Gnome 49: nested sessions no longer possible?

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When developing extensions, previously it was possible to run a nested session to test out your plugin via:

dbus-run-session -- gnome-shell --nested --wayland

However, as of Gnome 49.beta1, the option is removed:

➜  ~ dbus-run-session -- gnome-shell --nested --wayland
Failed to configure: Unknown option --nested

and the page docs/extensions/development/creating.md · main · World / JavaScript / gjs-guide · GitLab does not mention any replacement. (nor are my searches yielding anything promising)

Is there a new method? I’m resorting to logging in as another user with a separate TTY, which works, but isn’t super great.

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The nested mode was dependent on the X11 backend, so if the X11 backend is disabled, which is now the default, the nested mode is no longer available.

The replacement for the nested mode is called “development kit”, so now instead run dbus-run-session -- gnome-shell --devkitto get a nested shell instance.

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Ok, FYI for others seeing this post.

You might see that command complain that mutter-devkit binary is missing

(gnome-shell:740984): libmutter-WARNING **: 04:14:29.485: Failed to launch devkit: Failed to execute child process “/usr/libexec/mutter-devkit” (No such file or directory)

For fellow Ubuntu users: you need to install the package mutter-dev-bin. For other distros, you’ll need to search for the package that provides it.

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