I tīmata te GNOME i te 15 o Akuhata 1997 e Miguel de Icaza me Federico Mena hei kaupapa pūmanawa koreutu hei whakawhanake i tētahi taiao papamahi me ngā taupānga mō te reira. I whakatūria te reira i roto i te wahi no te mea K Taiao Papamahi, i tupu i roto i te rongonui, i whakawhirinaki i runga i te kete taputapu widget Qt i whakamahia he raihana pūmanawa motuhake tae noa ki te putanga 2.0 (Hune 1999). I roto i te wahi o Qt, i whiriwhiria te kete taputapu GTK rite te turanga o GNOME. whakamahi GTK te GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), he raihana pūmanawa noa e taea pūmanawa hono ki te reira ki te whakamahi i te huinga nui atu o raihana, tae atu raihana pūmanawa motuhake. GNOME ia raihana i raro i te LGPL mo ona whare pukapuka, me te GNU General Public License (GPL) mo tona ingoa.
Ko Ximian