Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep • Hacker News Board

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#11

Post by linguae » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 11:57 AM UTC

pavlov wrote: post #7

linguae wrote: post #4

I will have to try this out when I get the free time! I’ve been periodically checking on the GNUstep ecosystem since 2004, and this is the most exciting development I’ve seen since Étoilé from the late 2000s. Judging by the screenshots, the desktop appears to be Mac-like while also not being an exact clone. If this desktop takes off, maybe we’ll finally see an ecosystem of applications that use GNUstep instead of GTK…

> “In my opinion, the traditional charm of the Mac isn’t just the desktop; it’s the entire ecosystem of applications that conform to the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines” Sadly this barely exists anymore. Cross-platform Electron apps have replaced native AppKit. Cloud-based apps like Linear, Slack and Figma cater to the lowest common denominator of desktops by shipping their web client in a wrapper. The last real…

I wholeheartedly and sadly agree with you. Seems like the idea of native apps on both macOS and Windows has been losing ground in favor of Electron apps. I understand the challenge of writing applications tailored to each platform and why Electron is so appealing to many companies, but I’d feel better about Electron if it were more conformant to platform HIGs and if it were less resource-intensive, especially now with RAM prices skyrocketing.

I hate how mainstream desktop computing has gone to crap in recent years. Thank goodness for free, open-source software.

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#12

Post by GaryBluto » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 12:14 PM UTC

As vintagedave points out, there is a strange inconsistency of UI elements, but I look forward to seeing how this ends up.

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#13

Post by rcarmo » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 12:16 PM UTC

I LOVE this. There were a few other similar projects a few years back but they all seem to have stalled - hopefully this one will keep going

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#14

Post by lproven » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 12:34 PM UTC

This was back in August, and at the time, I tried it and wrote about it:

https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/27/ghostbsd_2502/

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#15

Post by lproven » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 12:46 PM UTC

rcarmo wrote: post #13

I LOVE this. There were a few other similar projects a few years back but they all seem to have stalled - hopefully this one will keep going

> There were a few other similar projects a few years back

Notably the Hello System, by Simon Peter, AKA probonopd.

I looked at that, too.

https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/31/hellosystem_08/

Probonopd is now involved with Gershwin and was quite active in its Github when I looked.

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#16

Post by ludamn » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 1:40 PM UTC

ctas wrote: post #6

linguae wrote: post #4

I will have to try this out when I get the free time! I’ve been periodically checking on the GNUstep ecosystem since 2004, and this is the most exciting development I’ve seen since Étoilé from the late 2000s. Judging by the screenshots, the desktop appears to be Mac-like while also not being an exact clone. If this desktop takes off, maybe we’ll finally see an ecosystem of applications that use GNUstep instead of GTK…

I’m working on something similar for Linux. Would love to chat if this is interesting to you. The idea is to bring the UX of OSX Snow Leopard back, adjusted for today’s possibilities (better developer experience, AI, etc.). I’m developing a DE, SwiftUI/AppKit-equivalent, and a bunch of reference apps I‘m personally missing in terms of quality (e.g. Raycast/Spotlight, Mail).

Is there a link for this project? It sounds exciting!

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#17

Post by probonopd » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 2:43 PM UTC

pavlov wrote: post #7

linguae wrote: post #4

I will have to try this out when I get the free time! I’ve been periodically checking on the GNUstep ecosystem since 2004, and this is the most exciting development I’ve seen since Étoilé from the late 2000s. Judging by the screenshots, the desktop appears to be Mac-like while also not being an exact clone. If this desktop takes off, maybe we’ll finally see an ecosystem of applications that use GNUstep instead of GTK…

> “In my opinion, the traditional charm of the Mac isn’t just the desktop; it’s the entire ecosystem of applications that conform to the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines” Sadly this barely exists anymore. Cross-platform Electron apps have replaced native AppKit. Cloud-based apps like Linear, Slack and Figma cater to the lowest common denominator of desktops by shipping their web client in a wrapper. The last real…

This is why we think something inspired by the HIG needs to be reborn as open source.

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#18

Post by probonopd » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

ctas wrote: post #6

linguae wrote: post #4

I will have to try this out when I get the free time! I’ve been periodically checking on the GNUstep ecosystem since 2004, and this is the most exciting development I’ve seen since Étoilé from the late 2000s. Judging by the screenshots, the desktop appears to be Mac-like while also not being an exact clone. If this desktop takes off, maybe we’ll finally see an ecosystem of applications that use GNUstep instead of GTK…

I’m working on something similar for Linux. Would love to chat if this is interesting to you. The idea is to bring the UX of OSX Snow Leopard back, adjusted for today’s possibilities (better developer experience, AI, etc.). I’m developing a DE, SwiftUI/AppKit-equivalent, and a bunch of reference apps I‘m personally missing in terms of quality (e.g. Raycast/Spotlight, Mail).

Definitely let's talk. You'll find us on GitHub Discussions and Libera Chat.

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#19

Post by probonopd » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 2:47 PM UTC

vintagedave wrote: post #8

I love this. I deeply miss the productive, well-built UX era of OSX. The screenshot shows a mix of styles. Some of it looks very old (eg the Finder analogue). Scrollbars are flat, traffic light window buttons are gel. Semi-puzzling so far in terms of UI design target. I found this: 10.2-era, pre-Brushed Metal, seems to be the target: https://github.com/orgs/gershwin-desktop/discussions/1

We are on it. The whole UI is going to be overhauled a lot. Would you like to help us get things in shape? AppearanceMetrics.h in gershwin-eau-theme is a start.

Re: Gershwin-desktop: OS X-like Desktop Environment based on GNUStep

#20

Post by probonopd » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 2:50 PM UTC

amusings wrote: post #5

compiler-devel wrote: post #2

Nice name, I suppose it recalls Apple’s Rhapsody project.

Screenshots look like OS X 1.0 and nothing like Rhapsody. I've found the OS X aesthetics unpleasant compared to how Rhapsody looked like so it was the final straw pushing me to Windows :)

Should be doable to put a Rhapsody theme on it... GNUstep is very flexible in this regard. Thanks to Method Swizzling, themes can change things pretty substantially.