GNOME Session Save and Restore Utility

Save and restore your GNOME desktop window layouts (positions, workspaces, states) and applications with this command-line tool.

Improved version by ismdevteam

Features

• Window state preservation:
  • Workspace assignments
  • Geometry (position/size)
  • States: Maximized, Minimized, Fullscreen, Shaded
  • New: "Always on Top" (_NET_WM_STATE_ABOVE)
  • New: "Always on Visible Workspace" (_NET_WM_STATE_STICKY)
• Application restoration:
  • Restart missing applications
  • Smart window-to-application matching
  • Custom commands for special cases (e.g., GNOME Terminal)
• Flexible session management:
  • Multiple session profiles
  • Partial restoration modes

Installation

Dependencies

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install perl wmctrl x11-utils xdotool

RHEL/CentOS

sudo yum install perl wmctrl xorg-x11-utils xdotool

Install Script

wget https://github.com/ismdevteam/session/raw/main/session
chmod +x session
sudo mv session /usr/local/bin

Usage

Save current session

session save

Restore window layouts (default)

session restore

Restore and launch missing apps

session restore missing

Advanced Options

Use custom session file

session --session=~/work-layout.session save
session --session=~/work-layout.session restore

Debug output (levels 1-3)

session --debug=3 restore

Restoration modes:

session restore existing   # Only existing windows
session restore matching  # Match windows by properties (default)
session restore missing   # Launch missing applications

Configuration

Customizing Application Handling

Edit the %exceptions hash in the script to:

- Add self-managed applications (e.g., Firefox, LibreOffice)

- Define custom launch commands

- Exclude non-application windows

Session Files

Default location: ~/.config/gnome-session/session.ini Custom paths can be specified with --session Known Limitations

- Application state (e.g., open documents) is not restored - only window layouts

- Some tiled window states (e.g., Super+Left/Right) may not restore perfectly

- Multi-monitor setups may require additional testing

Troubleshooting

For bug reports, include:

- Full debug output: session --debug=3 restore

- Your desktop environment info

- Session file sample (if relevant)

License

GNU GPLv3 - See LICENSE file.

Based on original work by Arnon Weinberg, with improvements by ismdevteam

Key improvements:

1. Added new features in the "Features" section (Always on Top/Visible Workspace)
2. Reorganized content with clear sections
3. Updated dependency instructions for major distros
4. Clarified restoration modes and their use cases
5. Added troubleshooting guidelines
6. Modernized formatting with better Markdown structure
7. Removed outdated references to the old version
8. Added license notice