A modern, keyboard-first Overview for Cinnamon — windows, applications, search, workspaces and panel dock

[lhosty]

Summary

I would like to propose an evolution of Cinnamon's existing Overview into a unified, native productivity hub for windows, applications, search and workspaces—while preserving Cinnamon's traditional desktop, panel and familiar workflow.

The goal is not simply to redesign the Overview. It is to reduce the friction of working with multiple windows, applications and workspaces by making the most common desktop actions accessible from one fast, keyboard-first interface.

The prototype allows users to find and switch between windows, launch applications, move windows across workspaces, search local files, perform mathematical calculations, open URLs, start web searches and access the existing Cinnamon panel without constantly moving between separate menus or relying on the mouse.

This is not only a visual concept. I built and tested a working proof of concept on Cinnamon 6.6.7 under X11. The repository and prototype release include the modified source files, cumulative patch, screenshots, validation output, technical documentation and restoration instructions.

Why this would be valuable

Cinnamon already has strong individual components: a traditional panel, window overview, workspaces, application launching and search. The current experience, however, keeps many of these tasks separated.

This is especially useful on notebooks, where repeatedly moving between the keyboard, touchpad, application menu and workspace controls can interrupt the user's flow. A keyboard-first Overview allows most navigation and launching tasks to be completed without removing the hands from the keyboard, while mouse and touchpad gestures remain available when preferred.

A unified Overview reduces the number of context switches required to:

• find a running window;
• move a window to another workspace;
• launch an application;
• search for an application or file;
• perform a quick calculation or web search;
• navigate entirely by keyboard;
• use the panel as a familiar dock while managing windows.

For users handling many simultaneous tasks—such as browsers, terminals, documents, communication tools and administrative systems—the Overview becomes a temporary command center rather than only a window preview.

Instead of repeatedly minimizing windows, opening the application menu, searching through the panel and manually locating the correct workspace, users can perform these actions from one temporary layer and then return immediately to their normal desktop.

The main goal is not to change Cinnamon's identity. It is to make the existing desktop faster and more discoverable while keeping the traditional panel and desktop available exactly as users expect outside the Overview.

Proposed interaction model

Window and application modes

The Overview has two clear modes:

• Windows — running windows and workspace navigation;
• Applications — application grid and application search.

The user can switch modes through the visible selector or with the keyboard.

Window Overview with Panel Dock

Applications Grid

Super key workflow

• Super from the desktop opens the Windows Overview.
• Super twice within 400 ms opens Applications.
• Super from Applications returns to Windows.
• Super from Windows closes the Overview with a visible, reversible animation.
• A second Super during that closing animation cancels the close and opens Applications.

This keeps single-Super behavior fast while making the application grid immediately accessible.

Keyboard-first navigation

The complete workflow can be used without the mouse:

• Super opens the window Overview;
• double Super opens Applications;
• arrow keys move between windows according to their actual visual position;
• Enter activates the selected window, application or search result;
• typing starts a search immediately;
• Tab moves between the main Overview areas;
• Escape returns or closes the current mode.

This makes the Overview suitable not only for visual window management, but also for fast repetitive workflows where minimizing hand movement improves productivity.

Unified search and quick actions

Typing in the Overview can provide:

• applications, including fuzzy matching for partially typed or misspelled names;
• local files and directories;
• results from existing Cinnamon search providers;
• mathematical calculations with parentheses, operator precedence, powers and decimal values;
• direct opening of URLs and domains in the default browser;
• web searches using the default browser and configured search engine;
• actions for running applications and existing windows.

The calculator result can be used directly or sent to an installed calculator application. A typed domain or URL can be opened without first launching the browser, while ordinary text can be converted into a web search.

The proof of concept keeps the interaction simple: one search field, clearly grouped results and complete keyboard navigation.

Applications and Search

Calculator and Web Search

Workspace interaction

• Drag the empty background horizontally to switch workspaces.
• Drag window clones between workspaces.
• Use edge-hover switching while dragging a window.
• Use arrow keys to navigate windows according to their real visual position, including incomplete or irregular rows.

Dragging a Window Between Workspaces

Switching Workspaces with a Background Swipe

Panel as an Overview dock

When the panel is configured for auto-hide or intelligent hide, it becomes temporarily visible and interactive while the Overview is open.

When leaving the Overview, the panel returns to its configured behavior. Always-visible panels remain visible without a delayed fade or an empty reserved gap.

This reuses the user's existing panel and applets instead of introducing a second dock implementation.

