Category:Desktop environment

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Revision as of 16:21, 4 September 2024 by MorningstarSunset (talk | contribs)

Linux desktop environments are graphical user interfaces and sets of tools for a PC. They allow you to manage windows, edit settings, and much more, as well as offering different sets of features and user experiences.

Contrary to most other Linux distributions, it is trivial to install and change desktop environments in NixOS. For example, the use of a fully functional GNOME desktop environment only requires the following lines in your configuration.

/etc/nixos/configuration.nix
services.xserver.enable = true;
services.xserver.displayManager.gdm.enable = true;
services.xserver.desktopManager.gnome.enable = true;

Changing the desktopManager and displayManager options should be enough to select a different desktop environment. Applying the configuration and rebooting the system should greet you to your new environment. Only some desktop environments require additional configuration options. Because of how NixOS works, the system will not become bloated when experimenting with different desktop environments by their various tools and dependencies: The default applications of a desktop environment are only here when said desktop environment is active, or when you manually install programs from another desktop environment.

Desktop Environment displayManager (others may work too) desktopManager additionally needed
Gnome gdm gnome
KDE/Plasma5 sddm plasma5
KDE/Plasma6 sddm plasma6 services.displayManager.sddm.wayland.enable = true;
Cinnamon lightdm cinnamon
Mate lightdm mate
XFCE lightdm xfce
Budgie lightdm budgie
Deepin lightdm deepin
Pantheon lightdm pantheon
CDE lightdm cde
COSMIC see COSMIC
LXQT lightdm lxqt
Lumina lightdm lumina

Pages in category "Desktop environment"

The following 9 pages are in this category, out of 9 total.