Gershwin Desktop
Shares rank 12 of 24 desktop environments by recommenders
A free, macOS-like desktop environment built on GNUstep that people find promising for its early progress; the most common caveat is that its UI is still inconsistent and far from finished.
A free, macOS-like desktop environment built on GNUstep that people find promising for its early progress; the most common caveat is that its UI is still inconsistent and far from finished.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Expected to improve with more time
“there is a strange inconsistency of UI elements, but I look forward to seeing how this ends up”
Comment from 4 Jan 2026 in “Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep” “I think given a little more time here this year Gershwin will catch up so to speak”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep” Seen as exciting progress for GNUstep
“I think each project has a place, and a role in promoting GNUstep”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep” “this is the most exciting development I've seen since Étoilé”
Comment from 4 Jan 2026 in “Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Inconsistent UI and mixed visual styles
“there is a strange inconsistency of UI elements, but I look forward to seeing how this ends up”
Comment from 4 Jan 2026 in “Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep” “The screenshot shows a mix of styles.”
Comment from 4 Jan 2026 in “Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep” Still far from finished
“Admittedly gershwin or similar have a long way to go”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “The struggle of resizing windows on macOS Tahoe”
Other desktop environments people recommend
The four most recommended other desktop environments, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KDE Plasma | 650 | 264 | 71% | 13 | 2 yrs79 owners | Approved |
| GNOME | 340 | 464 | 42% | 12 | 5 yrs29 owners | — |
| Xfce | 183 | 48 | 79% | 12 | 10 yrs29 owners | Approved |
| COSMIC desktop | 75 | 28 | 73% | 12 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Gershwin DesktopThis page | 10 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It looks really cool for those Apple folk among us”
“Admittedly gershwin or similar have a long way to go”
“I'm hoping something like this takes off on FreeBSD”
“I think given a little more time here this year Gershwin will catch up so to speak”
“I think each project has a place, and a role in promoting GNUstep”
“There is no better validation”
“there is a strange inconsistency of UI elements, but I look forward to seeing how this ends up”
“The screenshot shows a mix of styles.”
“this is the most exciting development I've seen since Étoilé”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.