How to Install Budgie Desktop on Ubuntu

The Budgie desktop is a fast, simple, and elegant desktop environment. It's a lightweight desktop environment that combines stability and a traditional-looking Ubuntu look-and-feel. Written in C and Gnome based, Budgie desktop is developed by Solus project and is now integrated with Ubuntu Budgie.

In this guide, we will show you how to install Budgie desktop on Ubuntu 18.04/20.04.

Install Ubuntu Budgie desktop

Ubuntu Budgie is included in official Ubuntu repositories, hence we are going to use the APT package manager to install it. To install Ubuntu Budgie, simply run the commands below.

$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt install ubuntu-budgie-desktop

You will be required to select your preferred display manager. Select the 'lightdm' option to enjoy a full Ubuntu Budgie desktop experience.

The installation size of Ubuntu Budgie is roughly  680MB at the time of penning down this article. Meanwhile, the process took close to 10 minutes. Thereafter, once the installation is complete, reboot your system so that you can log in using the newly installed desktop environment.

$ sudo reboot

During the reboot, you will see Ubuntu Budgie's logo as shown.

At the login screen, click on the gear wheel icon as shown and select 'Ubuntu Budgie' desktop.

Log in and savour the sleek and stunning and  Budgie desktop. In my opinion, it feels quite lightweight and easy to navigate. The UI is simply dazzling and getting around is a piece of cake.

How to remove Budgie desktop

If you are not that impressed by the Budgie desktop and perhaps would like to remove it alongside all its components and go back to the default GNOME desktop, run the commands below.

$ sudo apt remove ubuntu-budgie-desktop ubuntu-budgie* lightdm
$ sudo apt autoremove

Also, you need to reinstall the GNOME display manager as shown:

$ sudo apt install --reinstall gdm3

Next, reboot your Ubuntu system and select the GNOME display manager to log in.

Conclusion

Solus users can always enjoy the latest version of Budgie as soon as it is available. Give it a try and share with us how it went. We hope you were able to install the Budgie desktop environment on the Ubuntu system.