How to Export Your Desktop Settings in Linux

by Marlon Altenwerth
14 minutes read

How to Export Your Desktop Settings in Linux

A photo affirming a user massaging on two opposite laptops.

Linux desktop computer comes using plenty of customization contingencies, and also that is a thorough thing as it permits us to tailor our desktop computer for much closer productivity. Singularly, these modifications can administer it arduous for us to feedback to a brand name-newfangled mechanism. Below, we underline you two rapid and also humble ideologies to export your desktop computer installations to a brand name-newfangled Linux devices.

Web content
  • Migrate Your Desktop computer Placements making utility of SaveDesktop
  • Migrate Your KDE Desktop computer Placements making utility of Konsave

Migrate Your Desktop computer Placements making utility of SaveDesktop

The most natural methodology to export your current desktop computer installations to a brand name-newfangled Linux mechanism is by making utility of the SaveDesktop utility. This prospectus has a GUI for you to pick the DE installations you yearn to conserve, and also it can conserve your DE’s installations, skin extensions, and also also your Flatpak bundles. It attains this by inventing a mobile archive that has with one voice your modifications, which you can import to a brand name-newfangled computer system.

The desktop computer ambiences that it stabilizes require:

  • GNOME
  • Xfce
  • Cinnamon
  • Budgie
  • COSMIC (Deterioration and also GNOME incarnation)
  • Pantheon
  • MATE
  • KDE Plasma
  • Deepin

and also the things it preserves require:

  • your icons, typefaces, and also motifs
  • your installations
  • your histories (forcing vibrant wallpapers, issued that the really same username is conserved)
  • your rated Flatpak apps and also their information
  • your Desktop computer folder in the residence directory site
  • opposite other things followed your desktop computer ensconcing (e.g., Cinnamon extensions and also applets, KDE Plasma widgets, GNOME and also Nautilus extensions, and also so on.)

To recover initiated, initially administer sure that you have the Flatpak scheme boss sprinting on your mechanism.

Make it feasible for the Flathub database by sprinting the obeying command:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Note: For Fedora, you can connect your Flatpak place to Flathub by opening the Software schedule app, pressing Ctrl + ., then clicking the “Fedora Flatpaks” toggle button.

A screenshot accentuating the Fedora Flatpaks database toggle button in Fedora 40.

Restart your devices to apply your brand name-newfangled installations, then place the SaveDesktop utility once it’s previously up:

sudo flatpak install flathub io.github.vikdevelop.SaveDesktop

Overture SaveDesktop by sprinting the obeying command:

flatpak run io.github.vikdevelop.SaveDesktop

Lend a moniker for your desktop computer previously-up, then click the Objects to require in the arrangement archive menu entry.

A screenshot accentuating the menu to configure SaveDesktop's previously-up documents.

Pick the ingredients of your desktop computer that you yearn to export to your brand name-newfangled devices.

A screenshot affirming the added contingencies in SaveDesktop for recommending up Flatpak apps and also config.

Responsive the Added contingencies genre, then pick the arrowhead chummy to the Recurring Keeping entry.

Set a levelheaded previously-up period for your desktop computer config. In my case, I kit it to “day-to-day” so that I always have the newest previously-up of my desktop computer.

A screenshot accentuating the previously-up regularity for the SaveDesktop arrangement.

Click Apply to kit your brand name-newfangled config, then click Conserve to amass the export file.

A screenshot affirming the "Conserve" button for SaveDesktop.

Click the Responsive the folder button and also scrutinize if your file is in its target directory site, to administer sure the export succeeds.

A screenshot affirming the button to confirm that gap of the preserved SaveDesktop archives.

On a side note: are you glancing for much closer tools for your KDE desktop computer? Magnificent at some thorough mechanism administration tools for Plasma today.

Importing Your Desktop computer Placements making utility of SaveDesktop

With your export config with one voice ascertained, you can now xerox your entire desktop computer installations to a brand name-newfangled Linux devices. You can execute this by transmitting the previously-up using a flash disk or by sending it over the network making utility of scp.

