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The gnome role automatically configures GNOME desktop environment settings using the community.general.dconf module. All settings are applied idempotently through Ansible.

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Configuration Overview

GNOME settings are managed in ansible/roles/gnome/tasks/settings.yml and cover:
  • Color scheme (dark mode)
  • Clock display options
  • Power management settings

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Current Settings

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Dark Mode

Enables GNOME’s dark color scheme preference: 
- name: Set GNOME Color Scheme to Dark Mode
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/interface/color-scheme"
    value: "'prefer-dark'"
    state: present
Effect: Applications and the desktop environment will use dark themes when available.

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Clock Settings

Configures the top bar clock to show the date and hide seconds: 
- name: Configure GNOME Clock (show date)
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/interface/clock-show-date"
    value: "true"
    state: present

- name: Configure GNOME Clock (hide seconds)
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/interface/clock-show-seconds"
    value: "false"
    state: present
Effect: The top bar clock displays the date but not seconds (e.g., “Mon Mar 4” instead of just the time).

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Power Settings

Disables automatic sleep when on AC power: 
- name: Configure GNOME Power Settings (disable sleep on AC)
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power/sleep-inactive-ac-type"
    value: "'nothing'"
    state: present
Effect: The system will never automatically sleep when plugged in to AC power.

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Complete settings.yml File

From ansible/roles/gnome/tasks/settings.yml: 
---
- name: Set GNOME Color Scheme to Dark Mode
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/interface/color-scheme"
    value: "'prefer-dark'"
    state: present

- name: Configure GNOME Clock (show date)
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/interface/clock-show-date"
    value: "true"
    state: present

- name: Configure GNOME Clock (hide seconds)
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/interface/clock-show-seconds"
    value: "false"
    state: present

- name: Configure GNOME Power Settings (disable sleep on AC)
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/power/sleep-inactive-ac-type"
    value: "'nothing'"
    state: present

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Running GNOME Configuration

# Run the entire GNOME role
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml --tags gnome

# Run only settings (same effect for this role)
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml --tags settings

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Adding New GNOME Settings

To add additional GNOME settings:

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1. Find the dconf Key

Use dconf watch / to monitor changes as you modify settings through GNOME Settings: 
dconf watch /
# Make changes in GNOME Settings
# Watch for the keys that change
Or dump current settings: 
dconf dump /org/gnome/desktop/

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2. Add Task to settings.yml

Add a new task to ansible/roles/gnome/tasks/settings.yml: 
- name: Your setting description
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/path/to/setting"
    value: "'your-value'"  # Note the quotes for strings
    state: present

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3. Value Format Notes

String values: Use single quotes inside double quotes 
value: "'prefer-dark'"
Boolean values: No quotes 
value: "true"
value: "false"
Integer values: No quotes 
value: "30"
Arrays: Use GVariant format 
value: "['item1', 'item2']"

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Common GNOME Settings

Here are some commonly customized settings you might want to add:

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Window Management

# Focus on hover
- name: Enable focus-follows-mouse
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/wm/preferences/focus-mode"
    value: "'sloppy'"
    state: present

# Show minimize/maximize buttons
- name: Configure window buttons
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/wm/preferences/button-layout"
    value: "'appmenu:minimize,maximize,close'"
    state: present

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Keyboard Settings

# Faster key repeat
- name: Set keyboard repeat delay
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/peripherals/keyboard/delay"
    value: "250"
    state: present

- name: Set keyboard repeat interval
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/peripherals/keyboard/repeat-interval"
    value: "30"
    state: present

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Touchpad Settings

# Enable tap-to-click
- name: Enable touchpad tap-to-click
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/peripherals/touchpad/tap-to-click"
    value: "true"
    state: present

# Natural scrolling
- name: Enable natural scrolling
  community.general.dconf:
    key: "/org/gnome/desktop/peripherals/touchpad/natural-scroll"
    value: "true"
    state: present

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Dependencies

The GNOME role requires the community.general Ansible collection: 
ansible-galaxy collection install -r ansible/requirements.yml

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Idempotence

All dconf tasks are idempotent. The Ansible dconf module only makes changes when the current value differs from the desired value, so you can safely run the playbook multiple times.

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