en	[[!meta title="Introduction to GNOME and the Tails desktop"]]

en	The desktop environment used in Tails is [GNOME](https://www.gnome.org). This page describes some important features of the desktop in the context of Tails.

en	[[!toc levels=3]]

en	Top navigation bar

en	In the upper left corner of the screen there is one button and three menus:

en	The Activities button

en	The **Applications** menu
pl	das **Anwendungen**-Menü

en	The **Places** menu
pl	das **Anwendungen**-Menü

en	Activities overview

en	To access your windows and applications you can either:

en	Click on the Activities button.

en	Throw your mouse pointer to the top-left hot corner.

en	Press the [[!img lib/start.png class="symbolic" link="no" alt="Super"]] key on your keyboard.

en	You can see your windows and applications in the overview. You can also start typing to search your applications, files, and folders.

en	Applications menu

en	The **Applications** menu provides shortcuts to the [[included software|about/features]] and to GNOME configuration utilities.

en	[[!img applications.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]

en	<div class="icon">

en	[[!img lib/apps/settings.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	<div class="text">

en	Settings

en	<p>To change various system settings such as keyboard, mouse, touchpad, or displays, choose <b>System Tools&nbsp;▸ Settings</b>.</p>

en	<div class="next">

en	By default, any setting that you change in Tails is lost when you shut down. Only the settings that you saved in the [[Persistent Storage|persistent_storage]] are restored when you restart Tails.

en	</div>

en	<div class="tip">

en	To learn about the many keyboard shortcuts in GNOME, open the Settings. At the bottom of the Keyboard section, choose View and Customize Shortcuts.

en	</div>

en	</div>

en	[[!img lib/apps/help-about.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	About Tails

en	<p>To know the version of Tails that you are currently running, choose <b>Tails</b>&nbsp;▸ <b>About Tails</b>.</p>

en	[[!img lib/apps/help-browser.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	Help

en	<p>To access the <b>GNOME Desktop Help</b>, choose <b>Utilities</b>&nbsp;▸ <b>Help</b>.</p>

en	Favorites submenu

en	In the **Favorites** submenu, a few shortcuts allow you to launch the most frequently used applications:

en	[[!img lib/apps/tor-browser.png link="no" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img help-browser.png link=no]]

en	Tor Browser allows you to browse the web anonymously and uncensored.

en	See [[browsing the web with Tor Browser|anonymous_internet/Tor_Browser]].

en	[[!img lib/apps/tor-connection.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	Tor Connection allows you to connect to the Tor network.

en	See [[connecting to Tor|anonymous_internet/tor]].

en	[[!img lib/apps/persistent_storage.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	Persistent Storage allows you to save some of your files and configuration in an encrypted Persistent Storage on your Tails USB stick.

en	See [[Persistent Storage|persistent_storage]].

en	Tails Documentation opens an offline version of the Tails website and documentation.

en	See our [[documentation|doc]].

en	[[!img lib/apps/whisperback.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	WhisperBack Error Reporting allows you to report problems to our team.

en	See [[reporting an error|whisperback]].

en	[[!img lib/apps/tails-installer.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	Tails Cloner allows you to clone your Tails to another USB stick and back up your Persistent Storage.

en	See [[installing by cloning from another Tails on PC|install/clone]].

en	</div> </div>
pl	</div>

en	[[!img lib/apps/thunderbird.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	Thunderbird allows you to write emails and read RSS and Atom feeds.

en	See [[emailing and reading news with Thunderbird|anonymous_internet/thunderbird]].

en	[[!img lib/apps/keepassxc.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	KeePassXC allows you to store and manage secure passwords.

en	See [[managing passwords with KeePassXC|encryption_and_privacy/manage_passwords]].

en	[[!img lib/apps/kleopatra.png link="no" alt=""]]

en	Kleopatra allows you to encrypt text and files using GnuPG.

en	See [[encrypting text and files using GnuPG and Kleopatra|encryption_and_privacy/kleopatra]].

en	Places menu

en	The **Places** menu provides direct access to different folders and storage media.