Once you have the previously-up file on your target mechanism, administer sure that it in addition has both Flatpak and also SaveDesktop.

Responsive the SaveDesktop app on your target devices, then click the Import button on the prospectus’s pinnacle pub.

A screenshot affirming the gap of the "Import" button on SaveDesktop.

Click the Import from file button, then read to and also pick your previously-up archive making utility of the prospectus’s file picker residence window.

A screenshot accentuating the file import button in SaveDesktop.

This will quickly figure your previously-up config to your target computer system. Click the Log Out button to for the import to snag authority.

A screenshot accentuating the "Log Out" button to reload the brand name-newfangled desktop computer config.

Another omnipotent features of SaveDesktop is its prospective to synchronize your desktop computer’s installations throughout several units. This is worthwhile if you’re massaging in between opposite computer systems and also yearn to retain the really same ensconcing throughout with one voice of them.

Note: Gaining utility of the synchronize honest in SaveDesktop needs your machines to either be publicly discoverable or in the really same stretch network.

Migrate Your KDE Desktop computer Placements making utility of Konsave

Konsave is a CLI-based prospectus that can amass exportable substitutions of your DE arrangement. Opposite SaveDesktop, Konsave is both minimal and also exceptionally adaptable, administering it worthwhile for inventing tradition previously-up templates for both DEs and also residence window supervisors. Konsave formally stabilizes KDE Plasma, yet it can be sold on with one voice opposite other desktop computer ambiences too!

To prelude, place both the Python 3 runtime and also the pipx scheme boss. In Debian and also Ubuntu, you can place both bundles from the default repositories making utility of proper:

sudo apt install python3 pipx

In Fedora, they’re in addition obtainable from the distro’s default repos using dnf:

sudo dnf install python3 pipx

For Arch Linux, you can capitalize pacman to bring both Python 3 and also pipx:

sudo pacman -S python python-pipx

Download and also place the Konsave binary making utility of the pipx scheme boss:

pipx install konsave pipx inject konsave setuptools

Earn sure that your “.stretch/bin” directory site is in your current viewer’s PATH variable:

echo "PATH=$PATH:.local/bin" >> ~/.bashrc && bash

Nice to recognize: position out what earns a thorough DE tick by glancing at our comparison be composed of-up in between KDE Plasma and also GNOME.

Gaining utility of Konsave to Export and also Import Desktop computer Placements

With Konsave up and also sprinting, you can now amass the export template for your desktop computer. To execute that, dashed the prospectus without any type of controversies:

konsave
A terminal affirming the default Konsave exasperate.

Conserve your current KDE desktop computer arrangement within Konsave:

konsave -s my-kde-desktop

Confirm that Konsave has accordingly preserved your desktop computer config by list with one voice the obtainable substitutions in the prospectus:

konsave -l
A terminal affirming the recently supported up KDE desktop computer recovering here in Konsave.

Amass an exportable xerox of your Konsave previously-up. This will amass a .knsv file that has your desktop computer configs on the current massaging directory site:

konsave -e my-kde-desktop

Send the .knsv file to your target devices, then dashed the obeying command to import it to your brand name-newfangled computer system’s Konsave instance:

konsave -i ./my-kde-desktop.knsv

Earn sure that you’ve accordingly imported the Konsave previously-up, then figure it to your target devices:

konsave -l konsave -a my-kde-desktop
A terminal affirming the procedure of importing and also permitting the supported up Konsave file on a brand name-newfangled mechanism.

Apply your brand name-newfangled installations by logging out, then logging previously in to your desktop computer.

A screenshot affirming the brand name-newfangled devices sprinting the supported up desktop computer installations making utility of Konsave.

Gaining utility of the two tools above, you will be able to feedback the installations of your Linux desktop computer throughout machines. Meanwhile, you ultimata to in addition scrutinize out some of the hardest desktop computer ambiences in 2024 that you can dare out today.

Image credit ratings: Freestocks using Unsplash. With one voice variations and also screenshots by Ramces Red.

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