Converting Workstation to KDE Plasma edition

Ask Fedora
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1

Recently, I’ve noticed an uptick in users over at the Fedora community Discord trying to swap from Workstation to KDE without reinstalling and losing their installed applications.

I’ve put together the following steps and would like feedback on any aspects I’ve missed.
Tested on F42+ Workstation

1. Install KDE

  1. Open the Terminal app and run the code block below
sudo systemctl disable gdm

sudo dnf swap -y --allowerasing fedora-release-workstation fedora-release-kde

sudo dnf group install -y --no-packages kde-desktop-environment

sudo dnf install -y -x digikam,k3b,kipi-plugins,krusader,ktorrent,mariadb-server-utils @kde-desktop @kde-apps @kde-media @kde-pim @kde-spin-initial-setup @libreoffice libreoffice-draw libreoffice-math @firefox plasma-welcome-fedora kde-l10n

2. Remove GNOME

  1. Reboot the system
  2. In the bottom left of Plasma’s login screen, click on the Desktop Session text, then select Plasma from the popup list
  3. Now login and open the Konsole app and run the code block below in the default bash
sudo dnf remove -y @workstation-product-environment gdm gnome-{classic-session,control-center,desktop{3,4},settings-daemon,initial-setup,user-docs,user-share,shell-extension-background-logo,backgrounds,browser-connector,boxes,calculator,calendar,characters,clocks,connections,contacts,disk-utility,epub-thumbnailer,font-viewer,logs,maps,software,system-monitor,text-editor,weather} NetworkManager-{openconnect,openvpn,pptp,ssh,vpnc,l2tp}-gnome gvfs-{afp,afc,fuse,mtp,smb,gphoto2,archive,goa} rygel pinentry-gnome3 localsearch tracker tracker-miners PackageKit-gtk3-module desktop-backgrounds-gnome fros-gnome gamemode baobab loupe rhythmbox snapshot simple-scan sushi totem nautilus ptyxis yelp papers showtime decibels

3. Optional: Fix Grub’s kernel labels

Be 500% sure you type the following rm command correctly!

sudo rm -f /boot/*-0-rescue*
sudo dnf reinstall -y kernel-core
1 Like
2

The commands uninstall and install a lot of software.

Could you not simply install KDE and launch from GDM?

3

I believe the goal they have in mind is not merely to add KDE to the Workstation installation, but to completely convert Workstation into the KDE version (but without the losing the user’s installed non-GNOME applications and the like, as opposed to a fresh install).

4

Then they are pretty good instructions, though I eould not add or remove the software listed there.
I’d also remove the optional step, or explain what it does.

5

You won’t convert it to Fedora KDE this way, you’re just going to install Plasma. I really recommend to just reinstall (considering amount of packages this guide tells to remove/install, it might be even faster). Both Workstation/KDE do a lot more than just install desktop environment and by installing this way, you don’t get this.

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6

Instructions for reinstalling and keeping the home partition would be good.

What else besides software does switching do? Back when I used desktops, I switched and it worked fine.

7

Keeping home partition is a pretty bad idea (not keeping it allows you to start “fresh”). What I do is just backup my personal files.

This is messing with configuration files and may cause bugs, there are going to a lot of leftover files from removed packages and in general, this is running in unsupported configuration which isn’t as tested as normal Fedora KDE install is.

8

There will be files left over. Like having a messy house :slight_smile:

A lot of people liketo keep the /home for configs, keys, mails etc.

I only run unsupported systems, I think it will work fine in nearly all cases.

9

Clean house allows you to have a reproducible environment. Having intended configuration also helps when encountering bugs (you don’t need to assume what things the person having problems did to their system and trust me, it’s pretty important aspect) and it can even minimise amount of bugs (since intended configuration is usually the one most tested).

10

Given the guide is meant to be for someone that explicitly does not want to start fresh (they explicitly want to avoid reinstalling and they want to keep their installed applications, and presumably files in their /home as well), I think this is a moot point for this scenario. Broadly, yeah probably advisable to just reinstall properly rather than do a conversion of Workstation to KDE.

Although personally? I’d probably not wipe /home unless I’m switching distros entirely (i.e. going from Fedora to Debian, for example). I want to keep as much of my data intact as humanly possible, and having to manually find each and every config that I want to backup and carry over would be way too tedious for me. My respect to you, for always going with a fully clean reinstall.

11

It’s actually fairly easy, thanks to my setup script Making sure you're not a bot! . It’s really just a matter of going to the terminal for me :stuck_out_tongue:

12

Mmm, definitely seems like you’ve put in the effort to set up a script to do all the tedious stuff for you. Makes sense, though I don’t think I’d end up doing the same. Still cool regardless!

13

When I mistakenly installed Fedora workstation iso (with Gnome) once, I tried to save some time by installing KDE on top of it and switching to it. But I remember not everything worked perfectly, there were some issues, and the system used way more space than I expected. I suppose even after your clean-up there will be unnecessary config files and folders left across the system, and perhaps some incompatibility here or there…

Fresh reinstall seems much more reasonable and adviseable, even it’s much more hassle due to apps/data backup.

Could be a great opportunity to improve one’s backup strategy BTW!

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