I decided to make a simple script to backup and restore all my user extensions by their IDs. This script will not backup source code or a config files, just create a list of installed user extensions.

Features

• Save – Backs up all user-installed extension IDs to a file
• List – Shows all currently installed user extensions with their status (active/inactive)
• Install – Automatically downloads and installs extensions from backup file
• Version compatibility check – Verifies each extension supports your GNOME Shell version before installation
• Smart filtering – Automatically excludes system extensions (from /usr/share)
• Flexible paths – Save backups to custom locations or use the default location
• Progress tracking – Shows installation progress with success/failure counts

Requirements

• GNOME Shell with gnome-extensions command
• curl (for downloading extensions)
• Internet connection (for installing extensions)

Usage

Save Your Extensions

Save all currently installed user extensions to the default backup file:

./gnome-extensions-backup.sh save

Save to a custom file in the script directory:

./gnome-extensions-backup.sh save my-extensions.txt

Save to an absolute path:

./gnome-extensions-backup.sh save /tmp/backup.txt

List Installed Extensions

Show all currently installed user extensions with their status:

./gnome-extensions-backup.sh list

Install Extensions from Backup

Install all extensions from the default backup file:

./gnome-extensions-backup.sh install

Install from a custom backup file:

./gnome-extensions-backup.sh install my-extensions.txt

Get Help

./gnome-extensions-backup.sh help

How It Works

1. Saving: The script uses gnome-extensions list to get all installed extensions, filters out system extensions (located in /usr/share), and saves the remaining user extension IDs to a text file.
2. Installing:
   • Detects your current GNOME Shell version
   • Reads extension IDs from the backup file
   • For each extension, checks if it’s compatible with your GNOME Shell version
   • If compatible, downloads the extension zip file from extensions.gnome.org
   • Installs it using gnome-extensions install
   • If incompatible, shows which GNOME Shell versions are supported
3. Smart handling: Already installed extensions are skipped. Failed installations don’t stop the process – the script continues with remaining extensions and provides a summary at the end.

Default Backup Location

By default, backups are saved to:

<script-directory>/gnome-extensions-backup.txt

Notes

• System extensions (pre-installed with GNOME) are automatically excluded from backups
• After installing extensions, you may need to:
  • Restart GNOME Shell: Press Alt+F2, type r, press Enter (X11 only)
  • Or log out and log back in (Wayland)
• The script automatically detects your GNOME Shell version and installs compatible extension versions
• Extensions that fail to install won’t stop the script – it will continue with the remaining extensions

Source code is here