How to install KDE on Debian

This page describes how to install KDE 3.5.8.
For the experimental KDE 4 packages, see this page.

There are several ways to get Debian with KDE:

Use the KDE version of the Debian Installer CD

This is the easiest way to get Debian with KDE if you are installing a new system. It installs KDE by default.
Download KDE CD for Debian 4.0r6 "Etch" i386
Download KDE CD for Debian 4.0r6 "Etch" AMD64

To install the Debian testing branch with KDE, you can get it from the weekly builds If you don't know what 'testing' is, you probably do not want this CD.

Download KDE CD for Debian testing "Lenny" i386
Download KDE CD for Debian testing "Lenny" AMD64

Use the Debian installer

Debian Etch installer

If you are installing a new system and you have the Debian Etch installer (current default), you can install KDE by typing at the boot prompt: 

install tasks="kde-desktop, standard"
or, if you prefer to use the Debian Etch graphical installer: 
installgui tasks="kde-desktop, standard"

Debian Lenny installer

If you are installing a new system and you have the Debian Lenny installer, you can install KDE by typing at the boot prompt: 

desktop=kde
For i386 and amd64 images it is now possible to select which desktop environment to install from the boot menu. The default desktop environment is still GNOME, but an alternative desktop environment can be selected from the "Advanced options" menu.

Install KDE on your existing Debian system

If you already have Debian installed and you want a complete KDE desktop, install the "kde-desktop" task: 

aptitude install kde-desktop

To install only a basic KDE desktop, install the "kde-core" and "kdm" packages: 

aptitude install kde-core kdm

Additional packages

To have KDE in your language, install the appropriate kde-i18n-?? package, where ?? is the ISO code for your language.


Enjoy the KDE desktop experience!