History

Florian Müllner bb78a0083a doc: Add README for toolbox tooling Now that we have a collection of scripts around the toolbox workflow, it makes sense to add a brief overview over the available tools. For now it's just located in the corresponding tools folder, but it gives us something to point to once we overhaul the toplevel documentation as part of the wiki migration. Part-of: <https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell/-/merge_requests/3040>		2023-12-04 16:30:14 +00:00
..
create-toolbox.sh	tools/toolbox: Set up first toolbox as default	2023-12-01 15:58:21 +00:00
meson-build.sh	tools/toolbox: Add build convenience script	2023-12-01 15:58:21 +00:00
README.md	doc: Add README for toolbox tooling	2023-12-04 16:30:14 +00:00
run-gnome-shell.sh	tools/toolbox: Add run convenience script	2023-12-01 15:58:21 +00:00

README.md

Toolbox tools

Toolbox is a container tool for Linux, which allows the use of interactive command line environments for development, without having to install software on the host.

It is suitable for gnome-shell development, and we maintain a number of scripts to make its use easier and more convenient.

create-toolbox.sh

Create a new toolbox for gnome-shell development.

The new toolbox uses a custom container image that includes all dependencies except mutter. Mutter is developed in lock-step with gnome-shell, and therefore needs to be updated more regularly than the image. The toolbox includes the update-mutter command that takes care of this, which is usually run by the script when creating the toolbox.

When called with the --builder option, the script also sets up build configuration for the GNOME Builder IDE, which allows building and running gnome-shell from within the app.

For other options, run the script with --help.

meson-build.sh

Build and install a meson project in a toolbox.

gnome-shell uses the meson build system, and doesn't require any build steps other than the standard meson commands. It is still convenient to have a single command to enter a toolbox and setup, compile and install the project.

Run the script with --help to see available options.

run-gnome-shell.sh

Run gnome-shell from a toolbox.

The script can be used both from within a graphical session and from a TTY. It takes care of isolating the nested shell from the host session, and setting up the environment to allow apps to launch inside the nested instance.

It also provides useful options for development, like running from gdb, or simulating multiple monitors or a greeter session.

Run the script with --help to see all available options.