How to LXDE Desktop Environment on Fedora 35

LXDE, or better known as Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment, is a free desktop environment that is known for being lightweight, fast, and energy-efficient which can replace the standard default GNOME Desktop on your Fedora 35 Workstation, which can be desired for users with low powered computers, laptops, and netbooks.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install LXDE Desktop Environment on your Fedora 35 Workstation.

Prerequisites

• Recommended OS: Fedora Linux 35.
• User account: A user account with sudo or root access.

Update Operating System

Update your Fedora operating system to make sure all existing packages are up to date:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y

The tutorial will be using the sudo command and assuming you have sudo status.

To verify sudo status on your account:

sudo whoami

Example output showing sudo status:

[joshua@fedora ~]$ sudo whoami
root

To set up an existing or new sudo account, visit our tutorial on Adding a User to Sudoers on Fedora.

To use the root account, use the following command with the root password to log in.

su

Install Dependency Required

Before you proceed with the installation, run the following command to install or check that the package dnf-plugins-core is installed on your Fedora desktop.

sudo dnf install dnf-plugins-core -y

By default, this should be installed.

The tutorial will utilize the terminal, which can be found in your show applications menu.

Example:

Important Notice Before Installation

Before installing the LXDE desktop, create backups or plans if you do not like it and want to roll back. Removing any Desktop Environment is messy and will lead to system instabilities and random applications still installed. Overall, it is a painstaking process to revert to the original state before the packages were installed, especially for the new and average user.

Unless you have minimal system resources, having multiple desktop environments won’t hinder your system. Often people have several and switch in between.

Install LXDE Desktop Environment on Fedora

The first step is to verify the LXDE desktop environment is available on your Fedora system and what the group contains and will install on your Fedora workstation. In your terminal, use the following command.

sudo dnf group info "LXDE Desktop"

Example output:

As above, the LXDE DE group environment is available and lists details along with optional groups such as LXDE Office and Multimedia support, amongst other things.

Install the desktop environment with the following command.

sudo dnf group install "LXDE Desktop"

Alternatively, install the options with LXDE Desktop install command. The tutorial will install the Multimedia and Office option from the original list printout.

sudo dnf group install "LXDE Desktop" "LXDE Office" "Multimedia support for LXDE"

Example output:

Type Y, then press the ENTER KEY to proceed with the installation.

Note, the optional two extra packages in the example are highlighted. Check that they are included before installing, but you can always do this later.

Once installed, restart your PC.

reboot

First Look & Verifying LXDE Desktop

Once you have restarted your desktop, you will arrive at your login screen.

DO NOT LOG IN STRAIGHT AWAY.

First, you need to verify the desktop environment. This is done by clicking the configuration button next to the sign-in button.

Example (Click Image Expand):

Next, make sure “LXDE” is selected as the desktop environment. By default, this isn’t chosen, so make sure you check this.

Example (Click Image Expand):

Once logged in, you will notice quite a few UI changes similar to a Windows feel look, with the taskbar is now located on the bottom with a much more clean and simple look.

Example (Click Image Expand):

o confirm the installation, a handy package to install is Neofetch, and this comes in the EPEL repository that you installed earlier.

To install this package, use the following command in your terminal.

sudo dnf install neofetch -y

Once installed, run the following command in your terminal.

neofetch

Example output (Click Image Expand):

How to Update LXDE Packages

For future updates for LXDE, since it has been installed from Fedora’s default repository, you will need to run the standard upgrade and update command.

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to install the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment on your Fedora 35 Workstation. Overall, it’s a solid option for those seeking a simple, clean, quick desktop environment, especially those who want to keep Fedora’s latest packages but not use such a resource-heavy environment such as GNOME as the daily driver.

For more information on using the LXDE desktop environment, visit the official documentation.