Desktop environments for Debian 12 and other Linux distributions provide a graphical interface that makes them quite easy to use, especially for new users. KDE is a popular desktop environment for its customizability, application integration, and performance. Moreover, its interface resembles the Windows operating system which also adds to the preference for people shifting from Windows to Linux. To KDE plasma on Debian 12, various ways will be discussed in this guide.

How To Install KDE on Debian 12

To integrate desktop environments like KDE with Linux distributions different display managers are used. Usually, for the GNOME desktop environment, gdm is used and for KDE SDDM or LDM is used. There are two primary ways by which KDE can be installed in Debian 12 which are:

1: Through Debian 12 Default Package Installer

One way to install KDE on Debian 12 is to use its default package installer and for that run:

sudo apt install kde-standard

Now the KDE installer will open and ask about installing Phonon4Qt5 which is a version of the Phonon 4 library specifically built against Qt5. Phonon is a multimedia framework used by KDE applications for handling audio and video playback, so click OK to allow its installation:

Next, the installer asks about selecting the display manager as only one display manager can be used at a time:

Here the installer gives the option for two display managers sddm and gdm3, I have selected sddm because it is far more compatible with KDE and Wayland as compared to the gdm3:

Now simply reboot the system after the installation is complete to apply the changes:

sudo reboot

On the reboot, you will come across the following login screen:

Here you can change your desktop environment based on the windowing system by clicking on Desktop Session:

Now after logging in to your Debian 12 account, the interface will look like this:

2: Through the Debian 12 tasksel utility

The tasksel is a handy command-line utility in Debian-based distributions that allows you to install predefined sets of packages called tasks. You can also use it to install KDE on Debian 12, usually, it comes preinstalled with Debian 12. If in any case it is not installed then run:

sudo apt install tasksel

To start the process of KDE installation on Debian 12 run the tasksel utility:

sudo tasksel

Now select the KDE plasma desktop by pressing the space bar from the keyboard and click on ok to proceed further:

Note: Here, un-select all the other packages because it will not install KDE properly on Debian 12.

After you select KDE the installation process will start:

Next, reboot the system and select the desktop environment along with the windowing system after selecting the account:

Now after logging in, the interface for KDE will look like this:

Conclusion

KDE enhances the Linux experience by providing an intuitive and customizable desktop environment, making it a popular choice for many users. To install KDE on Debian 12 there are two ways one is by using its default package installer and the other is by using tasksel utility. However, I recommend the first method for installation as it provides the option of selecting a suitable display manager as in the other method gdm3 is selected by default.