Ubuntu Studio’s desktop environment is Xfce. Not everyone prefers this desktop environment or it simply doesn’t fit with their workflow. For that reason, we have Ubuntu Studio Installer.
Ubuntu Studio Installer can add Ubuntu Studio’s benefits to any installation of Ubuntu or its official flavors*, and gives you a curated selection of packages to fit your workflow, whether you’re a graphics artist, audio engineer, musician, publisher, photographer, or video producer.
Installing
To get Ubuntu Studio Installer, you must have first installed Ubuntu or an official flavor. Once you have done that, simply open a terminal window and type:
sudo apt install ubuntustudio-installer
This will bring in other tools, such as Ubuntu Studio Controls which is required for audio configuration prep which is done after Ubuntu Studio Installer has been run.
Using Ubuntu Studio Installer
To use, simply click on the icon for Ubuntu Studio Installer, or find it in your launcher/dash.
Once it is open, you will see a window like this:
Simply click on the packages you desire in the left-hand box (descriptions of those packages are in the right-hand box).
If you wish to add the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA to have the latest versions of certain packages as they become available, click “Add Backports PPA”.
If you already have the Backports PPA and wish to remove it, click “Remove Backports PPA”. Note: This will not remove any packages installed from the PPA, or downgrade to a lower version of those packages if installed.
Once you have your selection(s) made, click “Install”. If instructed to log-out and log-in after installer completes, do so. This simply adds the real-time audio permissions to your user if you don’t have them already. If you don’t need real-time audio permissions, then this will have no effect on your workflow.
Mauro Gaspari has created an excellent tutorial on FrontPageLinux.com of a typical audio workflow using this method.
That’s it! You are ready to create. We’ve done all of the heavy lifting so you don’t have to.
*Note: unofficial Ubuntu derivatives (those NOT listed as official flavors) are not supported
