How To Change Desktop Environment On Ubuntu 13.04/12.10/12.04 & Linux Mint 13/14/15

Install KDE On Ubuntu/Linux Mint

You can run one of the following commands to install KDE4  on Ubuntu / Linux Mint

sudo apt-get install kde-standard (Standard KDE installation)

sudo apt-get install kde-full (Full KDE installation)

Install Gnome 3 On Ubuntu/Linux Mint

To install Gnome 3 just run the following command in terminal.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3 (Add Gnome 3 repository)

sudo apt-get update (Update available packages list)

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell (Install Gnome 3 packages)

Install XFCE4 On Ubuntu/ Linux Mint

If you want to install XFCE  run the following command.

sudo apt-get install xfce4 (Install XFCE packages)

sudo apt-get install xfce4-goodies (Optional packages)

Install Cinnamon Desktop On Ubuntu

You can install Cinnamon using the following commands, you will need to add a repository.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable (Add Cinnamon repository.)

sudo apt-get update (Update available packages list)

sudo apt-get install cinnamon (Install Cinnamon desktop packages)

Install MATE-Desktop on Ubuntu

To install Mate desktop in Ubuntu 12.04 open Terminal and copy the following commands in the Terminal:

Ubuntu 12.04 repository

sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu precise main”

Ubuntu 12.10 repository

sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu quantal main”

Ubuntu 13.04 repository

sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu raring main”

Then run the following command to update your repositories and install MATE

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mate-archive-keyring
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment

Install LXDE on Ubuntu/ Linux Mint

If you want to install LXDE run the following command.

sudo apt-get install lxde

Install E17 On ubuntu / Linux Mint

If you want to install E17 run the following command.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:hannes-janetzek/enlightenment-svn

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install e17

Install Razor-qt On ubuntu / Linux Mint

If you want to install Razor-qt run the following command.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:razor-qt

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install razorqt

You can also install other Ubuntu based distributions desktops (Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu) by running the following commands. If you don’t want to install a ton of additional software then simply add the --no-install-recommends argument.

Kubuntu

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends kubuntu-desktop

Xubuntu

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends xubuntu-desktop

 Lubuntu

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends lubuntu-desktop