How to Install GNOME Desktop Environment on OpenBSD

How to Install GNOME Desktop Environment on OpenBSD

BSD Desktop Env Guide Installation OpenBSD

Abdullah Musa

August 16, 2025

Hi all, welcome back to MusaBase! If you've been following my recent guides for BSD systems, then you've already learned how to install OpenBSD and then KDE Plasma as your first desktop environment. In this follow-up, we'll continue the journey by installing and configuring GNOME on OpenBSD system alongside KDE Plasma. We'll add flexibility to our OpenBSD system to switch between two powerful desktop environments. In this guide, we'll learn how to:

• Prepare OpenBSD system for GNOME packages
• Download and install Gnome package for OpenBSD
• Configure services needed by GNOME
• And finally launcing GNOME

By the end of this guide, you'll have a fully functional GNOME desktop running alongside KDE Plasma on your OpenBSD system, ready to use whenever you choose. So without further ado, let's get started!

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Jump To:

• Prerequisites
• Step 1: Prepare OpenBSD System
• Step 2: Install GNOME
• Step 3: Configure OpenBSD Services for GNOME Session
• Step 4: Start GNOME Session on OpenBSD

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Prerequisites

This guide assumes that you have already OpenBSD installed on your PC and your OpenBSD does support X Window System. If you haven't installed OpenBSD yet, then please visit my OpenBSD Installation Guide and install it. Just don't forget to leave the support for X Window System enable while installing the OS. When you are done with the installation then come back to this tutorial and continue.

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Step 1: Preaparing OpenBSD System

Before we jump right into installing KDE Plasma, we need to configure our mirror for faster downloads and update the system so we can pull latest packages and security patches.

1.1: Set Mirror to Closest Server

In OpenBSD, there's no mirrorlist file like in Linux, but we can set a single URL to point to one specific mirror. We changed this mirror URL because the default mirror URL might be the main OpenBSD mirror in the US, which could be slow if you are in antoher region or country. Choosing a closer mirror reduces latency and speeds up pacakge installs.

• Open the installurl file in nano like this:

doas nano /etc/installurl
# OR
sudo nano /etc/installurl

• In the file replace the default URL with:

https://cloudflare.cdn.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/
# OR
https://fastly.cdn.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/

These CDN-backed mirrors will auto-route your system to a nearby location.

1.2: Updating System & Packages

Now we will update our OpenBSD system and installed pacakges. If there are any new Kernel update available we need to install it and also update packages to latest versions.

1.2.1: Updating OpenBSD OS

• Run:

doas syspatch
# OR
sudo syspatch

syspatch will installs official binaries and security patches for the base system. It only updates OpenBSD files (e.g., kernel, system utilities, libraries, etc).

1.2.2: Updating Installed Packages

• Next, run:

doas pkg_add -u
# OR
sudo pkg_add -u

pkg_add -u will upgrades all installed pacakges (third-party installs listed in /usr/local). It only touches software or packages that we installed with pkg_add (e.g., sudo, nano, etc).

• After updating and upgrading OS and system packages, reboot your system with doas reboot for changes to take effect.

With these preparation we can move forward onto next step. Which is installing KDE Plasma itself on our OpenBSD system.

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Step 2: Install GNOME

We only need to install GNOME package, this package will provide us with all the core components, tools and services that we get usaully on a Linux system for GNOME desktop environment. To install GNOME run:

doas pkg_add gnome
# OR
sudo pkg_add gnome

gnome: This package alone contains numerous other packages, that are part of GNOME Suite. This is package is designed to add the core GNOME experience to your system (e.g., GNOME shell, Nautilus, etc).

GNOME Extras

If you want the full GNOME Ecosystem then you can also install gnome-extra package. To install full GNOME suite, run:

doas pkg_add gnome-extras

gnome-extras will install the extended pacakges on your system that will expands the GNOME ecosystem by adding a more wider collection of applications. It provides development tools, and other GNOME's applications that are not useful within the GNOME environment.

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Step 3: Configure OpenBSD Services for GNOME Session

Now, we need to make only a few adjustment to OpenBSD services, like messagebus and display manager (xenodm). And enable some additional services that come with the GNOME package that we installed in the last step.

3.1: Disable XENODM

OpenBSD's default display manager is xenodm, which comes with X11 while installing OpenBSD system. However to run GNOME we need GDM, but OpenBSD allows only one graphical login manager at a time. To run GNOME session we must disable xenodm.

• To disable xenodm, simply run:

doas rcctl disable xenodm
# OR
sudo rcctl disable xenodm

3.2: Enable Display & Other Services

• Run:

doas rcctl enable messagebus gdm multicast avahi_daemon
# OR
sudo rcctl enable messagebus gdm multicast avahi_daemon

These services are required to run the GNOME session on OpenBSD. messagebus and gdm are most important to run GNOME desktop environment, the other multicast and avahi_daemon are required for networking.

• messagebus: This starts the dbus dameon that is the core component for running any Desktop environment.
• gdm: GNOME Display Manager is a graphical login manager that provides us the login screen for GNOME and also starts the GNOME session..
• multicast: This enables the Kernel's support for forwading multicast netwokr packets.
• avahi_daemon: This dameon implements zero-configuration networking helps our system to automatically discover network services like file share.

3.3: Reboot

• Next, simply just run the reboot command:

doas reboot
# OR
sudo reboot

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Step 4: Start GNOME Session on OpenBSD

• After rebooting, you should boot into GDM to log into your system:

• Enter your user's password and after a few seconds, you will be inside GNOME's Dektop Home Screen:

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Afterwards

Well now you have GNOME Desktop Session fully functional up and running on your system. I'll upload guides on other desktop sessions or wayland compositor like Hyprland installation for OpenBSD as well, stay tuned for that.

If you hit any error at any step or having problem while logging into desktop session, please let me know in the comments, I'll be more than happy to help.

This is it, 1O1 out, I'll see you in the next one!

Abdullah Musa August 16, 2025