How To Install Cinnamon And Nemo On Ubuntu
Installing the Linux Mint desktop on Ubuntu might sound a bit trivial. After all, Linux Mint is Ubuntu already. Still, there’s actually a very good reason to install it. For starters, Linux Mint isn’t designed to upgrade release to release. The developers build them on LTS releases of Ubuntu, and it’s pretty well-known that they don’t want you to upgrade between releases whereas the Ubuntu Linux operating system can be upgraded on the fly regardless of how old it is. You can still take the best parts of Linux Mint and combine them with Ubuntu. The easiest way to do this is to install Cinnamon and Nemo on Ubuntu. You’ll get Snap packages, easy upgrades, great support, steady operating system development and enjoy the good stuff from the Linux Mint desktop on Ubuntu.
Note: Ubuntu 18.04 has trouble installing the Cinnamon desktop environment, as of this article’s release. If you want to use Cinnamon on Ubuntu, consider sticking with 16.04 LTS as it still has some support time left.
Install Cinnamon On Ubuntu
The main way to install Cinnamon on the Ubuntu operating system is to make use of a Personal Package Archive. This PPA is available on Launchpad, is very popular, and regularly receives updates to the latest version of Cinnamon. To enable the PPA, open up a terminal and enter the following command below.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:embrosyn/cinnamon
After enabling the new Embrosyn Cinnamon PPA on the system, Ubuntu needs to update software sources. This is important because without updating, Apt will not see the new Cinnamon software that is available. Using apt update, refresh Ubuntu’s software sources.
sudo apt update
Now that the software sources are up to date, at this point, it’s a good idea to install any software updates pending on Ubuntu. The main reason being Cinnamon will run best when all drivers and software is up to date. To install updates on Ubuntu, run the apt upgrade command. Be sure to add the -y switch to the end of the command if you dislike having to press “y” during the upgrade process.
sudo apt upgrade -y
Upgrades are installed. Now all that is left is to install the latest versions of Cinnamon for Ubuntu. Keep in mind that as of now, this PPA only supports Ubuntu 16.04, 17.04 and 17.10. If you are on the new version of Ubuntu (18.04 Bionic Beaver), you’ll need to download the packages on your own and install them with dpkg.
Don’t feel like downloading the Cinnamon packages manually from launchpad? Wait a few months, as Embrosyn will most likely add 18.04 support at some point.
Install Cinnamon on Ubuntu with:
sudo apt install cinnamon blueberry cinnamon-bluetooth cinnamon-control-center cinnamon-desktop cinnamon-menus cinnamon-screensaver cinnamon-session cinnamon-settings-daemon cinnamon-translations cjs flags mozjs38 muffin nemo -y
Install Nemo Without Cinnamon
One of the best things about the Cinnamon desktop environment is the Nemo file manager. It’s classic, yet offers up a lot of useful features that other desktop environments neglect. If you’re not interested in using the Cinnamon desktop, but want a better file manager, follow these instructions to get Nemo on Ubuntu.
To ensure that Ubuntu only installs the Nemo file manager and not several Cinnamon dependencies, we’ll be going with a different PPA instead of the one earlier. Add it to the system with:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/nemo3
Like before, Ubuntu must update software sources before continuing.
sudo apt update
Be sure to also install any pending software updates using apt upgrade
sudo apt upgrade -y
Finally, grab the latest version of Nemo:
sudo apt install nemo
Uninstall Nemo And Cinnamon From Ubuntu
Decided you don’t want to use Cinnamon and Nemo on Ubuntu anymore? If so, here’s how to uninstall the software. First, open up a terminal and use the package manager to uninstall the desktop and dependencies.
sudo apt remove cinnamon --purge
Only using Nemo? Try this instead:
sudo apt remove nemo --purge
Removing the Cinnamon or Nemo package will break the rest of the dependencies, and Ubuntu will deem them “no longer needed”. Use the autoremove tool to uninstall the rest of the packages.
sudo apt autoremove
Lastly, remove the PPAs from the system.
For the Cinnamon PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:webupd8team/nemo3
For the Nemo PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:webupd8team/nemo3
With the PPAs deleted, update Ubuntu’s software sources.
sudo apt update
When the update is finished, log out of Cinnamon (it may still be running in RAM), and log back into the Ubuntu desktop. When you log back in Cinnamon will be gone!
