An update today has addressed issue #292 - installation of desktop environments should be (a lot) easier now.

So what is "desktop-base"?

The package desktop-base is a "bridge" package that forms a common basis for all desktop environments (the meta-packages discussed below, to be more precise) to rely on, by:

• Depending on all necessary Xorg/Wayland runtime;
• Depending on a default system font, in our case, noto-fonts;
• Containing our default wallpapers, earlier shown here;

Forming such basis may (to some extent) avoid confusion when users try and install a desktop environment - from the "base" variant, or from another desktop environment. Common problems that users may run into when trying to install a desktop environment may include that:

• The user may not know what to install for Xorg input and video drivers;
• The user may not know that some basic fonts should be installed before UIs may render properly;
• The user may not know what collection of packages may be necessary for running some desktop environments;

Desktop meta-packages

In addition to what we did with the desktop-base package, we have also created some meta-packages for common desktop environments that we ship:

• cinnamon-meta for Cinnamon desktop;
• gnome-meta for GNOME;
• kde-meta or plasma-meta for KDE/Plasma desktop;
• mate-meta for MATE desktop;
• xfce-meta or xfce4-meta for XFCE;

Installing the packages above should land you with a fully working desktop environment, avoiding all the hassel on the way.