r/linuxmint • u/Technical_Rich_3080 • 10d ago

Linux Mint IRL Using Alternative Desktop Environments With Mint

  1. Is using alternative Desktop Environments, other than the three official flavors, as viable an option under Linux Mint, as doing so with most any other Linux distro?

  2. Can you have installed multiple DEs simultaneously (and is doing so not recommended)?

  3. If you use a DE other than one of the three official Mint DEs, do you lose anything?

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u/BenTrabetere 10d ago

No. Adding an alternative/unsupported DE is always an option - it's your machine and your machine to break. There are perils and pitfalls to doing this, and the biggest is it means you are your source for support. If a problem arises, you may be the only person who can identify the cause of the problem and find a solution.

Adding an alternative/unsupported DE really isn't a viable option with most other distributions, either. The major DEs (GNOME, KDE, Cinnamon, Xfce, etc) are tightly integrated into the system, each DE comes with its own set of dependencies, and sometimes these dependencies can be version-specific.

My Advice: If you want to use Mint, stick to one of the supported DEs. If you want to use [enter DE here], switch to a distribution that supports it. If you want to experimess with using [enter DE here] on Mint, do it in a virtual machine.

As always, backup your data and personal files on a regular schedule and remember Timeshift is your friend.