Gnome Shell comes with a neat little integration feature for instant messaging which allows you to see your IM conversations within native Gnome Shell windows. By default, this integration is configured to work with empathy; but with a few simple tweaks, you can get the same level of integration to work with pidgin!

Below is a very generalized step-by-step which should help you with any distrobution running Gnome Shell:

  • Install pidgin
  • Install the gnome-shell-pidgin-connector
  • Install gnome-tweek-tool
  • Open Pidgin, Click on Tools, then Plugins
  • Enable the Gnome Shell Connector
  • Open gnome-tweek-tool
  • Click on Shell Extentions (in the left pane)
  • Enable Pidgin Conversation Integration Extension

That's it!