6.1 Installing the GNOME Desktop

If either the Workstation or Server with GUI software configuration was selected during the CentOS 8 installation process, the GNOME desktop will already be installed and will automatically launch each time the system starts.

If any other software configuration was selected during the CentOS 8 installation process, the GNOME desktop will not have been included in the packages installed on the system. On server-based systems without a display attached, the idea of installing a graphical desktop environment may seem redundant. It is worth noting, however, that remote access to the GNOME desktop is also possible so, even on so called headless servers (i.e. servers lacking a monitor, keyboard and mouse) it may still be beneficial to install the GNOME desktop packages. The topic of establishing remote desktop access will be covered in detail in the “CentOS 8 Remote Desktop Access with VNC” chapter of this book.

If the installation configuration did not include the GNOME desktop, it may be installed at any time using the following command:

# dnf groupinstall "Workstation"

Once the installation is complete, the desktop environment may be launched from the command prompt on a monitor as follows:

$ startx