How To Disable the Default Workspace Indicator in Ubuntu

The workspace indicator in Ubuntu is the little visual hint that shows which virtual desktop (workspace) you’re on—often a row of dots or icons in the top bar or dock. It’s useful for multitasking, but if you use a minimalist setup or a different workflow, you might want to turn it off.

How you disable it depends heavily on Ubuntu version, desktop environment, and whether you’re using the default panel or extensions. This guide walks through the main approaches, explains what’s actually going on under the hood, and highlights the variables that change which method works best for you.

What Is the Workspace Indicator in Ubuntu?

In modern Ubuntu, the default desktop is usually GNOME with the Ubuntu Dock and some tweaks. The workspace indicator can appear in a few different ways:

• As dots or rectangles in the dock showing how many workspaces you have and which one is active
• As a top-bar indicator added by a GNOME Shell extension
• As a panel item in older desktops like Unity, MATE, XFCE, or KDE Plasma

Technically, workspaces are a window-management feature: they give you multiple “desktops” so you can group windows and switch between them. The indicator is just the visual widget that lets you see and switch workspaces.

Disabling the indicator doesn’t usually disable workspaces themselves; it just hides the UI element that represents them.

Step-by-Step: Common Ways to Disable the Workspace Indicator

Because there are several paths, it helps to identify which scenario you’re in. The steps below cover the most common Ubuntu setups.

1. On Default Ubuntu GNOME (with Ubuntu Dock)

If you’re on a fairly recent Ubuntu release (18.04 and later with GNOME Shell), the workspace indicator is often tied to:

• The Ubuntu Dock (left-side dock)
• Optional GNOME Shell extensions you may have installed

A. Hide workspace indicators via Ubuntu Dock settings

Ubuntu Dock doesn’t always show a traditional “workspace switcher,” but if you see dots or icons that relate to workspaces, you can usually adjust dock behavior.

You’ll need GNOME Tweaks or gsettings.

Using GNOME Tweaks

1. Install GNOME Tweaks if you don’t have it:

   sudo apt install gnome-tweaks 

2. Open Tweaks from your applications.
3. Go to Extensions (or Appearance depending on version).
4. Look for entries like:
   • Ubuntu Dock
   • Dash to Dock
5. Open the gear icon or settings for that extension.
6. Look for options related to:
   • Workspace indicators
   • Show workspaces in dock
   • Workspace isolation per monitor (sometimes tied to visual hints)
7. Turn those off or set the dock to show only the current workspace without extra indicators.

Using gsettings (for GNOME Shell dock variants)

Some dock extensions expose options via gsettings. Example patterns (may vary by extension):

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-workspaces false 

or

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock show-multi-monitor false 

The exact keys depend on your dock/extension, but the logic is the same: disable anything that explicitly “shows workspaces” or “workspace indicators.”

B. Disable a workspace-switcher GNOME Shell extension

If you installed a specific workspace indicator extension, that’s usually the cleanest target.

1. Open GNOME Extensions:

   • On some Ubuntu versions: Settings → Extensions, or
   • Install the standalone app:

     sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-prefs 

     Then run: gnome-extensions-app

2. Look for extensions named like:

   • Workspace Indicator
   • Workspace Switcher
   • Workspace Matrix
   • Workspace Bar

3. Toggle the extension off.

This removes the indicator from the top bar or wherever the extension places it, without touching workspaces themselves.

2. On Ubuntu with GNOME Classic or “Flashback” Sessions

If you log in to a GNOME Classic or GNOME Flashback session, you may see a workspace switcher applet in a panel (similar to old GNOME 2).

To remove it:

1. Press and hold Alt (or Super, depending on layout).
2. Right-click the workspace switcher applet on the panel.
3. Choose Remove from Panel (wording can vary slightly).

This hides the indicator but doesn’t remove workspace functionality. You can still switch via keyboard shortcuts (usually Ctrl + Alt + Arrow keys or Super + PageUp/PageDown depending on config).

3. On Ubuntu MATE

Ubuntu MATE uses the MATE desktop, which has a dedicated Workspace Switcher panel applet.

To disable it:

1. Right-click the workspace switcher in the bottom or top panel.
2. Click Remove from Panel.

If you want to keep workspaces but just hide the indicator, stop here. If you want only a single workspace:

1. Open MATE Tweak or Control Center → Windows / Workspaces.
2. Look for Number of workspaces.
3. Set it to 1.

With only one workspace, the indicator often disappears automatically.

4. On Xubuntu (XFCE) and Similar XFCE-based Flavors

XFCE uses a Workspace Switcher panel plugin.

1. Right-click the panel where the indicator is.
2. Choose Panel → Panel Preferences.
3. Go to the Items tab.
4. Select Workspace Switcher.
5. Click the minus (-) or Remove button.

