[Bug]: Gnome activities launcher triggers notification instead of switching to the app #27257

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1. danielcommesse

   added

   bugSomething is broken or behaving incorrectly.Something is broken or behaving incorrectly.

   needs-triageIssue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.Issue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.

   on Oct 29, 2026
2. danielcommesse commented on Oct 30, 2026

   

   danielcommesse

   on Oct 30, 2026

   Last edited by danielcommesse

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   I actually found that replacing StartupWMClass=t3code to StartupWMClass=com.t3tools.T3Code in the .desktop file fixes this, now it launches/switches correctly
3. danielcommesse commented on Oct 30, 2026

   

   danielcommesse

   on Oct 30, 2026

   Last edited by danielcommesse

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   One shot fix

   mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications && \
   cp /usr/share/applications/t3code.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/t3code.desktop && \
   sed -i 's/^StartupWMClass=.*/StartupWMClass=com.t3tools.T3Code/' ~/.local/share/applications/t3code.desktop
4. 0xKa commented on Nov 1, 2026

   

   0xKa

   on Nov 1, 2026

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   This looks like the same root cause as #13975, which open PR #10895 fixes. The installed t3code.desktop says StartupWMClass=t3code, but the window's class (and Wayland app id) is com.t3tools.T3Code. I confirmed that value on KDE Plasma Wayland: #10895 (comment)

   Because the two don't match, GNOME likely doesn't see the running window as belonging to that launcher. So selecting it starts a new process, which hands off to the running instance, and GNOME shows "T3 Code is ready" instead of switching. Your workaround is the same one-line change #10895 makes.

   On KDE Plasma 6.8.2 (Wayland), launching again while T3 Code is running brings the existing window forward with either value, so this symptom seems to be GNOME-specific.

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by Daniel Commesse
5. shahwaizse commented on Nov 5, 2026

   

   shahwaizse

   on Nov 5, 2026

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   Another confirmation of this root cause, on the .deb with a different symptom: a duplicate dock icon. The closing note on #13975 said the separate dock entry was still open, and this comment gives fresh evidence for that part.

   What happened: With T3 Code pinned to the Ubuntu Dock, clicking the pin leaves it in the not-running state. A second T3 Code icon appears after the dock separator, and that's the one holding the running window.

   Environment

   • T3 Code 0.1.7, installed from the GitHub release .deb
   • Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS, GNOME Shell 50.1, Wayland, ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com enabled

   Diagnosis

   • The packaged /usr/share/applications/t3code.desktop sets StartupWMClass=t3code.
   • The 0.1.7 bundle calls setDesktopName("com.t3tools.T3Code.desktop") at startup and rewrites a hidden ~/.local/share/applications/com.t3tools.T3Code.desktop (NoDisplay=true, no StartupWMClass). On this machine that file's timestamp was one second after process start.
   • main still has StartupWMClass: "t3code" in scripts/build-desktop-artifact.ts and the same setDesktopName call, checked 2026-11-06, so current nightlies should still be affected. I didn't test a nightly.

   Workaround confirmed on GNOME: The one-shot fix above resolves the dock symptom too. After a user-level copy of t3code.desktop with StartupWMClass=com.t3tools.T3Code, and a full quit and relaunch, the window groups under the existing pin and the extra icon is gone. The pin didn't need to be recreated. I didn't test the Activities notification symptom from this issue.

   This supports the launcher change in #10895, which is what the workaround does by hand.

   ---

   Produced with t3 triage by Claude Code (Claude Opus 5.5), with a human reviewing before posting.

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by Daniel Commesse
6. juliusmarminge commented on Nov 11, 2026

   

   juliusmarminge

   on Nov 11, 2026

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   Fixed by #10895, now on main: With a build containing this merge and its updated desktop launcher installed, selecting T3 Code in GNOME Activities should switch directly to the running window instead of showing a readiness notification: the merge applies the exact StartupWMClass correction the reporter confirmed fixes this behavior.

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by Daniel Commesse
7. juliusmarminge

   closed this as completedon Nov 11, 2026