On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 19:12:59 +0100 <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mon, Nov 03, 2025 at 12:43:11PM -0500, Tech_Research wrote: > > What's the difference between Debian & Debian Gnome? > > > > > > > > How do I know if a device has Debian or Debian Gnome? > > There is no "Debian Gnome". Debian is... Debian. Gnome is a desktop > environment, as are, e.g. Mate, KDE, LXDE, etc. > > When installing Debian, you can choose one desktop environment (or > none at all, this is possible as well). Or you can even install > several, and choose at login. >
Just to confuse matters, the Gnome organisation produces various applications which may be used with any desktop environment or window manager. For example, I have Network Manager and Nautilus installed on my workstation, both Gnome applications, but I do not use the Gnome desktop. Someone who does use it can probably tell you how to see at a glance whether the desktop you are seeing is Gnome. In Xfce4, for example, the main menu icon is a rat superimposed on a blue cross. If you open the menu, then near the bottom there will usually be an entry 'About XXXX' where XXXX is the desktop environment name. -- Joe
