This is simple gnome shell extension that hides all unmanaged network devices from the gnome status applet (and also an example of monkey patching in gnome shell). This is very useful when using a lot of virtual solutions such as VMware, docker, virtual box or other applications which create many network devices.

To install the extension either clone or download this project and rename the folder to [email protected]. Move the [email protected] folder into ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ and then restart gnome shell, logout and back in or restart your computer. After restarting enable the extension in the gnome-tweak-tool.

It is very important that the folder name is exactly the same as [email protected]. If the names do not match, the extension will not load properly.

This extension only hides unmanaged network devices. To hide unwanted network devices mark them as unmanaged in the NetworkManager config. This config can be found at /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf. To mark a network device as unmanaged add either the interface name or mac address in the config as indicated below.

[keyfile]
unmanaged-devices=interface-name:vmnet1,interface-name:vmnet8,mac:00:19:e0:57:86:af

Wild cards are also allowed

[keyfile]
unmanaged-devices=interface-name:vmnet*,mac:00:19:e0:57:86:*

This is example of a complete /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf:

[main]
plugins=keyfile

[keyfile]
# VMWare
unmanaged-devices=interface-name:vmnet*

# Virtualbox
unmanaged-devices=interface-name:vboxnet*

# Docker
unmanaged-devices=interface-name:docker*

Don't forget to reboot to apply all changes