How to Install Cinnamon Desktop 3.4 on Ubuntu

Cinnamon is the default desktop environment of the Linux Mint distribution which offers advanced features and traditional user experience. It offers flexibility, speed, a traditional but elegant desktop look with the bottom panel and app menu, etc.

Cinnamon is also available as an optional desktop for other Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, openSUSE, etc. Its desktop arrangements are much similar to Windows.

In this article, we will learn how to install Cinnamon 3.4 desktop environment on Ubuntu. Before moving towards installation, let’s take a look at some of the features of Cinnamon desktop.

Cinnamon Desktop Features

The Cinnamon desktop offers the following features:

• Desktop effects including transparency, animations, and transition effects
• Multiple workspaces
• Tiling windows
• Panels equipped with applets, main menu, and launchers
• Various extensions
• Adjustable system tray

We will use Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for describing the procedure mentioned in this article.

Installing Cinnamon desktop environment

For installing Cinnamon DE on Ubuntu, we will need to add its PPA to our local repository. There is an unofficial PPA available for it. Follow the below steps for that:

Step 1: Add PPA

Launch the Terminal by using Ctrl+Alt+T keys shortcut or by searching for "terminal" from the start menu. Then in the Terminal, run the following command to add the PPA:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:embrosyn/cinnamon

When prompted for the password, enter sudo password and press Enter.

Step 2: Update local repository

Then run the following command in Terminal to update the local apt repository.

$ sudo apt update

Step 3: Install Cinnamon Desktop

After adding and updating the repositories, run the following command in Terminal as sudo to install the Cinnamon desktop environment:

$ sudo apt install cinnamon

Wait for a while until the installation is completed.

Step 4: Close the current session

Once the installation of Cinnamon is completed, log out of the current session of Ubuntu. Alternatively, it is better to restart the system by typing the following command in Terminal:

$ sudo reboot

Step 5: Login to Cinnamon DE

When the system restarts, you will see the login screen. Click on the cog icon on the left side of the Sign in button.

It will list all the available desktop environment on your system. From the list, select the Cinnamon.

Then enter the user credentials and click on Sign in.

Once you logged in, you will see the Ubuntu with Cinnamon desktop environment. You can do the same step to switch back to your old desktop environment.

Remove Cinnamon from Ubuntu

To remove the Cinnamon desktop from your Ubuntu, run the following command :

$ sudo apt-get remove Cinnamon

Then run the following command in order to remove all the dependencies and libraries related to Cinnamon that are no longer in use:

$ sudo apt-get autoremove

That was all we needed in order to install Cinnamon in our Ubuntu. You can see how easy and simple it is to create a Cinnamon desktop environment right into your Ubuntu. It is one of the best and a user-friendly desktop to work with, and it can be easily customized.