Ubuntu 26.10, developer version, suddenly does not show, or populate, the file manager/file chooser when trying to save a page in Firefox, or Chrome. It has subsequently also broken uploading files to sites, using the "Upload" button does nothing.

Before you suggest I run the command "sudo apt install xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk", I already did, it did not resolve the issue.

I use Freecad since more than 5 years on Ubuntu.

Freecad, channel stable, doesn't start anymore on all my Ubuntu machines installed with Ubuntu 26.04 (kept up-to-date). Channel edge however, does start.

Summary of the error (when started "freecad" in the terminal):

"Failed to create wl_display (No such file or directory) (qt.qpa.plugin) From 6.5.0, xcb-cursor0 or libxcb-cursor0 is needed to load the Qt xcb platform plugin."

Full text of the error massage:

Warning: Schema “org.gnome.system.locale” has path “/system/locale/”.  Paths starting with “/apps/”, “/desktop/” or “/system/” are deprecated.
Warning: Schema “org.gnome.system.proxy” has path “/system/proxy/”.  Paths starting with “/apps/”, “/desktop/” or “/system/” are deprecated.
Warning: Schema “org.gnome.system.proxy.http” has path “/system/proxy/http/”.  Paths starting with “/apps/”, “/desktop/” or “/system/” are deprecated.
Warning: Schema “org.gnome.system.proxy.https” has path “/system/proxy/https/”.  Paths starting with “/apps/”, “/desktop/” or “/system/” are deprecated.
Warning: Schema “org.gnome.system.proxy.ftp” has path “/system/proxy/ftp/”.  Paths starting with “/apps/”, “/desktop/” or “/system/” are deprecated.
Warning: Schema “org.gnome.system.proxy.socks” has path “/system/proxy/socks/”.  Paths starting with “/apps/”, “/desktop/” or “/system/” are deprecated.
FreeCAD 1.1.1, Libs: 1.1.1R44227 +647 (Git)
(C) 2001-2026 FreeCAD contributors
FreeCAD is free and open-source software licensed under the terms of LGPL2+ license.

Adding snap-specific PYTHONPATH to sys.path: /home/harm/snap/freecad/common/.local/lib/python3.12/site-packages:/snap/freecad/2337/lib/python3.12/site-packages:/snap/freecad/2337/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages

Failed to create wl_display (No such file or directory)
(qt.qpa.plugin) From 6.5.0, xcb-cursor0 or libxcb-cursor0 is needed to load the Qt xcb platform plugin.
This application failed to start because no Qt platform plugin could be initialized. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

I’m facing issue booting Ubuntu 26 on arm. I m using a virtual environment. It seems that system is failing executing _STA Method as this method is calling another method with in parameter _UID. This value is the uid of a cpu device. Its value is patched at runtime to get the value which corresponds to the cpu id.

I made multiple tries and it seems the problem is due to the fact to use _UID as parameter. If I hard code the value everything is ok .

The same code was working fine on Ubuntu 24.

Is there any resolution to install the required drivers for Ralink RT3290, as it is not working after Ubuntu 26.04?

04:00.0 Network controller: Ralink corp. RT3290 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe  

Results of lsmod|grep cfg; sudo dmesg|grep -i firm:

hp_bioscfg              81920  0
snd_intel_dspcfg        45056  1 snd_hda_intel
snd_intel_sdw_acpi      16384  1 snd_intel_dspcfg
firmware_attributes_class    12288  1 hp_bioscfg
cfg80211              1536000  3 rt2x00lib,mac80211,rtl8xxxu
wmi                     36864  4 hp_wmi,video,hp_bioscfg,wmi_bmof
[sudo: authenticate] Password:
[    0.098677] Spectre V2 : Enabling Restricted Speculation for firmware calls
[    0.189735] ACPI: [Firmware Bug]: BIOS _OSI(Linux) query ignored
[    3.471982] wmi_bus wmi_bus-PNP0C14:00: [Firmware Info]: 8F1F6436-9F42-42C8-BADC-0E9424F20C9A has zero instances
[    6.355159] systemd[1]: systemd-hibernate-clear.service - Clear Stale Hibernate Storage Info skipped, unmet condition check ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware
/efi/efivars/HibernateLocation-8cf2644b-4b0b-428f-9387-6d876050dc67
[    9.277078] ACPI: video: [Firmware Bug]: ACPI(DGFX) defines _DOD but not _DOS
[    9.610418] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin
[    9.611369] usb 1-4: Firmware revision 28.0 (signature 0x88e1)
[   13.706004] ieee80211 phy1: rt2x00lib_request_firmware: Info - Loading firmware file 'rt3290.bin'
[   13.707669] ieee80211 phy1: rt2x00lib_request_firmware: Info - Firmware detected - version: 0.37
[   27.134117] audit: type=1400 audit(1784030634.691:302): apparmor="DENIED" operation="open" class="file" profile="snap-update-ns.firmware-updater" name="/run/
gdm3/home/gdm-greeter/" pid=3402 comm="snap-update-ns" requested_mask="r" denied_mask="r" fsuid=60578 ouid=60578
[   27.517834] audit: type=1400 audit(1784030635.074:304): apparmor="DENIED" operation="open" class="file" profile="snap-update-ns.firmware-updater" name="/run/
gdm3/home/gdm-greeter/" pid=3436 comm="snap-update-ns" requested_mask="r" denied_mask="r" fsuid=60578 ouid=60578
[   28.025787] audit: type=1400 audit(1784030635.582:306): apparmor="DENIED" operation="open" class="file" profile="snap-update-ns.firmware-updater" name="/run/
gdm3/home/gdm-greeter/" pid=3470 comm="snap-update-ns" requested_mask="r" denied_mask="r" fsuid=60578 ouid=60578

I have downloaded a folder with cursor graphics. It is in Downloads. How do I move it to the relevant location?

I have a dual boot Ubuntu box with 26 (Resolute Raccon) on one side of a 4 Terabyte disk and Ubuntu 24 on the other side. I wanted to go ahead and upgrade Ubuntu 24 to 26, so I performed all the prep work updating the packages, cleaning up removes, etc. Then followed steps to download and install the upgrade through the terminal and package manager. When I made it to the last few steps, I was given the following message: "There is no development version of an LTS available." Though I have 26.04 running on the other side of the dual boot. I checked and rechecked everything but no-go. I was wondering if anyone else had run into this and found out what was wrong? Thanks so much in advance.

-George P.

I inherited a .NET 4 VB project to port to .NET Core 10. It uses System.Windows.Forms, so it needs Mono not .NET Core. I plan on switching the GUI to a CLI while verifying every hour the business logic remains identical.

VB.NET programming in Ubuntu suggests sudo apt-get install monodevelop mono-vbnc. But mono-vbnc is missing after Ubuntu 22.04, and the less-necessary MonoDevelop was last seen on 16.04. I would like to be able to try running the vbnc command.

I have Ubuntu's system-wide .NET 10 set up in JetBrains Rider. I want to avoid a Ubuntu 22.04 container, which has overhead, will be EOL in a year, and hiders graphical IDEs or even graphical editors e.g. Kate. Ideally, I want to set breakpoints and evaluate debugger expressions, but I'd appreciate running the legacy project in any form.

In Ubuntu 24.04, I have made several attempts to install and open the Bitwarden app from the App Center. I may have also previously installed it as an Appimage or .deb. Before trying a clean install from .deb, to avoid any conflict or confusion, I want to remove any existing Bitwarden installs from the computer. Exactly how should I do this?

I boot Ubuntu Recovery Mode through BIOS and the system attempts recovery, but stops and at the bottom of the page where it says:

Failed to execute - /sbin/init 
Failed to execute - fallback shell 
Bad shim lock signature

How to I fix this? Boot Ubuntu 26.04 from a USB via "Try Ubuntu without installation"?

Since I upgraded my desktop is blank with no icons. I cannot do anything on my desktop at all

The results of the command dig checkip.amazonaws.com +answer +expandaaaa +noall vary with time. My best understanding is that the list of 8 presented is a partial list. (see screenshot).