User benefits

• Faster multitasking across windows, applications and workspaces.
• Reduced dependence on the mouse and touchpad.
• Better productivity on notebooks and compact workstations.
• Faster navigation for users working with many simultaneous windows.
• Immediate access to applications, files, calculations, URLs and web searches.
• Better discoverability of workspaces and running windows.
• A direct application-grid workflow without removing the traditional Cinnamon menu.
• Existing panel applets remain available inside the Overview.
• Consistent spatial keyboard navigation, including incomplete and irregular window layouts.
• Smooth and reversible transitions that preserve visual context.
• A modern workflow that remains recognizably Cinnamon.

Implementation benefits

The prototype is implemented inside Cinnamon's existing JavaScript UI architecture. It does not require a separate daemon or a project-specific GSettings schema.

The work is divided across existing responsibilities:

• Overview state and transitions;
• application grid and search results;
• workspace swipe and window drag-and-drop;
• keyboard routing;
• panel Overview mode;
• spatial window navigation.

The prototype validation suite contains 32 static and behavioral checks, plus patch-application tests and byte-for-byte verification.

These checks do not replace real compositor and hardware testing, but they helped detect regressions in keyboard routing, animation state, workspace gestures and panel integration during development.

Prototype status and limitations

Tested:

• Cinnamon 6.6.7;
• X11 session;
• real daily-use workflow;
• window Overview, application mode, search, Super routing, workspace swipe, window drag-and-drop and panel integration.

Still needed before upstream integration:

• rebase against current Cinnamon master;
• coding-style and architecture review;
• Wayland testing;
• multi-monitor testing across different layouts and scale factors;
• vertical/top/side panel testing;
• RTL and accessibility review;
• broader theme and hardware testing;
• decision on defaults and configuration options.

I am not asking for the current patch to be merged unchanged. I am asking whether this interaction model is a direction the Cinnamon project would consider, and what architectural changes maintainers would require for an upstream-quality implementation.

Questions for maintainers and the community

1. Should the unified Overview be the default evolution of the current Overview, or an optional mode?
2. Should double-Super be enabled by default or configurable?
3. Should auto-hidden/intelligently-hidden panels always appear as a dock inside the Overview?
4. Should application/file/web/calculator results share one search view, or should some providers remain optional?
5. Would maintainers prefer this work split into smaller independent proposals and pull requests?

Included technical material

The repository and prototype release include:

• sanitized screenshots;
• a complete feature changelog;
• a technical architecture summary;
• tested-scope and known-limitations documentation;
• a cumulative patch;
• the complete modified JavaScript files;
• validation scripts and results;
• installation and restoration instructions;
• the GPL license and modification notice.

Warning

This is an experimental proof of concept and is not an official Cinnamon package.

It replaces core Cinnamon JavaScript files. Testing should preferably be performed in a virtual machine, secondary installation or non-critical environment. Users should create backups and read the restoration instructions before installation.

Testing instructions for advanced users

A working proof of concept is available for advanced users who would like to evaluate the interaction model and provide feedback.

This is an experimental prototype, not an official Cinnamon package. It modifies core Cinnamon JavaScript files under /usr/share/cinnamon/js/ui/ and should therefore be tested at the user's own risk.

For the safest evaluation:

• Prefer a virtual machine, a secondary installation or a non-critical test system.
• Back up every affected Cinnamon file before installation.
• Keep access to a TTY or another administrative session in case the graphical session fails to start.
• Follow the installation and restoration instructions provided in the prototype documentation.
• Perform a complete logout and login after installing or restoring the files.
• Do not test on a production system unless you are comfortable restoring Cinnamon manually.

The current prototype has primarily been tested on Cinnamon 6.6.7 under X11. Other Cinnamon versions, Linux distributions, themes, panel layouts, extensions and Wayland sessions may behave differently.

Suggested test flow

Testers are encouraged to evaluate:

1. Opening the window Overview with Super.
2. Opening the application grid with two Super presses within 400 ms.
3. Returning from the application grid to the window Overview.
4. Navigating between windows using the arrow keys and Enter.
5. Switching workspaces with the mouse swipe gesture.
6. Dragging windows between workspaces.
7. Searching for applications, files and directories.
8. Entering mathematical expressions in the search field.
9. Opening URLs and web searches with the default browser.
10. Testing visible, auto-hidden and intelligently hidden panel configurations.
11. Testing different numbers and arrangements of open windows.
12. Restoring the original Cinnamon files after evaluation.

Bug reports should include:

• Cinnamon version;
• session type (X11 or Wayland);
• Linux distribution and version;
• monitor layout and scale factor;
• panel position and visibility configuration;
• enabled extensions or applets that may affect the Overview;
• clear reproduction steps;
• relevant Cinnamon/GJS logs.

