One shortcut to search everything on GNOME.
Apps, windows, files, projects, commands, developer tools, math and the web, from a single bar. Press Alt+Space and start typing.
- Pinned favorites: pin apps, files, projects and commands with Alt+Enter. They appear first when the bar opens with an empty search, in the order you pinned them. Use the same menu to unpin
- Built-in help: type
/helpto browse tips and examples, or/help filesto find a topic. Enter or Tab fills in an example to try - Apps and windows: fuzzy search; your most-used apps rank first
- Files and projects: your home folder (GNOME's file index), your git repositories (which GNOME doesn't index), other drives and USB sticks while they're mounted, with the best matches in every search. Drives that aren't mounted are listed so one Enter mounts them
- Commands: lock, suspend, dark mode, Night Light, Do Not Disturb, screenshot, and your own shell commands
- Developer tools: format JSON, decode JWTs, Base64 and URL encode/decode, timestamps, UUIDs, passwords, hashes, case conversion, working on typed text or the clipboard
- Math and conversions: type
2340 * 1.15,20% of 80,10 km in mi,72 f to c,$20 in eur(live exchange rates) or255 to hex - Emoji and symbols:
:fire,:shrug,:arrow; Enter copies it - Clipboard history:
/clipsearches what you copied recently (kept in memory only, forgotten at logout; passwords generated by/passwordare never recorded) - GNOME Settings panels: type
wifi,bluetoothordisplaysto open the panel directly - Web:
!gh,!yt,!soand other shortcuts, typed URLs, and a web search when nothing else matches - Ask AI apps: if Claude or ChatGPT is installed, "Ask Claude" and "Ask ChatGPT" appear next to the web search, opening the app with your question
- Actions (Alt+Enter): open a file or project in your code editor (VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains IDEs, Zed…) or terminal, open it on GitHub or GitLab, copy its path; run an app's own actions like "New Window"; close, minimize, maximize, keep on top or move a window to another workspace
- Learns what you pick: results you choose often rank first for what you typed (stored only on your computer)
- Keyboard first and configurable: every source, the look and the shortcut can be changed in the settings
Press Alt+Space, type, then press Enter.
| Type | To |
|---|---|
| (anything) | Search apps, windows, files, commands; fall back to the web |
@ |
Search files and folders (a bare @ lists recent files) |
/ |
Run a command or developer tool |
/help |
Browse searchable help (/help keyboard, /help json) |
= |
Calculate or convert (20% of 80, 10 km in mi, $20 in eur, 255 to hex; also without =) |
: |
Search emoji and symbols; Enter copies |
/clip |
Search the clipboard history |
! |
Search a website: !gh ask-bar, !yt lofi |
? |
Ask an installed AI app (Claude, ChatGPT) |
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| ↑ ↓ | Move the selection |
| Enter | Open or run |
| Ctrl+Enter | Show a file in Files |
| Alt+Enter | Actions: open in editor or terminal, on GitHub, copy path, window close/minimize/move… (Esc to go back) |
| Tab | Complete a web shortcut or fill a help example |
| Esc | Close |
Favorites are saved locally and survive restarts and settings resets. Pinned developer tools reopen their command with fresh input; clipboard contents and generated output are never saved in favorites. If an app or custom command is removed, its pin stays available to unpin. File pins refer to their original path; if a file moves, unpin it and pin its new location. Pinned items remain visible even when their default search source is off. All pins are reachable by scrolling, including when they exceed the maximum search results setting. With Remember last search enabled, clear the search to see your favorites.
 |
    |
All commands
| Command | Does |
|---|---|
/help |
Search tips, keyboard shortcuts and examples; select an example to fill the bar |
/lock /suspend /logout /restart /shutdown |
Session actions (log out, restart and power off ask for confirmation) |
/dark /nightlight /dnd |
Toggle dark mode, Night Light, Do Not Disturb |
/screenshot /settings /askbar |
Screenshot tool, GNOME Settings, Ask Bar settings |
/json /jsonmin |
Format or minify JSON |
/jwt |
Decode a JWT and show when it expires |
/b64 /b64d /url /urld |
Base64 and URL encode/decode |
/ts |
Unix timestamp ⇄ date (no input: the current time) |
/uuid /password |
Generate a UUID v4 or a strong password |
/sha256 /sha1 /md5 |
Hash text |
/camel /snake /kebab /pascal /constant /title /upper /lower |
Change case |
/count |
Count characters, words and lines |
/clip |
Clipboard history; Alt+Enter removes an entry or clears it all |
/rank <query> |
Show how the default search ranks every candidate for a query, with scores and why some are hidden |
Developer tools use the text typed after the command (/b64 hello) or, if
nothing is typed, the clipboard. The result is previewed, and Enter copies it.
All web shortcuts
!g Google · !ddg DuckDuckGo · !gh GitHub · !yt YouTube ·
!so Stack Overflow · !w Wikipedia · !mdn MDN · !npm npm ·
!pypi PyPI · !maps Google Maps
Add your own, or replace these, in the settings. Built-in shortcuts show each site's official logo, from Simple Icons (CC0); the logos remain trademarks of their owners.
Requires GNOME Shell 48, 49 or 50. File search uses localsearch,
GNOME's file indexer, which is installed by default on GNOME desktops.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaleabcodes/ask-bar/main/install.sh | bashThen log out and back in: on Wayland, GNOME loads new extensions at login. Run the same command again to update.
Install from source
git clone https://github.com/kaleabcodes/ask-bar.git
cd ask-bar
./install.shUninstall
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaleabcodes/ask-bar/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --uninstallNote
Coming soon to extensions.gnome.org.
Open Extensions → Ask Bar → Settings, type /askbar in the bar, or run
gnome-extensions prefs ask-bar@kaleabcodes.dev.
| Page | Settings |
|---|---|
| General | Keyboard shortcut, maximum results, which monitor, remember last search |
| Search | Turn apps, windows, calculator, currency rates, GNOME Settings panels, commands, files, clipboard history and the web fallback on or off; how many files; clipboard history size; default search engine; recent files; git project scanning |
| Appearance | Width, vertical position, compact mode, background dimming, key hints, animations |
| Shortcuts | Your own commands (/name) and web shortcuts (!key) |
Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md.
Released under the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later.
Made by Kaleab Tesfaye.