We’ve looked at ways to make GNOME Shell look like Unity before, but a new theme from the b00merang project provides what is perhaps the closest clone yet.
It’s a Unity 7 GNOME Shell theme that faithfully recreates the look of the Ubuntu desktop shell in GNOME, BFB-included!
Naturally this change is a cosmetic one and only skin deep. You won’t get extra features like an app menu, dash or HUD.
It does theme both the Applications Overview and the Alt+Tab switcher to look more ‘Unity’ like, though.
But if you’re at all worked about feeling lost in GNOME Shell come Ubuntu 17.10, this theme could be a useful crutch to help you get to grips with it.
You’ll still need the regular Ambiance GTK theme installed, ideally the very latest version (see this post on how to get it), plus the Ubuntu Mono Dark/Light icon themes which inherits the Humanity icon set, for the full Unity look.
Dash to Dock
For the Unity 7 b00merang theme to look as good as it does in screenshots you’ll need the Dash to Dock extension installed.
When you have the extension installed and enabled you need to head to the Dash to Dock settings (right-click on the app launcher icon to quickly access it). Move the dock to the left-hand side of the screen, set it to run in panel mode, and under Launchers toggle the option to move the application button to the start of the panel.
Download Unity 7 Theme for GNOME Shell
You can download Ambiance for GNOME Shell from the b00merang Github page, using the link below:
Extract the .zip to ~/.themes and then open GNOME Tweak Tool > Appearance to apply.
B00merang also has a Unity 8 theme available. This theme takes the design work available for the Unity 8 ‘desktop’ mode and uses it a base for a full-bodied theme. Overall the look is different from that of the United GNOME, another Unity 8 inspired theme we’ve written about before.