Again, the workspaces can still exist in the background unless you set the number of workspaces to 1 in Settings → Workspaces.

5. On Kubuntu (KDE Plasma)

In KDE Plasma, workspaces are called virtual desktops, and the indicator is usually a pager widget on a panel.

1. Right-click an empty spot on the panel.
2. Choose Edit Panel (or Enter Edit Mode on newer Plasma versions).
3. Hover over the virtual desktop/pager widget.
4. Click the trash icon or Remove.
5. Exit Edit Mode.

Virtual desktops will still exist if configured, but there will be no visual indicator on the panel unless you re-add the widget.

6. Disabling or Reducing Workspaces Entirely

If your main goal is “I don’t want multiple workspaces at all,” you can go beyond hiding the indicator and set workspaces to 1. Different desktops offer this in slightly different places:

When only one workspace exists, many indicators disappear automatically, because there’s nothing to switch between.

However, some:

• Still show a single icon or square
• Are controlled explicitly by panel widgets or extensions, so they need to be removed separately, as above

Variables That Affect How You Disable the Indicator

The exact steps that work for you depend on a few key factors.

1. Ubuntu Version and Desktop Environment

The biggest variable is which desktop environment you’re actually using:

• Ubuntu (GNOME) – Uses GNOME Shell with Ubuntu’s dock and tweaks.
• Kubuntu – Uses KDE Plasma.
• Xubuntu – Uses XFCE.
• Ubuntu MATE – Uses MATE.
• Ubuntu Studio, Budgie, others – Each with its own panel and workspace handling.

Even if you installed “Ubuntu,” you may have later added KDE or XFCE, and now you’re using that instead. Each one implements workspace indicators differently.

2. GNOME Shell Extensions and Dock Variants

On GNOME, the presence and behavior of workspace indicators often depend on:

• Whether you use Ubuntu Dock, Dash to Dock, Dash to Panel, or another dock/panel extension
• Custom workspace-related extensions you’ve installed

Two GNOME users on the same Ubuntu version can see totally different indicators because of their extension choices.

3. Single vs Multiple Monitors

Multiple monitor setups can change how indicators behave:

• Some docks show one indicator per monitor, or show workspaces differently across displays.
• Certain settings like “workspaces per display” can create additional indicators or hints.

Disabling the indicator on one monitor might not affect others if each has its own panel or dock instance.

4. Keyboard Shortcuts vs UI Widgets

Some users rely on the visual indicator to switch workspaces; others use only keyboard shortcuts and would happily remove the UI element.

• If you mostly use the mouse, removing the indicator might make workspace switching harder.
• If you use hotkeys, you may not need any visual widget at all, especially if you keep the number of workspaces small and predictable.

Different User Profiles, Different Outcomes

The “right” way to disable the workspace indicator isn’t the same for everyone. A few examples show how setups can diverge.

Minimalist Single-Monitor GNOME User

• Wants a clean top bar and dock
• Uses keyboard shortcuts or doesn’t care about workspaces
• Likely to:
  • Disable workspace extensions entirely
  • Possibly set workspaces to 1 via tweaks
  • Turn off workspace-related dock hints

The result: effectively no visible workspace indicator, with or without the feature still active in the background.

Power User with Multiple Workspaces and Multiple Monitors

• Actively uses 4–10 workspaces
• Depends on keyboard switching and visual awareness
• Might:
  • Hide the top-bar indicator to reduce clutter
  • Keep a dock or pager on one screen only
  • Customize indicators so they’re smaller or less intrusive rather than removing them

Here, totally disabling all indicators could make navigation less efficient.

User Migrating from Another Desktop (e.g., KDE to GNOME)

• May expect a pager-style widget and find GNOME’s overview confusing
• Might:
  • Disable GNOME’s extensions that add extra workspace indicators
  • Keep GNOME’s built-in Activities Overview as the main workspace control
  • Or, conversely, add a different indicator more similar to what they’re used to

Their goal isn’t just “no indicator,” but “the indicator that matches my workflow,” so they selectively disable or replace certain elements.

Where Your Own Setup Becomes the Missing Piece

Disabling the default workspace indicator in Ubuntu is less about a single universal switch and more about understanding which desktop stack and extensions you’re actually running:

• Which Ubuntu flavor or desktop environment is active?
• Is your indicator coming from the panel, dock, or a shell extension?
• Do you want to keep workspaces and just hide the visual widget, or do you want a single workspace with no switching at all?
• Are you on one monitor or several, and do you rely on the indicator to know where you are?

Once those pieces are clear on your own system, the steps above narrow down to a specific, simple action—removing a panel applet, toggling off an extension, or reducing the number of workspaces to one. The exact combination that makes sense depends entirely on how you use Ubuntu day to day and how much visual guidance you want from your workspace tools.