Is there a parameter that results in a complete list? Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

How do I return desktop; (with icons). I cannot do anything on my desktop

I’m unable to boot or even get the boot menu, all I’m getting is a grub> prompt. I have researched and tried a lot of different things I found but unfortunately can’t get it to work. I don’t have access to another computer but I have a usb stick I have windows on but it won’t boot either. I appreciate any help or advice/suggestions

I have a message on a black screen that says "the root filesystem on /dev/sda1 requires manual fsck." How do I do that?

I just switched over from Windows to Ubuntu and am looking for a littlebigmouse alternative to line up my cursor between screens. I can't seem to find an equivalent solution for this problem.

Does anyone else have some experience doing this and has been successful?

I have the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 model with a 4k display and Dolby Atmos speakers. I recently installed Ubuntu 26.04. The front speakers don't make any sound at all, and sound only comes from the rear speakers. If I mute the bass from Alsamixer I can hear a high pitched and silent sound of the media I am playing only from the front speakers. I have tried Fedora Workstation 44, and the same problem happens there too.

I tried:

• Updating drivers
• Unmuting the front speakers from Alsamixer, but there wasn't any option for it
• Tried EasyEffects with presets

We build Docker images "from scratch" and use the Ubuntu root filesystem as a basis.

Since some weeks there are issues with the download path. It looks like there is something wrong with additional "ubuntu-" in the names.

Who can I contact to report this issue?

Example:

Notice the extra "ubuntu-" which are appearing in the names like in "ubuntu-ubuntu-ubuntu-ubuntu-ubuntu-ubuntu-resolute-oci-amd64-root.tar.gz"

Screenshot taken from content on https://partner-images.canonical.com/oci/resolute/current/

The headphones are indeed working as I tried on other devices so they are not broken. I had to follow the instructions given here No sound on USB headset. How to manage soundcards and audio devices? to make them being recognized by the system. At the moment, audio starts only when I switch from analog to digital and vice versa. I have to manually do it every time I change the audio file (like YouTube or a game). Until the audio source keeps giving signal it works flawlessly, but when I change it have to manually fix it again.

Thanks to whoever can help. Cheers.

System Information

• Laptop: HP Victus 15-fa2xxx

• Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

• Kernel: 6.8.0-124-generic

• Secure Boot: Disabled

Problem Description

The built-in Wi-Fi adapter is not working under Ubuntu. The system detects the PCI device, but no wireless interface is created and no kernel driver is bound to the device.

The same hardware works correctly in Windows.

Hardware Information

Windows identifies the adapter as:

Realtek RTL8852BE-VT Wireless LAN WiFi 6 PCI-E NIC

Hardware ID:

Windows Device manager showing the info

PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_B520&SUBSYS_88E9103C

PCI Device Detection

Command

lspci -nnk

Relevant Output

03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device [10ec:b520]
    DeviceName: Realtek Wireless LAN + BT
    Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device [103c:88e9]

Unlike other devices, there is no:

Kernel driver in use:
Kernel modules:

section for the Wi-Fi device.

Loaded Wi-Fi Driver Modules

Command

lsmod | grep rtw

Output

(no output)

No Realtek rtw89 modules are loaded.

Installed Driver

Command

modinfo rtw89_8852be

Relevant Output

filename:
/lib/modules/6.8.0-124-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtw89/rtw89_8852be.ko

modinfo rtw89_8852be lists aliases for PCI IDs 10ec:b852 and 10ec:b85b, but not 10ec:b520:

10ec:b852
10ec:b85b

There is no alias for 10ec:b520.

Kernel Alias Check

Command

grep -i "10EC.*B520" /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/modules.alias

Output

(no output)

Manual Driver Loading

Command

sudo modprobe rtw89_8852be

Result

modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'rtw89_8852be': Invalid argument

Relevant dmesg Output

rtw_8852b: disagrees about version of symbol ...
rtw_8852b: Unknown symbol ...

DKMS Status

Command

dkms status

Output

(no output)

No third-party DKMS drivers are currently installed.

