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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux Desktop Environments Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to installing and configuring desktop environments on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, and more.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding Desktop Environments
  2. GNOME
  3. KDE Plasma
  4. XFCE
  5. Other Desktop Environments
  6. CachyOS Settings Packages
  7. Display Managers
  8. Switching Desktop Environments

Understanding Desktop Environments

What is a Desktop Environment?

Desktop Environment (DE) provides complete graphical interface.

Components:

  • Window manager
  • File manager
  • Applications
  • Settings panels
  • Themes and icons

Popular Desktop Environments

Major DEs:

  • GNOME: Modern, simple, user-friendly
  • KDE Plasma: Feature-rich, highly customizable
  • XFCE: Lightweight, traditional, fast
  • Cinnamon: Traditional, Windows-like
  • MATE: GNOME 2 fork, traditional

GNOME

Install GNOME

Arch Linux / CachyOS:

# Full GNOME
sudo pacman -S gnome gnome-extra

# Minimal GNOME
sudo pacman -S gnome

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install gnome

Fedora:

sudo dnf install @gnome-desktop

Enable GNOME

Start GNOME:

# Install GDM (display manager)
sudo pacman -S gdm

# Enable GDM
sudo systemctl enable gdm
sudo systemctl start gdm

GNOME Extensions

Install extension manager:

# Install extension manager
sudo pacman -S gnome-shell-extension-manager

# Launch
gnome-shell-extension-manager

Or use browser extension:

GNOME Configuration

Configure GNOME:

# Install tweaks
sudo pacman -S gnome-tweaks

# Launch
gnome-tweaks

KDE Plasma

Install KDE Plasma

Arch Linux / CachyOS:

# Full KDE
sudo pacman -S plasma kde-applications

# Minimal
sudo pacman -S plasma-meta

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install kde-plasma-desktop

Fedora:

sudo dnf install @kde-desktop

Enable KDE

Start KDE:

# Install SDDM
sudo pacman -S sddm

# Enable SDDM
sudo systemctl enable sddm
sudo systemctl start sddm

KDE Configuration

Configure KDE:

# Open Settings
systemsettings5

XFCE

Install XFCE

Arch Linux / CachyOS:

# Full XFCE
sudo pacman -S xfce4 xfce4-goodies

# Minimal
sudo pacman -S xfce4

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install xfce4

Fedora:

sudo dnf install @xfce-desktop

Enable XFCE

Start XFCE:

# Install LightDM
sudo pacman -S lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter

# Enable LightDM
sudo systemctl enable lightdm
sudo systemctl start lightdm

Other Desktop Environments

Cinnamon

Install Cinnamon:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S cinnamon

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install cinnamon-desktop

MATE

Install MATE:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S mate mate-extra

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install mate-desktop

LXDE

Install LXDE:

# Arch/CachyOS
sudo pacman -S lxde

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install lxde

CachyOS Settings Packages

What are CachyOS Settings Packages?

CachyOS provides pre-configured settings packages for various desktop environments and window managers.

Available packages:

  • cachyos-kde-settings - KDE Plasma settings
  • cachyos-gnome-settings - GNOME settings (archived)
  • cachyos-i3wm-settings - i3 window manager settings
  • cachyos-qtile-settings - Qtile settings
  • cachyos-niri-settings - Niri settings
  • cachyos-wayfire-settings - Wayfire settings

Installing with CachyOS Settings

Example: Install i3 with CachyOS settings:

# Install i3 with CachyOS settings
sudo pacman -S i3 cachyos-i3wm-settings

What this does:

  • Installs the desktop environment/window manager
  • Installs CachyOS-optimized settings
  • Pre-configures for CachyOS
  • Provides better out-of-box experience

Repository links:

Display Managers

What is a Display Manager?

Display Manager provides graphical login screen.

Common display managers:

  • GDM: GNOME Display Manager (for GNOME)
  • SDDM: Simple Desktop Display Manager (for KDE)
  • LightDM: Lightweight display manager (for XFCE)
  • LXDM: Lightweight X11 Display Manager

Switching Display Managers

Disable old:

# Disable current
sudo systemctl disable gdm

Enable new:

# Enable new
sudo systemctl enable sddm
sudo systemctl start sddm

Switching Desktop Environments

Multiple DEs Installed

Select at login:

  1. Log out from current session
  2. Click username on login screen
  3. Select desktop environment from menu
  4. Enter password and log in

Remove Desktop Environment

Remove DE:

# Remove GNOME
sudo pacman -Rns gnome gnome-extra

# Remove KDE
sudo pacman -Rns plasma kde-applications

Summary

This guide covered desktop environments for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including installation, configuration, and CachyOS-specific settings packages.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. CachyOS-specific settings packages are highlighted where applicable.

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