Cyril

If I was into UBUNTU, this document would not exist

This is (well, was) about an attempt (several actually), to use Elementary’s Pantheon on Fedora and openSUSE (and Manjaro)

For a while, Pantheon was difficult (for me) to get right on a non-ubuntu distro.
Now (2023) there are distributions that deliver Pantheon on a silver(blue) platter, so the remaining content of this document is irrelevant ((soon to be reduced, archived or deleted)).

2023/12 edit:
Pantheon on Fedora can be enjoyed painlessly via SodaliteOS or Ultramarine linux.
I tried it, but still ended up back on GNOME.
Everything worked swimmingly on both distributions, and I love how pantheon looks, but I simply prefer the GNOME workflow.

2019/11/25 edit:
Apparently I was doing it wrong.
openSUSE’s pantheon is well enough developed to work aside (or instead of) a GNOME installation.
There are three flavors, choose wisely. (hint:Stable)

zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/X11:Pantheon:Branch/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/X11:Pantheon:Branch.repo
zypper refresh

#for full elementary experience (plus some gnome tweakability):
zypper install -t pantheon gnome_basis
zypper install libreoffice-gtk3 gnome-tweaks gnome-online-accounts

#for fully functional pantheon-session over full-fat gnome installation: 
zypper install -t pattern pantheon_basis

INFO: Please add a local user to the lightdm group to change the wallpaper
INFO: using the Pantheon desktop settings (switchboard).
INFO: You can change the font size, gtk theme, icon theme etc
INFO: using /etc/gtk-3.0/settings.ini file.

This project is a fork of Pantheon repository to avoid depending on GNOME with some patches, using the gsettings under org.opensuse.pantheon.wrap.gnome instead of org.gnome, etc.

cyril@localhost:/usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas> grep -iR "close:" ./
./pantheon-settings-daemon-openSUSE-branding.gschema.override:overrides={'Gtk/DialogsUseHeader': <0>, 'Gtk/EnablePrimaryPaste': <0>, 'Gtk/ShellShowsAppMenu': <0>, 'Gtk/DecorationLayout': <'close:menu,maximize'>}
pantheon-settings-daemon-openSUSE-branding.gschema.override
pantheon-desktop-schemas-openSUSE-branding.gschema.override

I love (the idea of) pantheon

Graphically well designed
Comprehensive (like Gnome)
Embraces the minimalist CSD-app <=> approach
Feels snappier than Gnome (perception matters)

Reality

Pantheon, a gnome-dependent desktop-environment, works brilliantly with its parent distribution ‘Elementary OS’. <- no surprise there
I don’t like ubuntu-based anything, so I would rather eat beets than run Elementary.
The inherent challenges of this type of upstream dependency (budgie, deepin, pantheon) result in a product that is significantly less distribution-agnostic than independent DE’s (xfce, gnome, plasma).
Hence the lack of an official Pantheon ‘spin’ on any of my favorite Distributions.

Gnome apps over a Pantheon session on an unintended distribution

Pros

Fluid, beautiful and gentle on the resources
Circumvents the settings-restricted elementary-app-verse
The non-traditional button layout and session-specific theming can be easily covered by Gschema override(s)

Cons

Pantheon shell-theme compatibility issues
lightdm and light-locker clumsily work as a session locker
non-functional media/specialty keys (with no easy workaround)
non-functional links and buttons

The turning-point

The increasing tweak:usage ratio still leaves several non-functional bits, along with the realization that gnome can be made more responsive by reducing it’s searchable apps

The media/specialty-key issue is a gala/gnome-settings-daemon incompatibility that is somewhat petty, but still presents the need for yet another workaround
It mostly works just fine. It’s totally daily drivable. Spousal acceptance factor? not high enough…

In the end, I would rather handicap gnome, or simply deal with the occasional (perceived) sluggish shell, or dress-the-hell-out-of xfce, than continue pretending that this implementation of Pantheon is a reliable, fully-functional solution.

My problem with gnome is not gnome.

I find the gnome-shell defaults (as a starting point) preferrable to any other DE, which consistently results in a very low tweak:usage ratio.
I stray from gnome primarily because my (elder) hardware exhibits difficulty handling gnome’s thorough-ness.

Notes

PantheNOT
i3lock