15.2 Installing the GNOME Desktop Environment

It is, of course, only possible to access the desktop environment if the desktop itself has been installed. If, for example, the system was initially configured as a server it is unlikely that the desktop packages were installed. The easiest way to install the packages necessary to run the GNOME desktop is to perform a group install. The key to installing groups of packages to enable a specific feature is knowing the name of the group. At the time of writing, the group for installing the desktop environment on Fedora 31 is named ”Fedora Workstation”. As the group names have a tendency to change from one Fedora release to another, it is useful to know that the list of groups that are either installed or available to be installed can be obtained using the dnf utility as follows:

# dnf grouplist

 

Available Environment Groups:

   Fedora Custom Operating System

   Minimal Install...