How to install KDE Plasma without installing full Kubuntu Desktop?

Question

I'm currently using Ubuntu 17.10 and I recently installed Kubuntu Desktop to get KDE, the installation succeeded, but my PC got messed up as it installed dozens of applications, modified the boot configuration and start screen that made my PC run a bit slow. I finally uninstalled the Kubuntu Desktop and the applications that came with it. But I liked the look of KDE Plasma, isn't there any way to install just the KDE Plasma and not the full Kubuntu Desktop?

Solution

As DK Bose said, I tried executing this command:

~$ sudo apt-get install plasma-desktop

And voila, it worked! It certainly does. It neither installed full kde-desktop, nor installed any more annoying apps nor modified my bootup configuration. I'm now using KDE without any problems, and the best part is my PC doesn't slow down.

Thanks to DK Bose and the Ask Ubuntu community who put efforts to solve my problem. I appreciate their efforts.

Comments

[Aravind]

Try is this work ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1669518

[Aravind]

sudo apt install kde-full

[v_ag]

@Aravind, seems that it'll work. Let me try... Oh, it's more than a desktop environment! It says that it needs to get 906 MB of archives. I don't think a desktop environment is that much big, 'cause even kubuntu-desktop was 331 MB only. Anyways, thanks for help!

[DK Bose]

What do you see with sudo apt install plasma-desktop?

[v_ag]

@DKBose I'll try that...

[v_ag]

@DKBose I tried that and it needs to get 221 MB of archives. I hadn't installed it yet 'cause I'm not sure that it won't modify my bootup configuration. Are you sure that won't?

[DK Bose]

Actually, I'm not in favor of having more than one desktop on the same system. So I haven't tried installing plasma-desktop on Ubuntu. Instead, I did a clean install of Kubuntu.

[v_ag]

@DKBose I already have cinnamon installed but it doesn't modifies my bootup configuration neither it makes my PC slow, then why KDE does? Can't I just get the desktop environment?

[v_ag]

@DKBose BTW, if I do a clean install of Kubuntu, can I install GNOME in it? I like KDE but I don't wanna lose the good old GNOME.

[CodeLurker]

plasma-desktop is more lightweight than kde-plasma-desktop, as the latter, e.g. installs a browser. Also, one potential downside of sddm is that they have a serious grudge against letting you log in as root; whereas Debian doesn't. After installing sddm, it's good I could do su, or else I'd have been locked out of superuser access; as I hadn't added my user acct. to sudoers yet. Not that you shouldn't - just be aware.