Geekflare is supported by our audience. We may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this site.
In Linux and Networking Last updated: November 23, 2022
Share on:
Invicti Web Application Security Scanner – the only solution that delivers automatic verification of vulnerabilities with Proof-Based Scanning™.

Lately, I installed CentOS 7 in VMWare, and it was all good until it booted in CLI (Command Line Interface) mode.

I tried startx command but no help. It looks like Desktop Environment was not installed for some reason.

If you are in the same situation then here is how you can install the necessary package to boot in GUI (Graphical User Interface) mode.

Let’s install GNOME Desktop with the following command.

yum groups install "GNOME Desktop"

It will take a few minutes to install the packages needed for GNOME and once done use “startx” command.

startx

You need to go through accepting a license, creating a user, configuring language, keyboard type to set up for the first time, and finally, you will have the CentOS desktop.

We are not done yet.

When you reboot your CentOS, you will see the command prompt again.

So you need to preserve the settings to start in graphical mode every time you boot the OS.

  • Open a terminal and execute the following command
systemctl set-default graphical.target
  • Restart the CentOS, and it should be booted in GNOME GUI mode.

If you are not a GNOME fan then Alternatively, you may install the KDE environment with the below command.

yum  groups install "KDE Plasma Workspaces"

I hope the above helps you to boot CentOS in graphical desktop mode.

Interesting in learning Linux Administration? Check out this administration Bootcamp course.

  • Chandan Kumar
    Author
    As the founder of Geekflare, I’ve helped millions to excel in the digital realm. Passionate about technology, I’m on a mission to explore the world and amplify growth for professionals and businesses alike.
Thanks to our Sponsors
More great readings on Linux
Power Your Business
Some of the tools and services to help your business grow.
  • Invicti uses the Proof-Based Scanning™ to automatically verify the identified vulnerabilities and generate actionable results within just hours.
    Try Invicti
  • Web scraping, residential proxy, proxy manager, web unlocker, search engine crawler, and all you need to collect web data.
    Try Brightdata
  • Monday.com is an all-in-one work OS to help you manage projects, tasks, work, sales, CRM, operations, workflows, and more.
    Try Monday
  • Intruder is an online vulnerability scanner that finds cyber security weaknesses in your infrastructure, to avoid costly data breaches.
    Try Intruder