[SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

SeagullFish · 2025-11-19 22:28:49

Hello.

After having successfully installed KDE Plasma (plasma-dekstop), I wanted to install several applications. For example, I started installing Firefox.

From pacman, I got notified that firefox depends on at-spi2-core, which further depends on gsettings-desktop-schemas.

Any package name starting with «gsettings» initially makes me think that it is a part of the Gnome desktop environment. But when I think about it again, I’m getting confused.

- If it is a part of Gnome, then this would indirectly mean that Firefox is dependent on Gnome. The same thing would also apply to any other software that is dependent on at-spi2-core, which I believe to be several applications that are not necessarily a part of the Gnome ecosystem, or even developed by the Gnome project. (For example the Pamac AUR helper.) In my mind, it makes limited sense to make mainstream applications such as Firefox dependent on components from one specific desktop environment, as this could reduce the scope of compatible platforms for the application. I assume that the developers wouldn’t want that.

- On the other hand, if it is not a part of Gnome, then why is it assigned such an insinuating package name? As far as I know, Gsettings is in fact an application developed by the Gnome project.

My question:
Do most users, in reality, have to install Gnome packages in order to run mainstream applications that are not really part of the Gnome ecosystem, even if the users are not intending to run the Gnome desktop environment?

Last edited by SeagullFish (2025-11-21 19:46:54)

lawmurray · 2025-11-20 06:48:04

What you are seeing are applications that use the GTK toolkit, which typically use GSettings to handle configuration. They are not necessarily part of the Gnome project though, or dependent on the whole Gnome desktop, they are just using the same toolkit on which the Gnome desktop and its apps are built, and so look similar, etc. Clearly Firefox is not, for example, part of Gnome (it's also a bit of a special case, using its own widget toolkit I believe, but elements of GTK for desktop integration).

GSettings is part of the GIO library, part of the GLib library, used by the GTK library. All of those libraries are maintained by the Gnome project, yes, but not all applications that use them are part of the Gnome project.

Regardless of which desktop environment you are using, a mix of apps that use the GTK, Qt (as used by KDE), and other toolkits (e.g. Electron) is very normal I would say. If you really want to avoid one or the other there are often alternatives, e.g. you may find Falkon (Qt) a worthy substitute for Firefox.

Last edited by lawmurray (2025-11-20 07:05:20)

seth · 2025-11-20 09:00:10

at-spi2 is gnome a11y stuff (basically screenreaders) several objects in FF and gtk3 link it, so it's not an optional plugin.
If you have a properly functioning porn reception infrastructure you can

export GTK_A11Y=none
export NO_AT_BRIDGE=1

and it should™ become dead weight on your disk but if you replace it w/ a dummy package you're most likely to run into linker resolution issues.

If this think this is bad, have a look at where gdk-pixbuf2 is used …

SeagullFish · 2025-11-20 22:10:48

lawmurray wrote:

What you are seeing are applications that use the GTK toolkit, which typically use GSettings to handle configuration. They are not necessarily part of the Gnome project though, or dependent on the whole Gnome desktop, they are just using the same toolkit on which the Gnome desktop and its apps are built, and so look similar, etc.
[...]
Regardless of which desktop environment you are using, a mix of apps that use the GTK, Qt (as used by KDE), and other toolkits (e.g. Electron) is very normal I would say. If you really want to avoid one or the other there are often alternatives, e.g. you may find Falkon (Qt) a worthy substitute for Firefox.

Thank you, that was clarifying. So what you are basically saying is this?
- Gnome and GTK are tied closely together.
- KDE and QT are tied closely together.
- GUI-applications are based on either GTK, QT, or something else, thus natively asking for a small portion of libraries belonging to one of the DE's, without actually asking for the complete DE?

It would seem impractical if, in reality, you always need to install several DE's, no matter which DE you choose to use, due to dependencies of individual applications.

seth wrote:

If you have a properly functioning porn reception infrastructure you can [...]

Uhh... ok? I don't quite get the connection with porn here... Was that a typo or something? (If that was supposed to be a joke, then sorry, I didn't catch it.)

seth · 2025-11-20 22:34:35

I don't quite get the connection with porn here...

It's, as mentioned, a screenreader infrastructure - you're not smelling porn, right?
(I mean, no kink shaming. You do you…)

So: "if you've working eyes you don't need a screenreader and may disable that"

On topic:
GTK and Qt are toolkits (QT is Apple QuickTime)
gnome uses GTK and KDE uses Qt and yes, despite gsettings-desktop-schemas you're not installing gnome-shell (the gnome desktop)
Firefox uses gtk, there're other browsers that don't, but I don't think you can run anything mozilla w/o gtk.

lawmurray · 2025-11-21 00:06:06

SeagullFish wrote:

Thank you, that was clarifying. So what you are basically saying is this?
- Gnome and GTK are tied closely together.
- KDE and QT are tied closely together.
- GUI-applications are based on either GTK, QT, or something else, thus natively asking for a small portion of libraries belonging to one of the DE's, without actually asking for the complete DE?

That's about it, yes. If we're being pedantic I'd choose a word other than "belonging". These toolkits are separate projects, although in the case of GTK and Gnome they're close.

Qt has a separate company behind it, and is used by many more projects than KDE. It's quite popular for Windows and Mac apps too, some Android even.

SeagullFish · 2025-11-21 19:46:42

seth wrote:

It's, as mentioned, a screenreader infrastructure - you're not smelling porn, right?
(I mean, no kink shaming. You do you…)

Oh, really? On several occasions in my life I have been accused of surprising things. But my experience is that the accuser usually knows others by himself/herself. So if that's what you really believe about me, then now I know a thing or two about you. Hehe.

seth wrote:

GTK and Qt are toolkits (QT is Apple QuickTime)

Very true. My bad. QuickTime haven't been around on any platform that I have been using for years now, so I had almost forgotten about that application.

seth wrote:

gnome uses GTK and KDE uses Qt and yes, despite gsettings-desktop-schemas you're not installing gnome-shell (the gnome desktop)

lawmurray wrote:

These toolkits are separate projects, although in the case of GTK and Gnome they're close.
Qt has a separate company behind it, and is used by many more projects than KDE. It's quite popular for Windows and Mac apps too, some Android even.

That is very clarifying. Thank you.

My question has been answered. Case [SOLVED].

Arch Linux

#1 2025-11-19 22:28:49

[SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

#2 2025-11-20 06:48:04

Re: [SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

#3 2025-11-20 09:00:10

Re: [SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

#4 2025-11-20 22:10:48

Re: [SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

#5 2025-11-20 22:34:35

Re: [SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

#6 2025-11-21 00:06:06

Re: [SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

#7 2025-11-21 19:46:42

Re: [SOLVED] Gnome components needed in KDE Plasma?

Board footer