By default, the Fedora Linux distribution sports the GNOME desktop environment, although others are available in “Spin” downloads. If you would like to change things up and install KDE Plasma instead, the GUI can be downloaded and installed directly from Fedora’s default package repositories.
This can be done whether you are switching from GNOME to KDE Plasma, from some other desktop environment, or you currently are running command line interface only and wish to install a graphical desktop environment. KDE Plasma is a great choice that comes with all the tools you will need to utilize your Fedora system.
In this tutorial, we will go through the step by step instructions to install the KDE Plasma GUI desktop environment on a Fedora Linux system.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- How to install KDE Plasma Desktop GUI on Fedora Linux
- How to enable graphical target in systemd
- How to disable GDM and enable SDDM window manager
- How to load into alternative desktop environment at lock screen
| Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
|---|---|
| System | Fedora Linux |
| Software | KDE Plasma, SDDM window manager |
| Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
| Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
How to install KDE plasma Desktop on Fedora Linux step by step instructions
- Installing KDE desktop environment is rather easy. Get started by opening a command line terminal and typing the following
dnfcommand to install the@kde-desktopgroup package. It is also recommended to make sure your system is completely up to date before installing the GUI.$ sudo dnf update -y $ sudo dnf install @kde-desktop
- After the installation is complete, you may need to set your Fedora Linux system to boot into a graphical target by default. This should only be necessary if you previously did not have any GUI installed. Execute the command below:
$ sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target
- In case you did not receive the prompts about changing over your window manager, you will need to manually enable
sddmwindow manager to start up automatically. Before doing that, make sure thatgdmwindow manager is disabled (assuming that you currently have GNOME installed).$ sudo systemctl disable gdm $ sudo systemctl enable sddm
- Afterwards, you can reboot your Fedora Linux system and load into your newly installed KDE Plasma desktop environment.
$ reboot
- That’s all there is to it. Your system should load into the KDE lock screen when it boots back up.
Loading into KDE Plasma desktop environment after reboot - Keep in mind you can always load GNOME at the lock screen by clicking on the desktop environment drop down menu at the bottom left hand side of your screen.
Selecting a different desktop environment 
Loaded into the KDE Plasma GUI desktop on Fedora Linux
Closing Thoughts
In this tutorial, we saw how to install the KDE Plasma desktop environment GUI on Fedora Linux. KDE is a speedy and responsive desktop environment, which comes loaded with a lot of its own applications, such as the Dolphin file manager, to make your system administration that much easier. Fedora Linux and KDE Plasma is a great combination that you are sure to enjoy – I personally like it a lot better than the default GNOME environment on Fedora Linux.