Loadshed

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GNOME Shell extension for pausing selected background maintenance services from Quick Settings.

The extension delegates privileged work to /usr/local/bin/loadshed-helper. The helper reads and writes root-owned units in /etc/loadshed/units.json and uses systemctl freeze/systemctl thaw for services. Timers configured next to a service are stopped while paused and only restarted if the helper stopped them. While the Quick Settings button is paused, refreshes enforce that state again for configured services that start later.

Screenshots

Install

git clone https://github.com/shell-extensions/loadshed
cd loadshed
./install.sh

install.sh compiles the schemas, packs the extension bundle, installs it with gnome-extensions install -f, and sets up the privileged helper, configuration, and sudoers rule in one step.

Log out and back in, then enable:

gnome-extensions enable loadshed@yurij.de

The source checkout is named loadshed, while the GNOME Shell UUID and installed extension directory are loadshed@yurij.de. The helper, config directory, gettext domain, and settings schema all use the Loadshed name.

Configure Services

Open the extension preferences in GNOME Extensions to add, remove, save, reload, or restore the built-in maintenance catalog. The default catalog is installed only when /etc/loadshed/units.json does not already exist; updates keep your existing configuration. Each service can be enabled or disabled independently. Disabling or replacing a service while the pause button is active releases only that service; the other managed services remain paused.

Run ./install.sh after updating the extension so the helper and sudoers rules include the configuration and enforce commands.

Advanced users can still edit /etc/loadshed/units.json as root. Built-in catalog entries are marked optional, so services not installed on the machine are ignored silently. Custom entries are not optional by default, so mistakes remain visible in the menu. Entry format:

[
  {
    "id": "aide",
    "label": "AIDE daily check",
    "service": "dailyaidecheck.service",
    "timer": "dailyaidecheck.timer",
    "optional": true,
    "enabled": true
  }
]

Snap daemons are normal systemd units and can be added here too. For example, Snap usually exposes a daemon as snap.<snap-name>.<service-name>.service. Use the exact unit name shown by systemd/snap for that daemon.

Extension switches

Not everything worth pausing is a systemd unit. The supported Folder Size extension scans folder sizes in Nautilus, Caja, or Nemo and stores its scan toggle in ~/.config/foldersize.conf. Loadshed ships a Folder Size file-target preset that sets FolderSize:auto_scan=false while paused and restores the previous state on resume. The target is handled in the user session, so no root helper is needed for this switch.

Loadshed can also toggle arbitrary GSettings booleans together with the pause button. This is configured in Preferences under "GSettings switches", separately from the systemd service list. Each entry has a schema id, a key, and the value the key should hold while paused; entries are validated (schema installed, key exists and is boolean) before being used, and unavailable ones are skipped silently rather than breaking the extension.

Before changing a managed boolean or file-backed switch, Loadshed records its current value. Resume restores that exact value instead of assuming the opposite of the pause value. The saved state also survives a GNOME Shell restart. The same rule applies to another extension's Quick Settings visibility: a toggle that was already hidden remains hidden after Loadshed stops managing it.

Most extensions compile their schema only inside their own extension directory rather than installing it system-wide, so it won't be found by plain schema lookup. If that happens ("Schema not installed" in Preferences even though the extension is installed), set the entry's "Extension UUID" field (e.g. foldersize@yurij.de) — Loadshed then also looks in that extension's own schemas/ directory, the same way GNOME Shell resolves an extension's own settings.

If an entry's target extension also has its own Quick Settings toggle (like Folder Size's "Scan on/off"), that toggle becomes redundant once Loadshed manages it — set as own_toggle_key, it gets hidden automatically while managed here and reappears once you disable the switch or Loadshed itself, provided it was visible before Loadshed took control.

Desktop apps

Desktop apps that are not systemd services can be configured in Preferences under "Desktop apps". This is intended for apps such as Flatpak Signal, where GNOME autostart launches a .desktop file instead of a .service unit. The default configuration includes Signal:

{
  "id": "signal",
  "label": "Signal",
  "kind": "flatpak",
  "app_id": "org.signal.Signal",
  "desktop_id": "org.signal.Signal.desktop",
  "enabled": true
}

kind may be flatpak or snap. Flatpak targets are stopped with flatpak kill <app_id>. Snap desktop apps are matched by their process command and stopped with SIGTERM. Resume only restarts an app if Loadshed found it running when pause was activated. If no start command is configured, Loadshed resumes Flatpak apps with flatpak run <app_id> and Snap apps with snap run <app_id>. Set a start command only when an app needs a different launcher or extra flags, for example a tray/background option.

Manual Recovery

sudo /usr/local/bin/loadshed-helper status
sudo /usr/local/bin/loadshed-helper resume
sudo /usr/local/bin/loadshed-helper config-get

License

Loadshed is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later (GPL-3.0-or-later). See the LICENSE file for the full text.