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Alexey Chernov
Asked: 2019-04-17 00:49:59 +0800 CST

How can I add "Google results" as a search provider in GNOME shell?

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When I press the Super key I see the Overview window. From here I can search current open windows, files, Software Senter, etc, but I couldn't find how to make it search in Google. Looks like there should be a search provider for it, but I couldn't find it in GNOME Extensions portal.

Am I missing something?

My setup is GNOME Shell 3.32.0 (Ubuntu)

Overview

gnome gnome-shell gnome-shell-extension

2 Answers

  1. The google search provider is available in the gnome extensions portal here.

    It's reported to work with gnome-shell v.3.18.5 but I personally haven't tested it.

    One alternative is the Web Search Dialog extension available here or on the project page here

    It's pretty old and hasn't been updated in years but you might be able to get it to work by changing the version number in metadate.json

    Another alternative would be to simply do your web searches from within your favorite browser. Personally I've found this approach to be highly effective.

    A third alternative would be to develop your own using the data available here.

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  2. There is a GNOME Shell extension on GitHub called Web Search Provider for GNOME Shell that lets you add different web search providers.

    Note that adding Extensions from non trusted sources is unsupported, not recommended and you may encounter stability and/or security issues.

    Now if you still want to set it up, download the extension:

    git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/mrakow/gnome-shell-web-search-provider ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/[email protected]

    Edit config.json file:

    gedit ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/[email protected]/config.json

    And replace its content with the following:

    {
  "searchEngines": {
    "Google Search": {
      "urlTemplate": "https://www.google.com/search?q={searchTerms}",
      "iconPath": "/usr/share/icons/gnome/256x256/actions/search.png"
    }
  }
}

    Restart GNOME Shell: Alt+F2, r, then Enter. Or logout and login again (for Wayland).

    Enable the Web Search Provider extension in GNOME Tweaks or at https://extensions.gnome.org/local.

    Now a Google Search entry should appear whenever you use GNOME Shell search.

    Tested on Ubuntu 19.04

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