How to make GNOME 3 lighter without breaking it?

ssspacez

I would like to know what I could do to make GNOME lighter without breaking it or having bugs, things like removing packages and configurations.

I already disabled Animations.

And please don’t suggest using a lighter Desktop Environment… Some of my experiences:
GTK - LXDE lacks features, Xfce is nice but after using GNOME I feel Xfce is too simplistic and lacks a few things and I had some bugs with Xfce and so I had to switch to GNOME, it seems to work well. I’ve installed MATE today to test it, and I had a panel issue(solved) but I didn’t like, I can’t explain why I don’t, I just don’t.
Qt - LXQt is new it has many bugs, I’ve tested today and removed a few hours later because I can’t use it, it’s broken and it needs improvement and bug fixes. I tried KDE Plasma for a few hours some time ago and didn’t like it much, I will give it another try soon. *Update a few hours later: I’ve just tested KDE Plasma, it feels bloated, so many features and configurations. The positive side is that they apparently managed to make a good balance in terms of resourses, ‘free’ command after reboot said it was using 550(MB or MiB, I don’t remember which one), I think KDE Plasma is similar to GNOME in terms of CPU/RAM usage, but I still don’t like KDE, it feels weird.

Nitrofurantoina

What about Cinnamon or Budgie? I think Budgie is lighter than gnome or cinnamon.

ssspacez

I forgot to mention both, sorry, I used Cinnamon with Linux Mint, it’s like just a more polished Xfce. In terms of system resources it’s not light, I remember being similar to GNOME, a bit less, but I remember that it has less features, GNOME is one the most productive DEs I’ve tested.

Budgie I used with Solus, I didn’t like the distro, they will have to improve some things yet(like the repository) and Budgie and Cinnamon are very “Windows XP like”, with a little more features and eye candy.

I just want to improve my GNOME experience, maybe there are a few packages that I can remove to make it lighter?

c00ter

@ssspacez, removing packages will not necessarily make GNOME “lighter” but disabling some unnecessary services will use less system resources hence use less RAM, etc. and is, I’m sure, what you are seeking. (There are, of course, other unneeded packages and dependencies that you can remove from your installation, thus meeting another definition of :“lighter.”)

But, to the point: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GNOME and: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GNOME/Tips_and_tricks should provide you with further help in your quest. Good luck! :D

regards

joekamprad

I would say Antergos have the most slick GNOME setup around !

With the upgrade to GNOME 3.26 we got two problems:

nautilus is depending on tracker > so we can not remove tracker from GNOME

gnome-calendar is depending on evolution > so we can not remove evolution if we do not need it…

workaround is to configure tracker to be more calm on database use… or use nemo instead and uninstall the bunch…
sudo pacman -Rsnc tracker
will remove all this:

(35) brasero-3.12.2-2  cdrdao-1.2.3-10  cdrtools-3.02a09-1  dleyna-connector-dbus-0.3.0-1  dleyna-core-0.6.0-1  dleyna-renderer-0.6.0-1
            dleyna-server-0.6.0-1  dvd+rw-tools-7.1-7  gegl-0.3.26-1  gnome-documents-3.26.1-1  gnome-music-3.26.1-1  gnome-online-miners-3.26.0-1
            gnome-photos-3.26.3-1  gnome-tweak-tool-3.26.4-1  gom-0.3.3-1  grilo-plugins-0.3.5-1  gssdp-1.0.2-1  gupnp-1.0.2+4+g47b1010-1
            gupnp-av-0.12.10-1  gupnp-dlna-0.10.5-2  libao-1.2.2-1  libcue-2.1.0-1  libdmapsharing-2.9.39-1  libgepub-0.5.2-1  libgexiv2-0.10.7-1
            libgrss-0.7.0+16+g971c421-1  libiptcdata-1.0.4-3  libmediaart-1.9.4-1  libnautilus-extension-3.26.2-2  libraw-0.18.6-1
            libzapojit-0.0.3+11+g840627d-2  nautilus-3.26.2-2  nautilus-sendto-3.8.6-1  tracker-miners-2.0.3-1  tracker-2.0.2-1

ssspacez

@joekamprad

Removing tracker with sudo pacman -Rsnc tracker removed a few packages but losing gnome-tweak-tool is not a option for me, it’s very useful. I put it back and tracker was back because nautilus is a dependency.