Troubleshooting Performed

I have already tried the following:

• Disabled Secure Boot.

• Updated Ubuntu packages.

• Booted different 6.8 kernels.

• Installed and later removed the out-of-tree lwfinger/rtw89 driver.

• Reloaded the rtw89 modules.

• Verified the hardware using lspci.

• Checked lsmod, modinfo, modules.alias, dmesg, and journalctl.

None of these steps resolved the issue.

Why this question is different from:

How to solve "No Wi-Fi Adapter Found" error with Realtek RTL8852BE WiFi 6 802.11ax PCIe in Ubuntu 22.04?

I have already reviewed the existing question:

How to solve "No Wi-Fi Adapter Found" error with Realtek RTL8852BE WiFi 6 802.11ax PCIe in Ubuntu 22.04?

However, my issue appears to be different for the following reasons.

Different hardware revision

The linked question concerns the following device:

10ec:b852

My adapter is identified by Windows as:

Realtek RTL8852BE-VT Wireless LAN WiFi 6 PCI-E NIC PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_B520&SUBSYS_88E9103C

Ubuntu also detects the device as:

03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device [10ec:b520]

This is a different PCI device ID from the one in the linked question.

Questions

1. Does Ubuntu 22.04 (kernel 6.8) support the RTL8852BE-VT (PCI ID 10ec:b520)?

2. Is this PCI ID supported only in newer Linux kernels?

3. Is there a newer or backported rtw89 driver that supports this device on Ubuntu 22.04?

4. Do my diagnostics indicate a configuration problem, or is this likely a missing driver/kernel support issue?

Final update (Solved):

The issue is now resolved.

My laptop has a Realtek RTL8852BE-VT (PCI ID: 10ec:b520) on Ubuntu 22.04 running kernel 6.8.0-124-generic. The in-kernel driver was either unstable or incompatible with this hardware revision.

What finally worked was installing the latest morrownr/rtw89 DKMS driver:

git clone https://github.com/morrownr/rtw89
cd rtw89
sudo make cleanup_target_system
sudo dkms install $PWD
sudo make install_fw
sudo cp rtw89.conf /etc/modprobe.d/

Initially, I tried loading rtw89_8852be, which failed with:

modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'rtw89_8852be': Invalid argument

Looking at dmesg showed symbol version mismatch errors because I was loading the wrong module. My hardware actually uses the rtw89_8852bte_git driver.

Loading the correct module solved the problem:

sudo modprobe rtw89_8852bte_git

After that:

Kernel driver in use: rtw89_8852bte_git
Kernel modules: rtw89_8852bte_git

The wlo1 interface appeared, NetworkManager detected it normally, Wi-Fi networks were visible again, and I was able to connect successfully.

Thanks to Mr. David for pointing me toward the driver. Genuinely, thank you so much for your help.

I'm new to Linux. I'm running Ubuntu 24.04.4 on a desktop computer. When updates happen I keep getting an error message that the update failed.

I have run sudo apt-get install -f and sudo apt autoremove. I get the following error message from both:

Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub'
/usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig: 1: /etc/default/grub: Syntax error: ")" unexpected
run-parts: /etc/kernel/postrm.d/zz-update-grub exited with return code 2
dpkg: error processing package linux-image-6.17.0-19-generic (--remove):
 installed linux-image-6.17.0-19-generic package post-removal script subprocess returned error exit status 2
dpkg: too many errors, stopping
Errors were encountered while processing:
  linux-image-6.17.0-19-generic
Processing was halted because there were too many errors.
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

I have looked at the grub file in /etc/default/grub and it shows:

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`( . /etc/os-release; echo ${NAME:-Ubuntu} ) 2>/dev/null || echo Ubuntu`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

It seems the issue is in the GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR= line, but according to what I've found on the internet the line looks OK from a syntax standpoint.

I have an AMD Radeon HD 4850 card.

