AdwApplicationWindow vs GtkApplicationWindow: Which GNOME Window Widget to Use
When building a GNOME application, developers must choose between two window widgets: GtkApplicationWindow from GTK, or AdwApplicationWindow from the Libadwaita library. GtkApplicationWindow uses a dedicated titlebar slot separate from its content area, which keeps things simple but limits layout flexibility. AdwApplicationWindow removes that separate titlebar region entirely, treating the header bar as an ordinary widget within a single content child that fills the window edge to edge. This structural difference is what enables modern adaptive GNOME layouts, such as split views and collapsible sidebars, where chrome can be placed wherever the design requires. For any app intended to ship as a native GNOME application in 2026, developers are advised to default to AdwApplicationWindow.
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