sudo pacman -S gnome-tweak-tool

libnautilus-extension-3.26.2-2  
nautilus-3.26.2-2
nautilus-sendto-3.8.6-1  
tracker-2.0.2-1  
gnome-tweak-tool-3.26.4-1

So if you like gnome-tweak-tool you will have to stick with nautilus and tracker.

I removed evolution and gnome-calendar and rebooted, ps_mem looks like this now:

Private  +   Shared  =  RAM used	Program

336.0 KiB +  82.0 KiB = 418.0 KiB	lvmetad
332.0 KiB +  95.5 KiB = 427.5 KiB	rtkit-daemon
588.0 KiB + 331.5 KiB = 919.5 KiB	systemd-hostnamed
596.0 KiB + 328.5 KiB = 924.5 KiB	systemd-localed
588.0 KiB + 343.5 KiB = 931.5 KiB	systemd-timedated
836.0 KiB + 144.5 KiB = 980.5 KiB	gsd-screensaver-proxy
428.0 KiB + 574.0 KiB =   1.0 MiB	avahi-daemon (2)
728.0 KiB + 332.0 KiB =   1.0 MiB	gconf-helper
916.0 KiB + 157.5 KiB =   1.0 MiB	gsd-a11y-settings
940.0 KiB + 150.5 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gvfs-mtp-volume-monitor
856.0 KiB + 235.0 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gconfd-2
948.0 KiB + 160.5 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gsd-mouse
940.0 KiB + 179.5 KiB =   1.1 MiB	at-spi-bus-launcher
976.0 KiB + 148.5 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gsd-rfkill
952.0 KiB + 206.0 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gvfs-goa-volume-monitor
 1.0 MiB + 109.0 KiB =   1.2 MiB	dconf-service
 1.0 MiB + 216.0 KiB =   1.2 MiB	at-spi2-registryd
 1.0 MiB + 262.0 KiB =   1.3 MiB	gsd-disk-utility-notify
988.0 KiB + 372.0 KiB =   1.3 MiB	systemd-logind
824.0 KiB + 582.5 KiB =   1.4 MiB	systemd-timesyncd
 1.2 MiB + 224.5 KiB =   1.4 MiB	gvfsd
 1.3 MiB + 249.5 KiB =   1.5 MiB	accounts-daemon
 1.4 MiB + 148.5 KiB =   1.6 MiB	bluetoothd
 1.3 MiB + 309.0 KiB =   1.6 MiB	gsd-sound
 1.6 MiB + 472.0 KiB =   2.1 MiB	sudo
 1.6 MiB + 571.0 KiB =   2.2 MiB	gsd-print-notifications
 2.3 MiB + 166.0 KiB =   2.4 MiB	bash
 1.9 MiB + 652.0 KiB =   2.5 MiB	gsd-sharing
 2.1 MiB + 467.0 KiB =   2.5 MiB	upowerd
 1.5 MiB +   1.0 MiB =   2.5 MiB	gsd-smartcard
 2.1 MiB + 532.0 KiB =   2.6 MiB	cupsd
 2.1 MiB + 583.0 KiB =   2.7 MiB	gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor
 2.1 MiB + 732.5 KiB =   2.8 MiB	gsd-printer
 2.9 MiB + 388.0 KiB =   3.3 MiB	systemd-udevd
 2.6 MiB + 685.5 KiB =   3.3 MiB	lightdm (2)
 3.1 MiB + 244.5 KiB =   3.3 MiB	gsd-housekeeping
 3.2 MiB + 136.5 KiB =   3.3 MiB	gvfsd-fuse
 2.7 MiB + 855.5 KiB =   3.6 MiB	(sd-pam)
