How to install Gnome and start GUI in Redhat Linux

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This article will answer the following questions: How to start GUI in Redhat Linux. GNOME is the default desktop environment on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but only if you opt for the full installation of the operating system. Other installations don’t include any GUI by default. If you’ve chosen a minimal install but don’t want to be limited to just the command line, you can install the GNOME desktop environment in a few simple commands.

In this guide, we’ll show you the step by step instructions to install the GNOME GUI on RHEL 7 and 8. Follow along with us on your own system to get it setup.

In this tutorial you will learn:

  • How to install GNOME desktop environment on Red Hat version 7 and 8
  • How to make GNOME launch by default upon system boot
How to install Gnome and start gui in Redhat Linux
How to install Gnome and start gui in Redhat Linux
Software Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions
Category Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used
System Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Software GNOME GUI
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 GNOME desktop environment

  1. Once your system is booted up and you’ve logged in, we can use a yum groupinstall command to install a GUI. To see the packages available, execute the following command. 
    # yum group list
Available environment groups:
   Minimal Install
   Infrastructure Server
   File and Print Server
   Basic Web Server
   Virtualization Host
   Server with GUI
.....
  2. Next, let’s install the Server with GUI package with the command below. This will begin to install all the necessary packages for the GNOME desktop environment. 
    # yum groupinstall "Server with GUI"
  3. Just because gnome desktop environment is a default GUI on RHEL 7 and 8 linux system the above command will install gnome. Alternatively, you can run the below command to only install core GNOME packages: 
    # yum groupinstall 'X Window System' 'GNOME'
  4. Once installation has finished, we can make GNOME start every time the system boots up by changing the default systemd target to use a graphical interface. 
    # systemctl set-default graphical.target
  5. Finally, reboot the system for all changes to take effect. When Red Hat finishes loading back up, you should be welcomed by the GNOME login screen. If you only have a root user account, you’ll be prompted to create a new regular user when GNOME first loads. 
    # reboot

    Depending on your previous installations, you may need to accept the Red Hat License after you reboot your system.

Closing Thoughts

In this guide, we saw how to install the GNOME GUI on Red Hat 7 and 8. This is for users that have chosen a minimal install, but later decided that they want to use a graphical interface. RHEL makes the task rather streamlined by using groupinstall and using a systemctl command to change the default systemd target.

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