# Unity

Related articles

- Desktop environment
- GNOME
- Compiz

Unity is a desktop shell for the GNOME desktop environment developed by Canonical Ltd for Ubuntu. Unity is implemented as a plugin of the Compiz window manager.

## Installation

There are three ways to install Unity on Arch Linux: from an unofficial repository, from the AUR or from source.

### From unofficial repository (recommended)

The unofficial Unity repository is hosted on Dropbox:

    /etc/pacman.conf

    [Unity-for-Arch]
    SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
    Server = http://dl.dropbox.com/u/486665/Repos/$repo/$arch

    [Unity-for-Arch-Extra]
    SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
    Server = http://dl.dropbox.com/u/486665/Repos/$repo/$arch

The core packages are available in Unity-for-Arch:

    # pacman -Syu
    # pacman -S $(pacman -Slq Unity-for-Arch)

To list all extra packages from Unity-for-Arch-Extras:

    # pacman -Slq Unity-for-Arch-Extra

Tip: As there are many Ubuntu-patched packages that replace original Arch packages, it is also recommended to use freetype2-ubuntu from the AUR.
Note: Outdated alternative repositories are available at unity.humbug.in and unity.xe-xe.org.

#### Testing repository

There was also a testing repository which provided bleeding edge features and was almost always synchronized with the GitHub repository. It is also preferrable, if encountering package conflicts.

    [Unity-for-Arch-GNOME312]
    SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
    Server = http://dl.dropbox.com/u/486665/Repos/$repo/$arch

    [Unity-for-Arch-Extra-GNOME312]
    SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
    Server = http://dl.dropbox.com/u/486665/Repos/$repo/$arch

### From the AUR

The main AUR package is called unity. Its optional dependencies list a number of packages that should be installed for the complete environment.

Some of these are directly based on the packages available in the Unity-for-Arch GitHub repository.

Note:

- The AUR packages may be less up to date.
- Due to slight variations in versioning and dependency chains, it is recommended not to mix the AUR packages with the unofficial repository.

### From source

All of the PKGBUILDs can be browsed on the GitHub repository, where Unity-For-Arch provides a minimal working Unity shell, and Unity-For-Arch-Extra provides some additional applications, including lightdm-ubuntu (LightDM with Ubuntu patches), ubuntu-themes, unity-tweak-tool (a popular Unity configuration tool) and more.

Install git and navigate to a directory in which the sources can be built, then do:

    $ git clone https://github.com/chenxiaolong/Unity-for-Arch.git

Open the `README` and build the packages according to the ordered list (see: Makepkg#Usage):

    $ cd <package name>
    $ makepkg -sci

Tip: To use LightDM, follow the same steps mentioned above to install lightdm-ubuntu and lightdm-unity-greeter from the Unity-For-Arch-Extra repository.
Tip: To complete this procedure automatically, this script can be used.

#### Updating

Navigate to the original directory and pull all changes:

    $ git pull

Then, check, if any packages need updating:

    $ ./"What_can_I_update?.py"

Note: Sometimes, if a certain crucial package is updated, those depending on it will also need to be recompiled. For example, unity depends on nux.

## Troubleshooting

### Unity notifications don't work

Install: notify-osd.

### Screenlocking doesn't work

Install: gnome-screensaver-ubuntu (AUR).

### Online Accounts doesn't work

Install: signon-keyring-extension (AUR), gnome-keyring and telepathy (group)

### ssh keys aren't remembered by keyring

Install: gnome-keyring.

### KDE apps aren't integrated into the HUD and menubar

Install: appmenu-qt.

### Files and Folder lens not working

Install: zeitgeist-ubuntu (AUR).

### Cannot right click on desktop

Other issues that this fix addresses:

- Title bar at the top doesn't display 'Arch Linux Desktop'
- Shortcut keys, such as `Super` and `Alt` don't work when there are no active windows

Install gnome-tweak-tool. Open `gnome-tweak-tool`, navigate to Desktop and set Icons on Desktop to ON.

### Unity stops working after update

Run:

    $ compiz.reset

Then log out and log back into the Unity session.

If Unity still isn't working, report an issue on github or discuss it in this forum thread on the Arch Linux Forums.

### Window decoration doesn't work properly

Try changing the theme using gnome-tweak-tool. Also, ensure that the `gtk-window-decorator` is started correctly in Compiz. See: Compiz#Starting the window decorator.

### Window decoration can't use certain theme

Install: metacity-ubuntu (AUR).

For more information on selecting `gtk-window-decorator` themes, see this section of the Compiz Configuration article.

### Some GTK+ themes look ugly after update to GNOME 3.6

This affects the unity default theme and light themes. Use:

    ~/.config/gtk3.0/gtk.css

    GtkLabel {
      background-color: @transparent;
    }

### Workspace switcher widget dissappeared

In the Compiz Configuration Settings Manager `ccsm`, ensure that the following option is checked: Settings > Appearance > Behaviour > Enable workspaces.

### Newly opened window is always placed at (0,0) on the screen

Install: metacity-ubuntu (AUR).

### Window's titlebar still exists when maximized

Install: metacity-ubuntu (AUR).

## Known Issues

### Indicator-messages doesn't work properly

Pidgin and a number of other applications can not be integrated into indicator-messages due to its API changes. Users will have to wait for upstream to release software updates for the affected applications.

## See also

- Unity home page
- Unity in Launchpad

Category:

- Desktop environments