How to Switch Desktop Environments on Linux

In this video, I show you how to switch desktop environments on Linux. This video showcases Debian and Arch Linux going from GNOME to KDE, but these procedures should be very similar on these distributions' respective derivatives, and with any desktop environment.

Commands for Debian:
Install a desktop environment: sudo tasksel
*On Ubuntu, you will need to install tasksel with "sudo apt install tasksel".
Switch display managers: sudo dpkg-reconfigure [any installed display manager] (example: sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm3)
List tasksel tasks: tasksel --list-tasks
Show packages installed by a task: apt show $(tasksel --task-packages=[task]) (example: apt show $(tasksel --task-packages=gnome-desktop))
Uninstall a desktop environment:
sudo apt --purge remove [desktop environment "package name"]* (example: sudo apt remove --purge gnome*)
sudo apt autoremove

Commands for Arch Linux:
Install a desktop environment: sudo pacman -S [package group(s)] (example: sudo pacman -S plasma)
Switch display managers: sudo systemctl enable -f [desired display manager] (example: sudo systemctl enable -f sddm)
Uninstall a desktop environment: sudo pacman -Rs [package group(s)] (example: sudo pacman -Rs gnome gnome-extra)

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[qtolsvb]

Bro, thank you.

Nobody talks about properly removing the old DE, and generally nobody talks about how not to break it.

[jongeduard]

For configuring the default desktop specific to X on Debian you can do this:
sudo update-alternatives --config x-session-manager
And then you get a list to choose the desired option from.
It sets the default for running `startx` or when you are use Xrdp for remote desktop sessions, when no user specific .xsession or .xinit file exists.

[mrvomit]

This helped a heap, I really didn't like GNOME. Thanks man, appreciate it!

[AndreaBorman]

I use Debian and I never use Tasksel to install anything. Once debian is installed that is the first thing I remove. You can uninstall Tasksel and you just reinstall your desktop environment using the Apt command. That's what I use to install my desktops. It's true that Debian using Tasksel during the Netinstall or ISO install to install the desktop and some other things. But once Debian is installed you can remove it and I find Apt is much better with installing desktops. You don't need Tasksel as Debian does not depend on it. Debian and Ubuntu use Apt. Yes you can also remove old desktop environments that you are not using anymore. As long as you log into your new one first before you remove the old one.

[onknight]

Amazing video thank you very much I'm on Linux noob

[jeremyharvard]

Good to see you going to kde from gnome, because gnome is going worse and worse idk why. Kde is getting so better nowadays. What's your opinion?

[id]

Just tried that with kde-applications and it returned error 404, only got 122/598 files
Why is Linux so complicated?
Tried just plasma - same. Im getting disconnected?? What am I supposed to do?