How to install GNOME desktop on Kali Linux

Most Linux distributions have a “main” desktop environment they use – the one that comes installed by default in the distro’s most popular download. For Kali Linux, it’s Xfce.

 

If you prefer GNOME over Xfce or are just looking for a change of scenery, it’s quite simple to switch desktop environments on Kali. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to install the GNOME desktop environment on Kali Linux.

In this tutorial you will learn:

How to install GNOME desktop on Kali Linux

Follow the step by step instructions to install GNOME and learn how to switch between Xfce and GNOME desktop environments once both are installed. We’ll also see how to remove Xfce completely, in case you want to make a permanent switch to GNOME.

Step 01. Open a terminal and type the following commands to install GNOME.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install kali-desktop-gnome

Step 02. If you receive a notification that asks you what display manager to use, select gdm3, as that is the display manager for GNOME.

Step 03. Installation may take some time, as many packages and their dependencies will have to be downloaded and installed. But once installation has been completed, reboot the computer.

Step 04. When Kali finishes loading back up, you’ll be presented with the option to select GNOME or Xfce from the login screen (note that you must first select your user).

Step 05. If you like GNOME so much that you want to get rid of Xfce completely, which will get rid of the option to select it from the login screen, execute the following commands in the terminal. The second command will remove any lingering packages that were part of Xfce.

sudo apt remove kali-desktop-xfce xfce4* lightdm*
sudo apt autoremove

That’s all there is to it. Now, you can use GNOME on your system, and optionally remove Xfce if you don’t intend to use it again. After installing or removing a GUI, make sure you reboot for all the changes to take effect.

Closing Thoughts

In this guide, we saw how to install the GNOME desktop environment on Kali Linux. We also saw how to remove Xfce from the system, which isn’t necessary if you want to switch between the two environments sometimes. Kali makes it easy to install new desktop environments by having all related software neatly packaged into a single download.