In this tutorial you will learn how to install xfce desktop environment on debian 10. Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment that uses very low resources to deliver a fast and stable user experience. Xfce is a great choice when it comes to choosing a desktop environment to use not only for work but also as a daily driver.
Step 1 - Update your server
Run the command below to update your server
sudo apt-get update
Step 2 - Install tasksel package
tasksel is a utility that you can use to install packages on debian, it provides a user interface and makes the managing of packages an easier job.
Install tasksel
sudo apt install tasksel
Step 3 - Install xfce
Install Xfce using Terminal
Next, you need to install the xfce desktop enviornment, simply run the command below to start the installation.
sudo apt install task-xfce-desktop
Install Xfce Using tasksel
You can also use tasksel and install Xfce by using the user interface of tasksel, all you need to do is run tasksel on console and choose Xfce from the list of the packages and click ok as show on the image below
tasksel
Once you have selected the desktop environment(Xfce) and confirmed with OK button, the installation will start
Give it some time to complete, once completed move to step #3
Step 3 - Set graphical target
Set the graphical target so when the server boots up you can select your desktop environment, in this case xfce, run the command below
sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target
Step 4 - Reboot Server
Once you have installed tasksel and the desktop environment, proceed to reboot the server
reboot
Step 5 - Select Xfce Session
To make sure you are logging into xfce session, on the login screen click the key icon on the taskbar which is located upper right
And select Xfce Session as show in the image above
Conclusion
In this tutorial we explained how to install xfce desktop environment on Debian 10 by using terminal and tasksel.