I'm using Linux Mint and want to try both KDE Plasma and the Hyprland window manager. How do I install them, and how can I choose which desktop environment or window manager starts when I log in?
3 Answers
Hyprland is more complicated on Mint because it isn’t officially supported in the same way as the standard desktop environments. It may require installing or compiling several related Wayland components, and setup guides can be tied to a particular Ubuntu or Mint base. Back up your system first and check that the instructions match your Mint version. Once installed correctly, Hyprland should also appear as a selectable session at login.
After installing the desktop environments or window managers, choose the session from the login screen before entering your password. Look for a session menu, gear icon, or similar button near the login fields. This changes the session for that login without changing your whole installation.
KDE Plasma can be installed through Mint’s package manager or with a command such as `sudo apt install kde-plasma-desktop`. The fuller `kde-full` package installs more KDE applications. Be aware that the Plasma version available in Mint’s repositories may be older than the current upstream release.
Mint uses LightDM, and it normally provides a session selector on the login screen. Make sure you’re choosing the boot login screen, not the screen that appears when you lock the computer.