Ubuntu (and the GNOME desktop environment) relies heavily on third-party extensions to customize the interface. By default, if you have installed extensions via the GNOME Extensions website or the Extension Manager app, the system will periodically check for updates and install them automatically in the background.
While keeping software updated is generally good practice, GNOME extensions are notoriously fragile. Because they hook directly into the core desktop shell, a bad automatic update to a single extension can completely crash your desktop, leaving you staring at a broken interface or a frozen screen. If you have a perfectly stable, customized desktop, you should disable automatic extension updates to ensure an unexpected patch doesn’t ruin your workflow.
How to Stop GNOME Extensions from Automatically Updating
You can disable the auto-update mechanism using the official GNOME Extensions application.
- Open your application grid and launch the Extensions app. (Note: This is the official green puzzle-piece icon app built by GNOME, not the blue third-party Extension Manager).
- If you do not have it installed, open a terminal and run:
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-prefs - Once the Extensions app is open, look for the gear icon (or three vertical dots) in the top-right corner of the window’s title bar.
- Click the gear icon to open the preferences menu.
- You will see a single toggle switch labelled Check for Updates or Automatic Updates.
- Click the toggle switch to turn it completely Off.
Your GNOME shell is now locked in its current state. Your extensions will continue to work exactly as they do right now, but they will never update themselves. If you want to update them in the future, you will need to manually visit the extensions website or use the Extension Manager tool to pull the updates yourself.