$ sudo lshw -c video
[sudo] password for archisman:         
  *-display                 
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: RV770/M98L [Mobility Radeon HD 4850]
       vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI]
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
       logical name: /dev/fb0
       version: 00
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm pciexpress msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list fb
       configuration: depth=32 latency=0 resolution=2560,1440
       resources: memory:c0000000-cfffffff memory:d0620000-d062ffff ioport:2000(size=256) memory:d0600000-d061ffff

The default installation of Ubuntu 24.04 seems to be using software rendering instead of utilizing graphics card.

$ glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"
OpenGL renderer string: llvmpipe (LLVM 19.1.1, 128 bits)

AMD provides some legacy drivers, which fail to install with the error that it cannot find kernel headers, even though the kernel headers are installed.

$ cat /usr/share/ati/fglrx-install.log
Check if system has the tools required for installation.
fglrx installation requires that the system have kernel headers.  /lib/modules/6.8.0-59-generic/build/include/linux/version.h cannot be found on this system.
One or more tools required for installation cannot be found on the system. Install the required tools before installing the fglrx driver.
Optionally, run the installer with --force option to install without the tools.
Forcing install will disable AMD hardware acceleration and may make your system unstable. Not recommended.

How to use these legacy drivers (or some other drivers) in recent versions of Ubuntu, like 24.04?

Note that this is a iMac 11,1, which shows black screen after boot unless the nomodeset parameter has been set.

I see that Ubuntu server after the installation comes as default with NetPlan with a DHCP configuration (at least in Ubuntu 22.04 focal fossa).

Some users don't want NetPlan and just want NetworkManager, for example to use nmcli, nmtui, or import VPN configurations etc. and so after the installation I think it's frequent to migrate to NetworkManager.

At the moment this is my procedure to migrate from NetPlan to NetworkManager after a clean installation.

Create this file:

/etc/netplan/01-er-netplan-fix.yaml

With this content:

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# For more information, see netplan(5).
# Set and change netplan renderer to NetworkManager GUI tool
network:
  version: 2
  renderer: NetworkManager

Then run these commands:

# install Network Manager
sudo apt install network-manager

# disable NetPlan
mv /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml.bak

# reload NetPlan
netplan apply

# I'm not proud of this but I reboot to apply everything now
reboot

Problem: when I reboot, the server obviously disconnects, but also it never renews its IP via DHCP.

As workaround, I open a physical terminal on the server, I run dhclient, and then I continue with nmtui adding a simple Ethernet configuration with DHCP, and everything is good again.

So my question is: how to migrate from NetPlan to NetworkManager? Possibly automatically renewing its IP? Possibly without any disconnection at all? so your SSH connection is not interrupted.

Feel free to suggest as answer to prefill at least a valid NetworkManager configuration for a valid DHCP after the reboot but I still don't understand if I can also avoid the reboot at all and keep a working SSH connection to do the whole migration process.

Thank you for your thoughts! Maybe this question is stupid but I don't know NetPlan, since I usually use Debian and I don't have these problems.

lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS
Release:    22.04
Codename:   jammy

I have a swap partition and I would like to try lz4 and z3fold on the zswap

nano /etc/default/grub

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="vga=normal nomodeset iommu=pt"

GRUB_DEVICE=UUID=2da46135-a1a2-4833-ba81-d9802358ddbd

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash cgroup_enable=memory swapaccount=1 zswap.enabled=1 zswap.compressor=lz4 zswap.max_pool_percent=20 zswap.zpool=z3fold "

I understand that zswap is enabled already on 22.04 but I put the zswap.enabled in there just in case.

nano /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

lz4
lz4_compress
z3fold

update-grub
update-initramfs -u -k all
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.15.0-47-generic
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-125-generic

After reboot I see

dmesg | grep -i zswap

[   36.460295] zswap: loaded using pool lzo/zbud

grep -R . /sys/module/zswap/parameters

/sys/module/zswap/parameters/same_filled_pages_enabled:Y
/sys/module/zswap/parameters/enabled:N
/sys/module/zswap/parameters/max_pool_percent:20
/sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor:lzo
/sys/module/zswap/parameters/zpool:zbud
/sys/module/zswap/parameters/accept_threshold_percent:90

lsmod

z3fold                 32768  0
lz4                    16384  0
lz4_compress           36864  1 lz4
... etc

Why don't the modules/parameters get enabled?

