Desktop environments and window managers
The advanced CatOS installation configuration can select a desktop environment or window manager during installation. It currently provides 15 graphical choices, as well as No Desktop for a base system without a graphical interface.
The customization depth is not identical for every option. Some desktops have dedicated CatOS configuration repositories, while others primarily use upstream defaults together with shared CatOS GTK, icon, font, or common-tool settings.
Complete desktop environments
| Choice | Intended use | CatOS customization |
|---|---|---|
| KDE Plasma | A complete and highly customizable Qt desktop; the current default | Dedicated KDE settings and KDE theme repositories |
| GNOME | A modern desktop focused on consistency and an integrated workflow | Dedicated GNOME settings, plus shared GTK settings |
| Deepin Desktop | A complete desktop with tightly integrated components | Primarily upstream Deepin components and installer presets |
| Xfce | A traditional desktop with relatively low resource usage | Dedicated Xfce settings, plus shared GTK configuration |
| Cinnamon | A familiar, traditional desktop based on GTK | Primarily upstream components and shared GTK configuration |
| COSMIC | A modern Wayland desktop written primarily in Rust | Primarily upstream components and installer presets |
| Budgie | A clean and approachable GTK desktop | Primarily upstream components and shared GTK configuration |
| LXDE | A minimal X11 desktop for low-resource systems | Primarily upstream components and installer presets |
| LXQt | A lightweight Qt desktop with a classic layout | Primarily upstream components and installer presets |
| MATE | A traditional desktop continuing the GNOME 2 workflow | Primarily upstream components and shared GTK configuration |
Wayland desktops and window managers
| Choice | Intended use | CatOS customization |
|---|---|---|
| Niri + DMS | A scrolling tiling Wayland desktop using Dank Material Shell | Assembled by the installer from Niri, DMS, and common desktop components; dedicated customization is still being organized |
| Hyprland + DMS | A dynamic tiling Wayland desktop using Dank Material Shell | Assembled by the installer from Hyprland, DMS, and common desktop components; dedicated customization is still being organized |
| Sway | A stable, keyboard-driven tiling Wayland environment | Dedicated Sway settings, plus Waybar settings |
| Labwc | A lightweight floating Wayland desktop inspired by Openbox | Dedicated Labwc settings, plus shared Waybar configuration |
| Wayfire | A lightweight floating Wayland environment with desktop effects | Dedicated Wayfire settings, plus shared Waybar configuration |
No Desktop
Selecting No Desktop installs a command-line system without a graphical environment. It is useful for:
- building a desktop or window-manager setup from scratch;
- development machines, test environments, or lightweight servers;
- users who only want the CatOS installer, repositories, and base-system integration.
No Desktop does not indicate an incomplete installation. Any desktop components can be installed afterwards with pacman or the AUR.
Choosing a desktop
- For the most complete default experience and the broadest customization options, choose KDE Plasma.
- For a focused and consistent workflow, choose GNOME.
- For lower-resource systems or a traditional desktop, choose Xfce, LXQt, LXDE, or MATE.
- For a modern scrolling tiling workflow, choose Niri + DMS.
- For a keyboard-driven tiling environment, choose Sway.
- For a lightweight floating Wayland desktop, choose Labwc or Wayfire.
- For complete manual control, choose No Desktop.
Upstream maturity, hardware compatibility, and CatOS customization depth differ between desktops. KDE Plasma is the default choice. The availability of other options provides flexibility, but does not imply identical test coverage or feature completeness for every desktop.
Contributing to CatOS desktop customization
All public projects are available in the CatOS-dev GitHub organization. Contributions are welcome for improving defaults, fixing compatibility issues, or creating complete CatOS presets for desktops that do not yet have dedicated repositories.
Useful entry points:
- catos-calamares-config: desktop choices, package groups, and installation workflow;
- catos-kde-settings: KDE Plasma defaults;
- catos-gnome-settings: GNOME defaults;
- catos-xfce-settings: Xfce defaults;
- catos-sway-settings: Sway session configuration;
- catos-labwc-settings: Labwc session configuration;
- catos-wayfire-settings: Wayfire session configuration;
- catos-waybar-settings: shared Waybar configuration for multiple Wayland sessions;
- catos-gtk-settings: shared GTK theme and base settings;
- catos-kde-theme: CatOS KDE theme resources.
A new or modified desktop preset should document its package set, display manager, XDG portal, session files, default applications, and removal boundaries to avoid file conflicts or leftover configuration between desktop choices.