How to Install Tasksel on Ubuntu Linux

Tasksel simplifies the process of installing predefined collections of software packages on Ubuntu, making it ideal for setting up web servers, database servers, or desktop environments with a single command. Instead of manually installing each component of a LAMP stack or SSH server, Tasksel bundles everything together and handles the configuration automatically. By the end of this guide, you will have Tasksel installed and ready to deploy complete server environments or desktop configurations through its interactive menu interface.

This guide supports Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and 24.04 LTS installations. Tasksel is available in Ubuntu’s default repositories, so commands shown work identically on both supported LTS releases.

Update Ubuntu Before Tasksel Installation

First, update your system to ensure all existing packages are current. This step helps prevent potential conflicts during the Tasksel installation.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Install Tasksel via APT Command

Tasksel is available in Ubuntu’s default repositories, so installation requires only a single command. To install Tasksel, enter the following in your terminal:

sudo apt install tasksel

Verify the Installation

After installation completes, confirm that APT recognizes Tasksel by checking its package status:

apt-cache policy tasksel

The output confirms the installed version and repository source:

tasksel:
  Installed: 3.75ubuntu1
  Candidate: 3.75ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 3.75ubuntu1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Version numbers differ between Ubuntu releases: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ships version 3.75ubuntu1, while Ubuntu 22.04 LTS uses 3.68ubuntu2. Your output will reflect your specific release.

Test Tasksel with Dry Run

Additionally, you can test Tasksel’s functionality using the -t flag, which performs a dry run without actually installing any packages:

sudo tasksel -t

Running this command opens the Tasksel interface and allows you to select a task. The system performs a simulated installation, demonstrating the process without deploying any software packages. This is useful for exploring available tasks before committing to an installation.

Launch and Use Tasksel

With Tasksel now on your system, you can launch it to install software task groups. Because Tasksel modifies system packages, it requires root privileges.

Open the Tasksel Interface

To launch the interactive Tasksel menu, run the following command:

sudo tasksel

This opens a text-based interface showing all available task groups. On Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the available tasks include:

┌───────────────────────┤ Software selection ├────────────────────────┐
│ You can choose to install one or more of the following predefined  │
│ collections of software.                                            │
│                                                                      │
│ Choose software to install:                                          │
│                                                                      │
│    [ ] KDE Plasma                                                    │
│    [ ] Cinnamon                                                      │
│    [ ] MATE                                                          │
│    [ ] LXDE                                                          │
│    [ ] LXQt                                                          │
│    [ ] web server                                                    │
│    [ ] SSH server                                                    │
│    [ ] laptop                                                        │
│                                                                      │
│                    <Ok>                    <Cancel>                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Select and Install a Task

In the Tasksel menu, use the arrow keys to navigate to your desired task. Press the spacebar to select it (an asterisk appears next to selected items), then press Tab to highlight the “Ok” button and Enter to confirm your selection.

For example, to install an SSH server:

1. Navigate to “SSH server” using the arrow keys.
2. Press spacebar to select it.
3. Press Tab to move to “Ok” and press Enter.

Tasksel then automatically installs all packages required for that task. For more detailed SSH configuration options, see our guide on installing and enabling SSH on Ubuntu.

Install Tasks from Command Line

Alternatively, you can install tasks directly from the command line without opening the interactive interface. First, list all available tasks:

tasksel --list-tasks

The output shows each task’s status (u for uninstalled, i for installed) and name:

u kde-desktop        KDE Plasma
u cinnamon-desktop   Cinnamon
u mate-desktop       MATE
u lxde-desktop       LXDE
u lxqt-desktop       LXQt
u web-server         web server
u ssh-server         SSH server
u laptop             laptop

To install a specific task directly, use the install command with the task name:

sudo tasksel install ssh-server

This approach is particularly useful for scripted deployments or when you already know which task you need.

Verify Task Installation

After installing a task, verify that the services are running correctly. For example, after installing the SSH server task, check the service status:

sudo systemctl status ssh

For a web server task, you would check Apache’s status:

sudo systemctl status apache2

The output should show “active (running)” to confirm the service started successfully. For comprehensive web server setup including virtual hosts and SSL, see our guide on installing Apache on Ubuntu.

Troubleshoot Common Tasksel Issues

Debconf Frontend Errors in Minimal Installations

When running Tasksel on minimal Ubuntu installations or Docker containers, you may see warnings about the debconf frontend:

debconf: unable to initialize frontend: Dialog
debconf: falling back to frontend: Readline

These warnings occur because minimal systems do not include the dialog package (which provides the text-based UI) by default. To resolve this, install the dialog package:

sudo apt install dialog

After installing dialog, Tasksel will display its graphical interface correctly. Standard Ubuntu desktop and server installations typically include this package by default.

Remove Tasksel from Ubuntu

If you no longer need Tasksel, you can remove it from your system. Removing Tasksel does not affect any software you installed using it—those packages remain installed independently.

To remove Tasksel and its data package, run:

sudo apt remove tasksel tasksel-data

Next, remove any orphaned dependencies that APT installed alongside Tasksel:

sudo apt autoremove

Finally, verify that Tasksel has been removed:

apt-cache policy tasksel

The output should confirm that APT no longer lists Tasksel as installed:

tasksel:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.75ubuntu1
  Version table:
     3.75ubuntu1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/main amd64 Packages

Conclusion

You now have Tasksel installed and configured on Ubuntu, ready to deploy complete server environments or desktop configurations through its interactive or command-line interface. The tasksel install command is particularly useful for quickly provisioning new servers with SSH access, web server capabilities, or database functionality. For production deployments, consider combining Tasksel with manual configuration to fine-tune services like Nginx or MySQL according to your specific requirements.