How to install LXDE and Xfce desktops on Ubuntu

Xfce and LXDE

In the next article I'm going to show you how to install three truly lightweight desktops on our latest Ubuntu operating system, although it's also functional for older versions or Debian-based systems. These three desktops stand out for being especially light and designed for machines with few system resources. For example, I revived an old tower by installing Xubuntu on it, and I'm not lying when I say that we were about to throw it away. The desktops that we are going to deal with here are LXDE and Xfce, and also LXQt.

As for LXDE and LXQt, they are developed by the same person, Hong Jen Yee. Not content with what GTK offered, he began to experiment with LXQt, and although he has not abandoned LXDE and says that both desktops will coexist, the truth is that he is taking care of LXQt more than LXDE. Also, Lubuntu abandoned LXDE and at the time of writing this article his desktop has long been LXQt.

Installing two of these three desktops in Ubuntu is as easy as few things can be, since Ubuntu has two complete distros specifically for these two desktops, one is Xubuntu (Xfce) and the other is Lubuntu (LXQt). Installing LXDE is not that it is more difficult, but the results will not be as complete as in the other two cases in which it basically installs everything, graphical environment, applications, libraries and so on.

How to install the LXDE desktop

First we will update the list of repositories with the command:

sudo apt update

Second we will update the whole system:

sudo apt upgrade

Third we will install the LXDE desktop:

sudo apt install lxde

When entering the last command, we will see that many packages appear to install, but it is normal because we are going to install an entire desktop. When we accept, the process will begin. At a certain moment it will ask us what we want to use to start the session, to choose between packages such as gdm and lightdm. We make our selection and finish the installation. To see what we have installed we only have to log out and open a new session by selecting the LXDE option from the login screen.

How to install Xfce desktop

In the same way as before, we will update the list of packages:

sudo apt update

Now we will update the whole system:

sudo apt upgrade

To finally install Xfce:

sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop

Like installing LXDE, there will be a point where we have to choose the session management software. To log in to Xfce, we will have to close the current session and open a new session by selecting this desktop from the login screen.

How to install LXQt

As with LXDE and Xfce, the first two commands will be to update the package list and the operating system:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

With the third command we will install the desktop:

sudo apt install lubuntu-desktop

As always when installing a desktop, there will come a time when we will have to choose the session management software. Once the installation is finished, to log in with LZQt we will have to close the current session and open the new session by choosing the LXQt icon from the login screen.

LXQt Backports Repository

As we have already explained, at the time of writing this article Lubuntu uses LXQt, having abandoned LXDE for whatever reason. It could have been because they thought the same as his creator regarding GTK, it could have been because he started to take more care of LXQt... but they took the leap. Also, just as KDE has its Backports repository, Lubuntu moved and he did the same.

For those who do not know what this is, a "backport" is bring software from a future or newer version to an older one. In the case of KDE, they upload Plasma, Frameworks, and KDE Gear to their Backports repository so that it can be used on Kubuntu and other Debian-based operating systems. Otherwise, we would have to wait six months to install all this software.

Lubuntu did the same, but with LXQt. If a new version of the desktop comes out, can be installed instantly if the Lubuntu Backports repository is added, something that can be achieved by opening a terminal and entering this command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lubuntu-dev/backports-staging

Once the previous command has been entered, we would have to return to the point of How to install LXQt and do what is explained there.

But keep one thing in mind: although the software in this type of repository has already reached its stable version, installing things as soon as they are released not always a good idea. When a zero-point version of LXQt comes out, Lubuntu will upload it to its Backports even if no bug fixes have been released yet. On the other hand, if we stay in the version offered by the operating system, we will have to wait up to 6 months to enjoy a new desktop. The decision is ours.

More information - RazorQT, a lightweight desktop for your Ubuntu


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  1.   cross it said

    Hear a question, which is faster LXDE or KDE, sorry for distorting but it intrigues me a lot.

    1.    Francisco Ruiz said

      Without a doubt LXDE since it is much lighter.

      1.    cross it said

        Thank you very much, I am going to integrate it to my Linux Mint

    2.    Miquel Mayol i Tur said

      KDE is the heaviest, XFCE and LXDE, I prefer XFCE with the bar down "XP-like" they are better, even more if you lower the screen resolution from 1080p to 720p, it is slightly less than half the work for graphics the change of resolution.

    3.    josue said

      logical what is lxde

  2.   cross it said

    Hear another question, LXDE is compatible with Compiz effects?

  3.   Miquel Mayol i Tur said

    Not only in pentiums, I have an AMD64 X3 at 3.2 ghz, with an AMD HD 4250 and XFCE at 720p it is much more fluid than Unity or Unity 2d, Gnome Shell or Cinnamon.  

  4.   leaf said

    Now I have a problem at the beginning, on the select desktop screen, I get a long list, so long that it does not fit on the screen and therefore I cannot give it to the accept option ... it does not let me enter any other desktop other than unity, when I have them all installed ... what can I do?

  5.   Alejandro said

    On my ibm t23 with pentium 3 1ghz 256 mb RAM, the xfce works sooo well

  6.   Javier Ruiz said

    I have tried lxde, but I would think xubuntu has more support!

  7.   fabian valencia munoz said

    Hello, a question yp tenog ubuntu 16.04 in dual boot with windows 10 from grub 2, is it possible to use an environment like xfce without any problem with the boot of the two systems? I have a pc with good resources but if it draws attention to the idea of ​​making its performance more fluid.

    1.    josue said

      I do not know

  8.   daniel said

    I already installed xfce but it does not load my desktop, gnome keeps appearing. what I do

    1.    josue said

      FIRST you choose the user and then you change the desktop environment (that happened to me too)