Repository, release and documentation

• Repository: https://github.com/lhosty/cinnamon-modern-overview
• Installation and restoration instructions: https://github.com/lhosty/cinnamon-modern-overview/blob/main/prototype/README.md
• Prototype release: https://github.com/lhosty/cinnamon-modern-overview/releases/tag/v19-prototype
• Known limitations and testing scope: https://github.com/lhosty/cinnamon-modern-overview/blob/main/documentation/TESTING_AND_LIMITATIONS.md

The prototype was tested primarily on Cinnamon 6.6.7 under X11. Additional testing, review, refactoring and architectural adaptation would be required before upstream integration.

This proposal is intended to demonstrate both the interaction model and its practical productivity benefits. The implementation can be divided into smaller components and adapted to Cinnamon's preferred architecture.

Feedback would be especially valuable regarding:

• whether this interaction model fits Cinnamon's direction;
• whether it should be optional or become an evolution of the existing Overview;
• the proposed keyboard and Super-key behavior;
• panel integration inside the Overview;
• the scope of unified search;
• how the work should be divided for gradual upstream integration.

[Hilyxx]

The overview looks very similar to what GNOME Shell was like in versions 3.4/3.8. Many users, myself included, strongly disliked that new paradigm. Fortunately, forks like Cinnamon were created, bringing back a more traditional desktop experience in the spirit of GNOME 2.

An application grid can be nice, but having developed one myself for personal use (it's unrelated to this project; it's actually a fork of Cinnamenu), I've found that you shouldn't have too many rows and columns. Otherwise, it's easier to get lost than to quickly find the application you're looking for.

With this kind of overview, icons become the primary way users identify applications, so they need to accurately represent the application's purpose. Unfortunately, some applications have very generic icons, which doesn't help.

That said, this project looks really nice. Personally, though, I prefer what Cinnamon has become today: not a clone of GNOME Shell.

[lhosty]

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts — and also for saying the project looks nice. I really appreciate the feedback.

I think I may not have explained the purpose clearly enough in the original post.

The idea is not to remove Cinnamon's traditional menu, replace the panel workflow, or turn Cinnamon into a GNOME Shell clone. Users who like Cinnamon exactly as it is today should be able to keep using it in the same way.

Cinnamon already has a simple window Overview, normally accessible with Ctrl + Alt + Down. This project basically builds on top of that existing feature.

The main changes are:

• expanding the current window Overview into a more complete multitasking interface;
• adding an intelligent search box;
• adding an application grid;
• improving keyboard navigation;
• integrating files, calculations, URLs and web searches;
• adding workspace and window-management interactions;
• giving the interface a small visual redesign.

So it is more an evolution of an existing Cinnamon feature than an attempt to replace Cinnamon's desktop model.

The intended use case is mainly for people who work with many windows, applications and workspaces at the same time and want a faster way to move between tasks.

The traditional menu would still be there. The Overview could remain on its current shortcut, be assigned to another shortcut, or be mapped to Super by users who prefer that workflow. It should be an alternative, not something forced on everyone.

I understand the comparison with older GNOME Shell versions. Visually and conceptually, there is obviously some similarity because both interfaces place windows, applications and workspaces inside a temporary full-screen layer.

But this prototype still tries to remain close to Cinnamon:

• the normal desktop and traditional menu remain available;
• the existing Cinnamon panel is reused as a temporary interactive dock;
• the Overview closes back into the normal desktop instead of becoming the desktop itself;
• the feature is designed around optional shortcuts;
• the search also handles local files, calculations, URLs and web searches;
• window navigation follows the actual visual position of windows.

About the application grid, the current density was intentional. It is inspired by common mobile and smartphone interfaces, where many users are already used to browsing applications through icons, stable positioning and search.

The applications are also sorted alphabetically, so the layout remains predictable. In my own use, having many apps visible does not make it difficult to find one, partly because I am used to this kind of interface and partly because typing immediately starts a search.

That said, your observation is completely fair. What feels comfortable and familiar to one user may feel too dense to another. This is definitely something that would benefit from broader UX testing.

A final version could potentially support different icon sizes, grid densities, pagination, categories, folders or a more search-focused layout.

I also agree with your point about application icons. Some apps have generic, outdated, broken, unattractive or simply unclear icons. In an icon-heavy interface, that can make recognition harder.

The Overview cannot fix every icon provided by third-party applications, but it can reduce the problem by keeping application names visible, using reliable fallback icons, preserving alphabetical ordering and making search available immediately.

So I completely understand preferring Cinnamon's current traditional workflow. The proposal is not meant to remove that experience. It is meant to expand Cinnamon's existing Overview and offer a more productive optional workflow for users who manage many tasks and prefer faster keyboard-driven navigation.

Thanks again for the feedback. It helped point out two things that should be clearer in the proposal: this is an extension of Cinnamon's existing Overview, not a replacement for the traditional desktop, and the application grid should remain open to UX improvements and user preferences.