I am running Ubuntu 20.04 and, when I open the "applications" application (the checkerboard looking thing in the sidebar) some of the applications have duplicate icons, and, in the case of the Audacity sound editor, clicking on each one brings up an Audacity that behaves differently. I also have a "software updater" along with a "software and updates" plus a "Ubuntu Software" and; wait, there's more...a "snap store" Are these different "repositories?" and, when a box pops open saying "Updated software is available for this computer" with install now (or later) is that the way I should be updating; because I can also go to the "software and updates" and it will tell me the sources are out of date, I need an internet connection, and then will go to "refreshing cache" before hanging up, so I have to pull the battery out of the laptop then reboot (because I can't even bring up a terminal to run pgrep and kill) I prefer to use command lines in a terminal because I'm trying to learn unix and eventually the kernel etc. Can I run apt-get update; then upgrade and skip all the graphical package managers, which is what I believe the snap store and Ubuntu software is? I think I have 3 copies of Audacity and they overwrite each other; or they have their config files in different places and I have lost music that I've spent hours on by forgetting which icon opened the program if I have to restart... I just want a simple way to update, even if I have to do it manually every other day... livepatch is on, too, confusing me more...thanks for reading this far and for any help; trying to attach a screenshot...

I recently switched from gnome to i3 and was wondering how to change my color theme. I want to set a custom bg and text color as well as font. I have the yaru-dark theme using an app called "Customize look and feel", although I was able to change it to the same theme using another app called "GTK Ch-theme".

The issue is that I can't change it to custom colors. I want to change the grey color to black. When I try to do this using the "Customize look and feel" app, there is an option to do this. However, the option is disabled and I need to install lxsessions and change my current window manager for that, which I don’t want to. How can I set a custom theme without switching to LXDE?

Is there any macro recorders for ubuntu? I want a program that i could assign a key to do a recorded mouse movement and keyboard typing. Thanks

I've wrote this command line: "if [ "$DESKTOP_SESSION" == "gnome-shell" ]; then (unity-2d-shell) ; fi". If I type it into a terminal then the 2D unity launcher would start and would work like a charm on top of the gnome-shell, however, if I add the line to the startup applications, it would have no effect. Is there something wrong with the command line? Or is it just impossible to run the launcher on startup?

I'd like to have a unity desktop accessible via VNC on a precise server machine I have running. I installed the ubuntu-desktop package. I'm launching a VNC session with the following in my ~/.vnc/xstartup file:

#!/bin/sh
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
gnome-session --session=ubuntu-2d

What could the issue be here? The content of my /usr/share/gnome-session/sessions/ubuntu-2d.session file (this is what 12.04 puts there by default) is:

[GNOME Session]
Name=Ubuntu 2D
RequiredComponents=gnome-settings-daemon;
RequiredProviders=windowmanager;panel;shell;
DefaultProvider-windowmanager=metacity
DefaultProvider-panel=unity-2d-panel
DefaultProvider-shell=unity-2d-shell

DesktopName=Unity

I don't know anything about unity-2d, but I guessed that the default session was not configured to use the launcher. I tried making the following modifications:

[GNOME Session]
Name=Ubuntu 2D
RequiredComponents=gnome-settings-daemon;
RequiredProviders=windowmanager;panel;shell;launcher;
DefaultProvider-windowmanager=metacity
DefaultProvider-panel=unity-2d-panel
DefaultProvider-shell=unity-2d-shell
DefaultProvider-launcher=unity-2d-launcher

DesktopName=Unity

But I got the following warning in my VNC log file:

gnome-session[10354]: WARNING: Unable to find default provider 'qr' of required provider 'launcher'

And the VNC session wouldn't even start with that configuration.

Is it possible to mangle a Bash script such that it becomes unreadable by any human? If so, can it be de-mangled? Or, can I view what commands are being executed when I run the script?

Otherwise, is there any alternative command line utility that can achieve this?