 2.9 MiB + 678.0 KiB =   3.6 MiB	gnome-session-binary
 2.4 MiB +   1.3 MiB =   3.7 MiB	mission-control-5
 3.2 MiB + 675.5 KiB =   3.8 MiB	dbus-daemon (3)
 4.1 MiB +  79.0 KiB =   4.2 MiB	wpa_supplicant
 3.9 MiB + 331.0 KiB =   4.3 MiB	goa-identity-service
 3.9 MiB + 437.5 KiB =   4.3 MiB	ModemManager
 5.8 MiB +  32.5 KiB =   5.8 MiB	haveged
 5.3 MiB + 769.0 KiB =   6.0 MiB	colord
 5.7 MiB + 516.0 KiB =   6.2 MiB	udisksd
 3.8 MiB +   2.5 MiB =   6.2 MiB	systemd (2)
 3.8 MiB +   2.4 MiB =   6.3 MiB	evolution-addressbook-factory
 4.7 MiB +   1.8 MiB =   6.5 MiB	evolution-source-registry
 4.2 MiB +   2.8 MiB =   7.0 MiB	evolution-addressbook-factory-subprocess
 5.7 MiB +   1.5 MiB =   7.3 MiB	gnome-shell-calendar-server
 7.2 MiB + 414.0 KiB =   7.6 MiB	gnome-keyring-daemon
 7.3 MiB + 787.0 KiB =   8.1 MiB	parcellite
 7.3 MiB +   1.0 MiB =   8.3 MiB	gsd-clipboard
 7.4 MiB +   1.0 MiB =   8.4 MiB	gsd-a11y-keyboard
 7.5 MiB + 983.0 KiB =   8.4 MiB	gsd-keyboard
 7.8 MiB + 841.0 KiB =   8.6 MiB	pulseaudio
 7.2 MiB +   1.4 MiB =   8.6 MiB	NetworkManager
 7.6 MiB +   1.1 MiB =   8.7 MiB	gsd-wacom
 7.8 MiB +   1.4 MiB =   9.2 MiB	gsd-xsettings
 7.2 MiB +   2.4 MiB =   9.6 MiB	pamac-tray
 8.5 MiB +   1.3 MiB =   9.8 MiB	gsd-color
 9.4 MiB +   1.1 MiB =  10.5 MiB	light-locker
10.5 MiB + 339.0 KiB =  10.8 MiB	polkitd
 9.8 MiB +   1.2 MiB =  11.0 MiB	gsd-power
 9.8 MiB +   1.3 MiB =  11.1 MiB	tracker-store
 9.9 MiB +   1.2 MiB =  11.1 MiB	gsd-datetime
10.2 MiB +   1.5 MiB =  11.6 MiB	gsd-media-keys
13.3 MiB +   4.6 MiB =  17.9 MiB	gnome-terminal-server
17.4 MiB +   1.6 MiB =  18.9 MiB	goa-daemon
18.6 MiB +   3.0 MiB =  21.6 MiB	applet.py
21.8 MiB + 820.5 KiB =  22.6 MiB	pamac-user-daemon
30.6 MiB +   4.9 MiB =  35.5 MiB	Xorg
35.6 MiB +   1.7 MiB =  37.2 MiB	systemd-journald
38.7 MiB +   3.3 MiB =  42.0 MiB	evolution-calendar-factory
80.7 MiB +   4.7 MiB =  85.4 MiB	evolution-calendar-factory-subprocess (2)
122.8 MiB +  10.8 MiB = 133.6 MiB	gnome-shell
---------------------------------
                       717.3 MiB

But it seems one cannot get rid of evolution related packages because this will break GNOME. What else could I remove safely?

gsd-xxxxx seems to be related to gnome-settings-daemon https://github.com/GNOME/gnome-settings-daemon/tree/master/plugins

ssspacez

@c00ter

I tried this:

Disks
GNOME provides a disk utility to manipulate storage drive settings. These are some of its features:

Enable write cache is a feature that most hard drives provide. Data is cached and allocated at chosen times to improve system performance. Not recommended unless the computer has a backup battery pack or is a laptop as data would be lost on power failure.
Settings > Drive Settings > Write Cache > On

My HDD is in a laptop, which has a battery, so power failure is not a concern. I enabled write cache but I have no idea how much faster it got.

ssspacez

@joekamprad

Check this little trick I’ve found that makes those evolution packages disappear:

Renaming evolution and evolution-data-server folders to anything else, for example put a “-disable” after the folder name.

sudo mv /usr/lib/evolution /usr/lib/evolution-disabled
sudo mv /usr/lib/evolution-data-server /usr/lib/evolution-data-server-disabled

no more evolution packages and something like 150 MiB less RAM usage!

These packages below are gone, and renaming folders saved 147,2 MiB RAM:

3.8 MiB + 2.4 MiB = 6.3 MiB evolution-addressbook-factory
4.7 MiB + 1.8 MiB = 6.5 MiB evolution-source-registry
4.2 MiB + 2.8 MiB = 7.0 MiB evolution-addressbook-factory-subprocess
38.7 MiB + 3.3 MiB = 42.0 MiB evolution-calendar-factory
80.7 MiB + 4.7 MiB = 85.4 MiB evolution-calendar-factory-subprocess (2)

My ps_mem now:

Private  +   Shared  =  RAM used	Program

308.0 KiB +  73.0 KiB = 381.0 KiB	lvmetad
336.0 KiB +  93.5 KiB = 429.5 KiB	rtkit-daemon
588.0 KiB + 334.5 KiB = 922.5 KiB	systemd-hostnamed
592.0 KiB + 330.5 KiB = 922.5 KiB	systemd-localed
576.0 KiB + 357.5 KiB = 933.5 KiB	systemd-timedated
820.0 KiB + 161.5 KiB = 981.5 KiB	gsd-screensaver-proxy
412.0 KiB + 588.0 KiB =   1.0 MiB	avahi-daemon (2)
728.0 KiB + 337.0 KiB =   1.0 MiB	gconf-helper
920.0 KiB + 171.5 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gsd-a11y-settings
852.0 KiB + 244.0 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gconfd-2
940.0 KiB + 160.5 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gvfs-mtp-volume-monitor
960.0 KiB + 151.5 KiB =   1.1 MiB	gsd-rfkill
  1.1 MiB + 115.0 KiB =   1.2 MiB	dconf-service
  1.0 MiB + 228.0 KiB =   1.2 MiB	at-spi2-registryd
  1.0 MiB + 256.0 KiB =   1.3 MiB	gsd-disk-utility-notify
  1.0 MiB + 377.0 KiB =   1.3 MiB	systemd-logind
  1.1 MiB + 264.5 KiB =   1.4 MiB	gsd-housekeeping
828.0 KiB + 605.5 KiB =   1.4 MiB	systemd-timesyncd
  1.3 MiB + 148.5 KiB =   1.4 MiB	gvfsd-fuse
  1.2 MiB + 282.5 KiB =   1.5 MiB	gvfsd
  1.4 MiB + 136.5 KiB =   1.6 MiB	bluetoothd
  1.4 MiB + 271.5 KiB =   1.7 MiB	accounts-daemon
  1.6 MiB + 611.0 KiB =   2.2 MiB	gsd-print-notifications
  1.8 MiB + 418.0 KiB =   2.2 MiB	sudo
  1.9 MiB + 384.0 KiB =   2.3 MiB	goa-identity-service
  1.8 MiB + 481.0 KiB =   2.3 MiB	gsd-sharing
  2.3 MiB + 180.0 KiB =   2.4 MiB	bash
  2.1 MiB + 437.0 KiB =   2.5 MiB	upowerd
  1.5 MiB +   1.0 MiB =   2.6 MiB	gsd-smartcard
  2.1 MiB + 617.0 KiB =   2.7 MiB	cupsd
  2.1 MiB + 776.5 KiB =   2.8 MiB	gsd-printer
  2.9 MiB + 169.5 KiB =   3.1 MiB	gsd-mouse
  2.9 MiB + 192.5 KiB =   3.1 MiB	at-spi-bus-launcher
  2.9 MiB + 235.0 KiB =   3.2 MiB	gvfs-goa-volume-monitor
  3.0 MiB + 405.0 KiB =   3.4 MiB	systemd-udevd
  2.7 MiB + 776.5 KiB =   3.4 MiB	lightdm (2)
  2.6 MiB + 847.5 KiB =   3.5 MiB	(sd-pam)
  2.4 MiB +   1.2 MiB =   3.5 MiB	mission-control-5
  3.3 MiB + 323.0 KiB =   3.6 MiB	gsd-sound
  3.6 MiB +  33.5 KiB =   3.6 MiB	haveged
  3.1 MiB + 690.5 KiB =   3.7 MiB	dbus-daemon (3)
  3.9 MiB + 446.5 KiB =   4.3 MiB	ModemManager
  3.8 MiB + 493.0 KiB =   4.3 MiB	udisksd
  4.2 MiB +  90.0 KiB =   4.3 MiB	wpa_supplicant
  5.0 MiB + 680.0 KiB =   5.6 MiB	gnome-session-binary
  5.4 MiB + 650.0 KiB =   6.0 MiB	colord
  3.7 MiB +   2.4 MiB =   6.1 MiB	systemd (2)
  5.8 MiB + 850.0 KiB =   6.6 MiB	pulseaudio
  6.1 MiB + 655.0 KiB =   6.7 MiB	gvfs-udisks2-volume-monitor
  7.1 MiB + 487.0 KiB =   7.6 MiB	gnome-keyring-daemon
  7.3 MiB +   1.0 MiB =   8.3 MiB	gsd-clipboard
  7.5 MiB +   1.0 MiB =   8.5 MiB	gsd-keyboard
  7.4 MiB +   1.2 MiB =   8.6 MiB	light-locker
  7.6 MiB +   1.1 MiB =   8.8 MiB	gsd-wacom
  7.7 MiB +   1.2 MiB =   8.8 MiB	gsd-power
  7.8 MiB +   1.4 MiB =   9.2 MiB	gsd-xsettings
  8.0 MiB +   1.4 MiB =   9.4 MiB	gsd-datetime
  8.2 MiB +   1.5 MiB =   9.7 MiB	gsd-media-keys
  7.4 MiB +   2.4 MiB =   9.8 MiB	tracker-miner-fs
  8.5 MiB +   1.4 MiB =   9.9 MiB	gsd-color
  9.3 MiB +   1.1 MiB =  10.3 MiB	gsd-a11y-keyboard
  9.1 MiB +   1.5 MiB =  10.7 MiB	NetworkManager
  7.5 MiB +   3.3 MiB =  10.9 MiB	pamac-tray
  9.5 MiB +   1.4 MiB =  10.9 MiB	tracker-store
  9.2 MiB +   1.8 MiB =  11.0 MiB	tracker-miner-apps
 11.6 MiB + 354.0 KiB =  11.9 MiB	polkitd
 14.9 MiB +   1.8 MiB =  16.7 MiB	goa-daemon
 13.5 MiB +   4.9 MiB =  18.4 MiB	gnome-terminal-server
 18.5 MiB +   3.2 MiB =  21.7 MiB	applet.py
 21.7 MiB + 967.5 KiB =  22.6 MiB	pamac-user-daemon
 20.1 MiB +   3.4 MiB =  23.5 MiB	tracker-extract
 29.7 MiB +   5.0 MiB =  34.7 MiB	Xorg
 37.5 MiB +   4.0 MiB =  41.6 MiB	systemd-journald
111.6 MiB +  11.3 MiB = 122.8 MiB	gnome-shell
---------------------------------
                        590.9 MiB
=================================

I hope this doesn’t break anything.