This release marks 10 years of Add Username to Top Panel — first published on September 4, 2016. To celebrate, we’re shipping the most feature-rich update in the extension’s history.

What’s New

Preferences Panel (Issue #29)

A complete settings interface built with libadwaita, accessible from GNOME Extensions preferences. All customization options are now available in one place.

Template Variables & Real-Time Updates (Issue #30)

Personalize your display text using template variables:

• %u — login username
• %U — display name
• %h — hostname

Settings changes apply instantly without restarting GNOME Shell.

Position Control (Issue #31)

Choose where your username appears in the top panel:

• Left — before other indicators
• Center — between left and right groups
• Right — after other indicators (default)

Spacing & Font Size (Issue #32)

Fine-tune the visual appearance:

• Left spacing — gap before the username (default: 10px)
• Right spacing — gap after the username (default: 10px)
• Font size — scale the text independently of the panel default

Reset buttons with confirmation dialogs make it easy to return to defaults.

Breaking Changes

• The default right spacing is now 10px (was 0px) to provide visual separation from other indicators.

Installation

Update to the latest version:

gnome-extensions install add-username-toppanel@brendaw.com.zip

Or install from GNOME Extensions.

Full Changelog

See the CHANGELOG for complete details.