Simply add your display name to the top panel Quick Settings menu in GNOME Shell.
Visit the project website for more details.
- Displays your display name in the Quick Settings menu of the top panel
- Customizable display text with template variables (
%uuser,%Uname,%hhost) - Configurable position: left, center, or right in the panel
- Adjustable left/right spacing and font size
- Settings apply in real time — no GNOME Shell restart needed
- Reset to last saved settings or to defaults, with a confirmation dialog
- Settings panel accessible from GNOME Extensions preferences
- Compatible with GNOME Shell 45 to 50
- Lightweight with no external dependencies
Requires GNOME Shell Integration in your browser.
⚠️ The version on GNOME Extensions may lag behind the latest release while the submission is under review. For the newest version, install manually using the steps below.
-
Download the latest
.zipfrom the Releases page -
Install the extension:
gnome-extensions install add-username-toppanel@brendaw.com.zip
-
Log out and back in, then enable the extension:
gnome-extensions enable add-username-toppanel@brendaw.com
-
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/brendaw/add-username-toppanel.git
-
Copy the extension files to the extensions folder:
cp -r add-username-toppanel/src ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/add-username-toppanel@brendaw.com -
Log out and back in, then enable the extension:
gnome-extensions enable add-username-toppanel@brendaw.com
This extension supports GNOME Shell 45 to 50.
For GNOME Shell 3.12 to 44, use a legacy release (v2.x or earlier).
The extension uses a fallback cascade: display name → login username → hostname. If it shows "Unknown", the display name field may be empty in your system.
Check your entry in /etc/passwd and fill in the display name field (the GECOS field,
the first comma-separated value after the username) — it will appear after the next
GNOME Shell boot.
You can also set a custom display text in the extension preferences using template variables:
%u— login username%U— display name%h— hostname
For other problems, check the open issues or open a new one.
Contributions are welcome — new features, bug fixes, documentation improvements, and translations. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the development workflow.
The project uses GitHub Actions for automated linting, extension package validation with shexli, and GitHub Releases on every version tag.
Issues and Pull Requests are open for your contribution.
If this extension is useful to you, consider supporting it:
See the AUTHORS file for the amazing contributors of this project.
MIT - William Brendaw and the contributors - 2016-2026