MATE desktop is a simple, intuitive and attractive continuation of GNOME 2. It is under active development to bring about constant improvement using modern technologies, while holding to traditional desktop experience.

There are several Linux distributions that support the MATE desktop including of course Ubuntu, and there is a dedicated Ubuntu MATE edition for this elegant desktop environment as well.

In this how-to guide, I will describe the simple steps for installation of the latest version of MATE desktop on Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10 and Fedora 22-24.

Suggested Read: How to Install Cinnamon Desktop in Ubuntu 16.04/16.10 and Fedora 22-24

For Linux users hoping to try out MATE desktop probably for the first time, some of its notable default applications include:

Macro windows manager Caja file manager MATE Terminal, terminal emulator Pluma text editor Eye of MATE, simple graphics viewer Atril multi-page document viewer Engrampa archive manager coupled with many other minor applications

Furthermore, the latest stable release of MATE 1.14 desktop, has the following remarkable features and improvements form the previous versions:

Enhanced GTK+3 support across the whole desktop Full GTK 3.20 in all themes Python extensions for Caja file manager can be changed separately Client side decorated apps render correctly in all available themes Touchpad configurations supports edge and two-finger scrolling independently MATE Terminal supports VTE 2.91 API when built for GTK+3 The volume and brightness OSD can be enabled/disabled MATE panel enables icon sizes to change for menubar and menu items The MATE NetSpeed Applet was merged into MATE Applets package Additionally, translations were also updated plus many more things

Install Mate Desktop on Ubuntu 16.04/16.10

You can install the latest version of the MATE desktop via a PPA as shown:

$ sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/xenial-mate $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install mate

In case you wish to upgrade MATE to the latest version, simply run the command below after updating your system:

$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Wait for a few minutes, depending on your Internet connection speeds for the installation process to finish, logout of your current session or restart your system and choose MATE desktop at the login interface as in the image below.

Install Mate Desktop on Fedora 22-24

It’s pretty straight forward to install Mate Desktop along side with your current desktop on Fedora using dnf command as shown.

# dnf install @mate-desktop

If you want to install Mate related tools as well, you can install them with this command.

# dnf install @mate-applications

After Mate desktop installation done, logout from the current session and select Mate desktop environment to use and login.

If you didn’t liked the Mate Desktop, you can remove it completely from your respective Linux distributions using following instructions.

---------------- On Ubuntu 16.04/16.10 ---------------- $ sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/xenial-mate $ sudo apt-get remove mate $ sudo apt-get autoremove ---------------- On Fedora 22-24 Workstation ---------------- # dnf remove @mate-desktop # dnf remove @mate-applications

I hope everything went on well, however, for those who encountered some unexpected errors, or wish to offer supplementary thoughts to this this guide, you can get back to us through the comment section below.

Importantly, if MATE does not meet your expectations presumably as a new user, you can follow up on our up coming how-to guides for installations of other popular Linux desktop environments as well. Remember to always stay connected to Tecmint.com