2025, 20:40:47

Adieu. Nobody will miss you. Less headache on the Artix devs.

• 11 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #6 – 25 September 2025, 09:56:18

‘If you discover that you are riding a dead horse, dismount.’

• 2 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #7 – 25 September 2025, 11:05:21

Well... I didn't sleep all night and skipped the entire workday, for which I'll get a slap on the back of the head from my boss tomorrow...

I installed all the environments available in the repositories. Using them was met with nothing but revulsion and an overwhelming desire to destroy the device they were installed on with an atomic bomb.

Since my environment will soon be removed, I'll have to switch back to Arch on both my home devices and the workstations in my small organization, 40 machines in total. It's a shame, because I've been using Artix with Dinit for about two years...

It was interesting here, maybe we'll see each other again. I'm not saying goodbye, but rather, "See you later!"

Worm_Jim.

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #8 – 25 September 2025, 17:15:11

If there's a reasonable solution to make it work again, adding it back is on the table. But I don't think anyone on the team is going to spend effort on it so it would be something someone else would maintain and we'd just package it. Preferably, it would be init agnostic and with something we already package.

• 1 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #9 – 25 September 2025, 19:41:03

I will focus on Hyprland. Good bye GNOME.

• 1 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #10 – 26 September 2025, 13:49:30

Nothing of value has been lost. Nobody is gonna miss GNOME.

• 5 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #11 – 26 September 2025, 20:31:27

Gnome is quite possibly the worst Desktop environment available and has been for a long time. TWM has issues but is at least very lightweight. For a decade now I've been surprised by the incredible effort distro maintainers put into to packaging it (if you've ever tried to build it yourself you'd know how much of a nightmare the churn among all the interdependent projects is. They even have one or two custom languages now.)

I think especially among Artix users no one really cares that it's going away and I hope the maintainers redirect the gnome effort into things that actually matter.  They've done a fantastic job of that so far and I look forward to seeing what they do in the future.

• 5 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #12 – 26 September 2025, 21:03:21

Use case for init freedom?

• 2 Likes

Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #13 – 26 September 2025, 21:48:33

Great first post and I agree except among Artix users < among most Artix users because at least one person on this thread was upset and they are leaving us. To some Gnome is where the heart is. I think it's a pile of poo.
No more Gnome

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Re: GNOME Desktop Environment No Longer Supported

Reply #14 – 26 September 2025, 22:26:28

A person is talking about adding OpenRC support, on gentoo, in the gnome matrix room: https://files.catbox.moe/hdbdlx.mp4 Iirc upstreaming was mentioned too, if possible

• 2 Likes