Deskmeter GNOME Task Indicator

A GNOME Shell extension that displays your current deskmeter task in the top panel, positioned to the left of the panel indicators.

Prerequisites

GNOME Shell (versions 40-47 supported)
Deskmeter web server running on http://localhost:10000
The /api/current_task endpoint must be accessible

Installation

Copy the extension to your GNOME extensions directory:

cp -r /home/mariano/wdir/dm/gnome-extension/deskmeter-indicator@local ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/

Restart GNOME Shell:
- On X11: Press Alt+F2, type r, and press Enter
- On Wayland: Log out and log back in
Enable the extension:

gnome-extensions enable deskmeter-indicator@local

Or use GNOME Extensions app (install with sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-prefs if needed).

Configuration

The extension updates automatically when you switch workspaces. It waits 2.2 seconds after a workspace switch to allow dmcore (which polls every 2 seconds) to detect the change and update MongoDB.

You can adjust the delay in extension.js:

const DEBOUNCE_DELAY = 2200; // milliseconds

The API URL is set to:

const DESKMETER_API_URL = 'http://localhost:10000/api/current_task';

Uninstallation

gnome-extensions disable deskmeter-indicator@local
rm -rf ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/deskmeter-indicator@local

Then restart GNOME Shell.

Updating the Extension

After making changes to the extension code:

# Use the update script
cd /home/mariano/wdir/dm/gnome-extension
./update.sh

# Then restart GNOME Shell (X11 only)
Alt+F2, type: r, press Enter

# On Wayland: log out and back in

Or manually:

cp -r /home/mariano/wdir/dm/gnome-extension/deskmeter-indicator@local \
  ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/
# Then restart GNOME Shell

Troubleshooting

Extension not showing

Check if the extension is enabled:
```
gnome-extensions list --enabled
```

Check for errors:

journalctl -f -o cat /usr/bin/gnome-shell

Try disabling and re-enabling:

gnome-extensions disable deskmeter-indicator@local
gnome-extensions enable deskmeter-indicator@local

Shows "offline" or "error"

Ensure dmweb Flask server is running on port 10000
Test the API endpoint:
```
curl http://localhost:10000/api/current_task
```
Should return JSON like: {"task_id":"12345678","task_path":"work/default"}

Changes not appearing

Make sure you copied files after editing
GNOME Shell must be restarted (no way around this)
Check logs for JavaScript errors: journalctl -b -o cat /usr/bin/gnome-shell | grep deskmeter

Debug with Looking Glass

Press Alt+F2, type lg, press Enter. Go to Extensions tab to see if the extension loaded and check for errors.

Task path too long

The extension automatically truncates paths longer than 40 characters, showing only the last two segments with a .../ prefix.

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