How to Install GUI on RHEL 8

As a Linux administrator for more than 4 years, I spend most of my time working on Linux console, but there are some situations where I need a Desktop environment instead of command-line. By default, RHEL 8 comes in two main flavors, namely, Server without GUI and Workstation with graphical user interface pre-installed as default.

In this article, we will show how to install a GNOME Desktop Environment in RHEL 8 Server.

Requirements

If you have not enabled RedHat subscription during the RHEL 8 installation, you can enable it now by following our article at: How to Enable RHEL Subscription in RHEL 8.

Install Gnome Desktop on RHEL 8 Server

The GNOME package is provided by the 「Server with GUI」 or 「Workstation」 package group. To install it, log into the RHEL 8 system via the console or via SSH, then run the following dnf command to view the available package groups.

# dnf group list

List Package Groups

Looking at the output of the above command, under Available Environment Groups, we have many package groups including Server with GUI and Workstation. Depending on your system type, you can choose one to install the GNOME desktop environment as follows.

# dnf groupinstall "Server with GUI"		#run this on a server environment
OR
# dnf groupinstall "Workstation"		#to setup a workstation

Install GUI on RHEL 8 Enabling Graphical Mode in RHEL 8

Once the installation is complete, run the following command to set the graphical mode as the default target for the RHEL 8 system to boot into.

# systemctl set-default graphical

Enable Graphical Mode in RHEL 8

Next, reboot the system to boot into the graphical mode by running the following command.

# reboot

After the system boots, you will access the GNOME login interface, click on the username and enter your password to login as shown in the following screenshots.

Gnome Login on RHEL 8 Login into Gnome

After a successful login, the system will take you through a GNOME initial setup. You will be asked to choose a language, keyboard layout, and location settings, once that’s done you will be ready to start using your system via a desktop environment.

Gnome Initial Setup RHEL 8 Gnome Desktop

Congratulations! You have successfully set up an RHEL 8 server with a GUI. If you have any queries or thoughts to share, use the feedback form below to reach us.