en	[[!img places.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img places.png link=no alt=""]]

en	Tor status and circuits
pl	Status und Kanäle von Tor

en	The Tor status icon ([[!img lib/symbolic/tor-disconnected.png alt="Tor status menu" link="no" class="symbolic"]] or [[!img lib/symbolic/tor-connected.png alt="Tor status menu" link="no" class="symbolic"]]) provides a shortcut to *Onion Circuits*, which allows you to manage the Tor circuits being used by Tails.

en	[[!img tor_status.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img places.png link=no alt=""]]

en	[[See our documentation on *Onion Circuits*.|anonymous_internet/tor/circuits]]

en	Accessibility

en	The accessibility menu allows you to activate the screen reader, screen keyboard, large text display, and other assistive technologies.

en	[[!img accessibility.png link="no" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img accessibility.png link=no alt=""]]

en	[[See our documentation on accessibility.|accessibility]]

en	Keyboard layouts

en	The keyboard layout menu allow you to change the keyboard layout and input method for non-Latin scripts.

en	[[!img keyboard.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img keyboard.png link=no alt=""]]

en	System menu

en	In the top-right corner of the top navigation bar, the system menu allows you to manage your settings, connect to a Wi-Fi network, and restart your computer.

en	[[!img system-with-wired.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img system.png link=no alt=""]]

en	Networking

en	From the system menu, you can choose which Wi-Fi network to connect to.

en	See also the documentation on [[connecting to a network|anonymous_internet/networkmanager]].

en	Screen locker

en	Click on **Lock screen** to lock your screen with a password.

en	If you set up an [[administration password|first_steps/welcome_screen/administration_password]] when starting Tails, you can unlock your screen with your administration password.

en	<div class="tip"> <p>Your screen will automatically lock after some time if you have set up an administration password. To disable this behavior, execute the following command in a terminal:</p>

en	gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-enabled false

en	Otherwise, you can set up a password to unlock your screen when locking your screen for the first time.

en	[[!img screen_locker.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img screen-locker.png alt="" link="no"]]

en	Suspend

en	Click **Suspend** to suspend your computer.

en	While suspended, your computer is not computing anymore but is still powered on, like if it was standing still but still alive.

en	To resume from suspend and go back to the Tails desktop, push the power button of your computer.

en	<div class="caution">

en	If you remove your Tails USB stick while suspended, your computer will not shut down immediately and will only shut down when resuming.

en	An attacker with physical access to your computer and capable of finding your screen locker password or setting up a [[cold boot attack|doc/advanced_topics/cold_boot_attacks]] can compromise your Tails while suspended.

en	For more security, [[shut down Tails|doc/first_steps/shutdown]] entirely.

en	Dark Mode and Night Light

en	From the system menu, you can switch between:

en	The default *light* mode with colder colors and more brightness

en	[[!img light.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]

en	A *dark* mode

en	[[!img dark.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]

en	A *night light* mode with warmer colors and less brightness

en	[[!img night.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]

en	A combination of both the *dark* mode and *night light* mode

en	[[!img dark_night.png link="no" class="screenshot" alt=""]]

en	Keyboard shortcuts

en	To learn about all keyboard shortcuts in GNOME visit [GNOME Help: Useful keyboard shortcuts](https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/stable/shell-keyboard-shortcuts.html.en) or use the *Settings* application in Tails:

en	Choose **Applications&nbsp;▸ Settings**.

en	In the *Settings* application, choose **Keyboard&nbsp;▸ Keyboard Shortcuts&nbsp;▸ View and Customize Shortcuts**.

en	The Files browser
pl	das **Anwendungen**-Menü

en	To open the *Files* browser, you can either:

en	- Choose <span class="menuchoice"> **Applications**&nbsp;▸ **Accessories**&nbsp;▸ **Files**</span>.

en	Open one of the shortcuts from the **Places** menu.

en	[[!img lib/apps/files.png link="no" alt=""]]
pl	[[!img places.png link=no alt=""]]

en	To connect to a remote SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) server:

en	Choose **Other Locations** in the sidebar of the *Files* browser.

en	Specify an SFTP server in **Connect to Server** at the bottom of the right pane. For example:

en	ssh://user@example.com/

en	Click **Connect**.