Linux Desktop Environments List of common Linux desktop environments with their installation instructions on Arch Linux. Each desktop environment's core and default components/applications are listed with recommended ones indicated in italics .
Released in 1999. Primary focus on simplicity and workspaces.
Core
Toolkit GTK 4
Platform X11, Wayland
Window Manager Mutter
Display Manager GDM
Applications
File Manager Nautilus
Terminal GNOME Terminal
Text Editor gedit
Image Viewer Eye of GNOME
Music Player GNOME Music
Video Player GNOME Videos
PDF Viewer Evince
Archive Manager File Roller
pacman -S gnome gnome-extra Released in 1998. Primary focus on customization.
Core
Toolkit Qt 5
Platform X11, Wayland
Window Manager KWin
Display Manager SDDM
Applications
File Manager Dolphin
Terminal Konsole
Text Editor KWrite, Kate
Image Viewer Gwenview
Music Player Elisa
Video Player Dragon Player
PDF Viewer Okular
Archive Manager Ark
pacman -S plasma plasma-wayland-session kde-applications Released in 1996. Primary focus on speed and lightweight.
Core
Toolkit GTK 3
Platform X11
Window Manager Xfwm
Display Manager LightDM
Applications
File Manager Thunar
Terminal Xfce Terminal
Text Editor Mousepad
Image Viewer Ristretto
Music Player Parole
Video Player Parole
PDF Viewer ---
Archive Manager Xarchiver
pacman -S xfce4 xfce4-goodies lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings Released in 2011. Primary focus on the traditional desktop experience.
Core
Toolkit GTK 3
Platform X11
Window Manager Muffin
Display Manager LightDM
Applications
File Manager Nemo
Terminal GNOME Terminal
Text Editor Xed
Image Viewer Xviewer
Music Player Xplayer
Video Player Xplayer
PDF Viewer Xreader
Archive Manager File Roller
pacman -S cinnamon gnome-terminal nemo-fileroller lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings
yay -S xed xviewer xplayer xreader Released in 2011. Primary focus on the traditional desktop experience.
Core
Toolkit GTK 3
Platform X11
Window Manager Marco
Display Manager LightDM
Applications
File Manager Caja
Terminal MATE Terminal
Text Editor Pluma
Image Viewer Eye of MATE
Music Player ---
Video Player ---
PDF Viewer Atril
Archive Manager Engrampa
pacman -S mate mate-extra lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings Released in 2013. Primary focus on speed and lightweight.
Core
Toolkit Qt 5
Platform X11
Window Manager Openbox
Display Manager SDDM
Applications
File Manager PCManFM-Qt
Terminal QTerminal
Text Editor ---
Image Viewer LXImage-Qt
Music Player ---
Video Player ---
PDF Viewer ---
Archive Manager LXQt Archiver
Released in 2006. Primary focus on low resources and performance.
Core
Toolkit GTK 2
Platform X11
Window Manager Openbox
Display Manager LXDM
Applications
File Manager PCManFM
Terminal LXTerminal
Text Editor ---
Image Viewer GPicView
Music Player LXMusic
Video Player ---
PDF Viewer ---
Archive Manager Xarchiver
Released in 2011. Primary focus on macOS style.
Core
Toolkit GTK 3
Platform X11
Window Manager Gala
Display Manager LightDM
Applications
File Manager Pantheon Files
Terminal Pantheon Terminal
Text Editor Pantheon Code
Image Viewer Pantheon Photos
Music Player Pantheon Music
Video Player Pantheon Videos
PDF Viewer Evince
Archive Manager File Roller
pacman -S pantheon evince Released in 2015. Primary focus on elegance and ease of use.
Core
Toolkit Qt 5
Platform X11, Wayland
Window Manager Deepin WM
Display Manager LightDM
Applications
File Manager Deepin File Manager
Terminal Deepin Terminal
Text Editor Deepin Editor
Image Viewer Deepin Image Viewer
Music Player Deepin Music
Video Player Deepin Movie
PDF Viewer Deepin Reader
Archive Manager Deepin Compressor
pacman -S deepin deepin-extra Released in 2013. Primary focus on simplicity and minimalism.
Core
Toolkit GTK 3
Platform X11
Window Manager Mutter
Display Manager GDM
Applications
File Manager Nautilus
Terminal GNOME Terminal
Text Editor gedit
Image Viewer Eye of GNOME
Music Player GNOME Music
Video Player GNOME Videos
PDF Viewer Evince
Archive Manager File Roller
pacman -S budgie-desktop gnome Released in 2021. Primary focus on simplicity, beauty, and practicality.
Core
Toolkit Qt 5
Platform X11, Wayland
Window Manager KWin
Display Manager SDDM
Applications
File Manager Cutefish File Manager
Terminal Cutefish Terminal
Text Editor ---
Image Viewer ---
Music Player ---
Video Player ---
PDF Viewer ---
Archive Manager ---
