The Aggressive Window Snapping
Ubuntu Linux, utilizing the GNOME desktop environment, includes a window management feature designed to help users quickly utilize their entire screen. If you click and drag a window by its title bar and move it close to the top edge of your monitor, Ubuntu will automatically snap that window into a full-screen, maximized state. While this is a convenient shortcut for some, it is incredibly annoying for users who prefer to manually arrange overlapping, floating windows. If you accidentally brush the top edge of the screen while repositioning a small terminal window, it abruptly explodes to cover your entire display, forcing you to manually click the “Restore” button to shrink it back down to size.
How to Disable Window Maximization via GNOME Tweaks
The standard Ubuntu Settings application does not expose the toggle for this edge-snapping behavior. You need to use the official “GNOME Tweaks” utility to disable it.
1. Open your terminal application.
2. Install the Tweaks tool by running the following command (enter your password if prompted):
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks
3. Once the installation is complete, close the terminal.
4. Open your application launcher and search for Tweaks. Click the icon to launch the application.
5. In the left-hand navigation sidebar of the Tweaks window, click on Windows.
6. Look for the toggle switch labelled Edge Tiling.
7. Click the switch to turn it Off.
By disabling Edge Tiling, you completely turn off the operating system’s automatic window snapping behavior. You can now drag windows to the absolute top edge of your screen, and they will remain floating at their current size without unexpectedly maximizing.
How to Disable Window Maximization via dconf Editor
If you prefer not to install the Tweaks application, you can achieve the exact same result by modifying the system registry database directly.
1. Open your terminal.
2. Run the following command to instantly disable edge tiling:
gsettings set org.gnome.mutter edge-tiling false
The change takes effect immediately without requiring a system reboot or a logout. If you ever want to re-enable the feature in the future, simply run the same command again, replacing `false` with `true`.