Weekly GNU-like #MobileLinux Update (11/2025): #Libadwaita 1.7 and news from #Sxmo

https://linmob.net/weekly-update-11-2025/

So… after probably running into every problem that currently exists in #KDE I can say that I start liking it, conceptionally.

In terms of app design it looks awfully cramped and "not good" compared to #libadwaita to put it mildly, but the desktop itself is kinda nice.~
Definitely gonna stick with Gnome apps, down to the calculator.

Now if we'd have KDE's features & stability but with #Gnome's GUI design (yet better theme-able) and written mainly in Rust… yeah… that would be nice.
#Linux

There's something really specific in GTK that bothers the crap out of me Modal windows in GTK adhere to the window controls settings, but only for the close button. If you have minimize/maximize it doesn't care about it. Which, like, yeah, it's a modal window. But if you disable your close button, modal windows suddenly have no way to be closed.

I personally would argue that either modal windows should have their own close button at the bottom of the window a la mobile design, or they should ignore the dconf setting and only top-level windows in GTK should adhere to disabling the close button (although it should continue to adhere to the left/right setting). It makes it extremely annoying on Gnome Mobile where the close button is disabled, so suddenly you have no way to close modal dialogs on a smartphone. Modal dialogs should absolutely not be using dconf to decide whether or not to have a close button because they're *attached* sub-windows.

It's the smallest thing ever, but it annoys me to no end. I'd actually disable the close button and only close windows from the overview if only modals didn't adhere to the same setting.

Hey! Does anyone from #GNOME or that works with GNOME technologies know how I can make my #python #GTK4 / #Libadwaita app run in the background when closing ? And how to make it appear correctly in GNOME background app menu, or even in the AppIndicator extension ?

Any link to relevant documentation will be useful ! :)

Thank you in advance!

#Libadwaita now (actually 2 months ago) features a new stylesheet for light/dark mode.
It becomes more "cold", and now have a sort of "blue gray" rather than a sort of "yellow" (according to my eyes) in dark mode.

https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libadwaita/-/merge_requests/1317

But, a week ago, it was merged on the #GNOME Shell, and now on GNOME 48.alpha it features the new stylesheet. (also applies to GDM)

https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell/-/merge_requests/3552

What do you think? Personally, "cold" looks good, much more pleasing to the eye.

Introducing Refine [tesk.page], an app to tweak advanced and experimental settings in GNOME. It is an alternative to GNOME Tweaks [gitlab.gnome.org], and is a pet project I'm currently working to experiment with PyGObject [pygobject.gnome.org] and dconf [gitlab.gnome.org], while following the data-driven [en.wikipedia.org], object-oriented [en.wikipedia.org], and composition [en.wikipedia.org] paradigms.

The entire codebase is made up of widgets that provide all the functionality needed to add an option. For example, instead of adding each option programmatically in Refine, the ultimate goal is to have it all done in the UI file.

For example, if we want to add an option to enable or disable middle click paste, all we need is the following code in the UI file:

$RefineSwitchRow {
  title: _('Middle Click Paste');
  schema-id: 'org.gnome.desktop.interface';
  key: 'gtk-enable-primary-paste';
}

That's it. The RefineSwitchRow widget will do whatever it needs to do to ensure the option is available, grab the setting if it's available, and display it to the user. Many of these widgets provide extra functionality, such as a Reset button.

You can get Refine on Flathub: https://flathub.org/apps/page.tesk.Refine

Everything else (source code, screenshot, etc.) is in the project website: https://tesk.page/refine/, as well as the Flathub link.

I’ve been daily-driving a #LinuxMobile for over 2 years—both the #Librem5 and OnePlus 6, #PureOS and #PostmarketOS. I’ve loved the experience, especially the #Phosh UI and #Libadwaita apps.

But #LinuxPhones aren’t reliable enough for me now. With a newborn, I need to be reachable, so I’m switching back to Android.

Any recommendations? I’m torn between a #GooglePixel or #Fairphone with #GrapheneOS / #CalyxOS. Bonus points if I can dual boot Linux, or likely install it in some years!

The Format Chooser dialog in GNOME Settings has been entirely revamped with merge request !2778 [gitlab.gnome.org], which implements @allanday's mockup [gitlab.gnome.org]. The dialog was ported from AdwWindow [gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org] to AdwDialog [gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org], as well as from the deprecated AdwLeaflet [gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org] to AdwOverlaySplitView [gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org], making it adapt better on mobile form factors. The style should look less heavy thanks to the flat design in the format previewer pane.

Screen recording link: https://fedora.ems.host/_matrix/media/v3/download/fedora.im/02348294b629111613edaae2ab29e9ef401a89441857103268140810240?allow_redirect=true

Visual transcription:

The Format Chooser dialog is opened on demand from GNOME Settings, under the System panel → Region & Language page → Formats button. The dialog contains a headerbar with the title "Formats", the main view on the left with the search entry at the top and the format list below, and the preview pane on the right as a sidebar. The parent window is briefly resized to a mobile-adjacent form factor, where the preview pane is collapsed and the preview button with an eye icon appears on each format in the list; and resized back to a desktop form factor, which restores the previous layout.

In the format list, the scrollbar is dragged to the middle of the list, which displays an undershoot indicator at the top. Some formats are selected, and the preview pane updates as the format changes. The parent window is resized to a mobile-adjacent form factor. The preview button is pressed on a format that displays the preview pane as an overlay. The style is changed to dark and the process is repeated.

Hey gnome folks!

I have some free time and want to start out learning to build libadwaita apps. Where do I even start? Is there anyone here who started gnome app development recently and still remembers how they got started? Or some veterans with a good understanding of recent best practices for gnome app development?