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 4.0r3 "Etch" i386
Download KDE CD for Debian 4.0r3 "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.

Use the default Etch installer

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

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

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!