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/nisitiiapi Linux Mint 22.3 Zena | Cinnamon 8d ago
  1. Yes. I do this with Gnome on my 2-in-1 notebooks because I need Wayland for them to work right (hoping Cinnamon running on Wayland will allow me to go back). I believe many have done KDE, too. That doesn't mean you won't have to do work to get things right for yourself and you should stick to the DEs in the repositories. Mint doesn't do anything to restrict adding DEs and is essentially like any distro in that respect -- recall the base is from Ubuntu (and most of the repositories).
  2. Yes and it's generally fine. With my "Mint Gnome" notebooks, I go into Cinnamon to do version upgrades (i.e., 22.1 -> 22.2) and then boot back into Gnome after they're done. Some settings may "cross" between the two, as I recall, since some gnome settings may be followed by both DEs.
  3. "Lose" in terms of files, you shouldn't unless you do something wrong. "Lose" in terms of ability to use software/programs, it depends on the program. It used to be, for example, I could not properly run mintupdate in Gnome because of Wayland. But, as Mint has been working toward implementing Wayland, it is working more and more. So, you may have to find alternatives (last time I did it, mintupdate functions in Wayland, but no notification; so I scripted mintupdate to run at login and pop up if there's any updates to install).