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

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.

<h1 id="top-navigation-bar">Top navigation bar</h1>

<h3 id="favorites">Favorites submenu</h3>

<h2 id="tor-status">Tor status and circuits</h2>

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.

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

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

<h2 id="keyboard">Keyboard layouts</h2>

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

<h2 id="system">System menu</h2>

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.

<h3 id="networking">Networking</h3>

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

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

<h3 id="screen-locker">Screen locker</h3>

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.

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