How to Install Xfce on Fedora

Xfce provides a lightweight, fast, and highly customizable desktop environment for Fedora Linux. Whether you want an alternative to GNOME’s modern design, need a desktop that performs well on older hardware, or simply prefer a traditional interface with minimal resource usage, Xfce delivers all three. By the end of this guide, you will have a fully functional Xfce desktop environment installed alongside your existing desktop, with the ability to switch between them at login.

This guide covers the complete installation process using DNF5 group commands, session switching, updating, and removal. If you prefer a clean Xfce installation without GNOME, consider downloading the official Fedora Xfce Spin instead.

Update System Packages Before Installing Xfce

Before installing any new software on Fedora, refresh your package cache and apply pending updates. This ensures compatibility between newly installed packages and your existing system, reducing the risk of dependency conflicts or version mismatches.

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

The --refresh flag forces DNF to re-download repository metadata before checking for updates. After the upgrade completes, proceed with the Xfce installation.

Install Xfce Desktop Environment with DNF

Fedora provides Xfce through a package group that bundles the core desktop components, panel, window manager, file manager (Thunar), and essential utilities. Installing the group ensures you get a complete, functional desktop rather than a minimal set of components that would require additional configuration.

Run the following command to install the Xfce desktop environment:

sudo dnf group install xfce-desktop

The xfce-desktop group is hidden by default in DNF5. You will not see it in dnf group list output unless you add the --hidden flag. This is expected behavior and does not affect installation.

DNF will display a list of packages to be installed. Review the list and confirm by pressing y when prompted. The installation includes LightDM as the display manager, Thunar file manager, and various Xfce panel plugins for volume control, power management, and network configuration.

Optional: Install Additional Xfce Applications and Plugins

The base xfce-desktop group provides a functional desktop, but Fedora offers additional groups for users who want more applications or panel functionality:

• xfce-apps: Adds Atril document viewer, Catfish file search, Claws Mail email client, and other productivity applications.
• xfce-extra-plugins: Adds panel plugins for CPU graphs, disk performance monitoring, weather display, system sensors, and more.
• xfce-media: Adds multimedia applications including Parole media player and Xfburn disc burning software.
• xfce-office: Adds LibreOffice Writer and Calc for document and spreadsheet tasks.

To install these optional groups, run:

sudo dnf group install xfce-apps xfce-extra-plugins xfce-media xfce-office

You can also install individual groups selectively based on your needs. For most desktop users, the base xfce-desktop group provides everything necessary for daily use.

Reboot to Complete Installation

After the installation finishes, reboot your system to ensure all desktop environment components initialize correctly. The display manager must restart to detect the newly installed Xfce session option.

sudo reboot

Switch to Xfce at the Login Screen

After your system reboots, you will arrive at the login screen. Before entering your password, you need to select the Xfce session to launch it instead of your default desktop environment.

Select the Xfce Session

Look for a gear icon or settings cogwheel on the login screen. The exact location depends on your display manager (GDM for GNOME, LightDM for Xfce). Click this icon to reveal a dropdown menu showing all installed desktop environments.

Select “Xfce Session” from the dropdown menu, then enter your password and log in. The display manager remembers your session choice, so subsequent logins will default to Xfce until you manually switch back.

First Look at the Xfce Desktop

Once logged in, Xfce presents a clean, traditional desktop layout with a panel at the top containing application menu, workspace switcher, and system tray. The interface responds quickly because Xfce uses fewer system resources than GNOME or KDE Plasma.

To return to GNOME or another desktop environment, log out and select a different session from the gear icon menu at the login screen.

Manage Xfce Desktop Updates

Xfce packages receive updates through the standard Fedora repositories, so you do not need any special commands to keep it current. Running your regular system update command updates Xfce along with all other installed software:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Fedora tracks upstream Xfce releases closely, so you typically receive new Xfce versions within a few weeks of their official release. For information about automating updates, see our guide on DNF Automatic on Fedora.

Troubleshooting Xfce Installation Issues

Most Xfce installations complete without problems, but the following issues occasionally occur when installing Xfce alongside an existing GNOME installation.

Xfce Session Not Appearing at Login

If the Xfce option does not appear in your session selector after rebooting, verify that the installation completed successfully:

dnf group info xfce-desktop

The output should show Installed: yes if the group installed correctly. If not, run the installation command again and check for errors during the process.

Display Manager Selection

Fedora with GNOME uses GDM as its display manager, while the Xfce group installs LightDM. Both work with Xfce, but if you prefer LightDM’s simpler appearance, you can switch the active display manager:

sudo systemctl disable gdm
sudo systemctl enable lightdm
sudo reboot

To switch back to GDM, reverse the commands by disabling LightDM and enabling GDM.

Wayland Support in Xfce

Xfce 4.20, included in recent Fedora releases, adds experimental Wayland support. However, Xfce’s Wayland session is still under active development and may have compatibility issues with some applications or panel plugins. For production use, the X11 session (the default “Xfce Session” option) remains the recommended choice. Users interested in testing Wayland support can find details on the Xfce Wayland roadmap.

Remove Xfce Desktop from Fedora

If you no longer want Xfce on your system, you can remove it cleanly using the same group command with remove instead of install.

Before removing Xfce, ensure you are logged into a different desktop environment (such as GNOME). Removing Xfce while running it can cause session instability.

Run the following command to remove the Xfce desktop group:

sudo dnf group remove xfce-desktop

If you installed the optional groups, remove them as well:

sudo dnf group remove xfce-apps xfce-extra-plugins xfce-media xfce-office

After removal, clean up any orphaned dependencies that were installed with Xfce but are no longer needed:

sudo dnf autoremove

Finally, reboot to ensure the system initializes cleanly with your remaining desktop environment:

sudo reboot

Switch Back to GDM After Removal

If you switched to LightDM earlier, re-enable GDM before rebooting to ensure GNOME’s login screen appears correctly:

sudo systemctl disable lightdm
sudo systemctl enable gdm

Conclusion

You now have Xfce installed and configured on Fedora Linux with the ability to switch between desktop environments at login. The lightweight desktop provides snappy performance while offering extensive customization options through the Settings Manager. For users seeking additional desktop environments, see our guide on installing KDE Plasma on Fedora, or explore the official Xfce documentation for advanced configuration.