How do I install Enlightenment (E17)?

The best way to install E17 is to install it from the official repositories. You can install it from the Software Center or using

sudo apt-get install e17

You can then select it as your session in GDM (the login screen) using the dropdown menu in the bottom right hand corner, once you have selected your user.

(image source)

The first time you run it it asks you to choose some preferences. Choose the option for the standard desktop or the netbook desktop if you are on a netbook.

It is quite interesting in a retro kind of way and will take a lot of getting used to if you are used to GNOME (or KDE) and I find it harder to use than GNOME and it doesn't look as nice. However it is certainly functional and seems quite suited to power users.

Note Pingus has no window border because I pinned it to the desktop (an action which is apparently irreversible).

Just do

sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install e17

Then logout and login again using "Enlightenment." :-)

The other answers are all the easiest way to install Enlightenment on Ubuntu. They are not by any means the "best" way. The packages they suggest installing are over six months old and thus are buggy and not really worth installing.

The best way to install enlightenment is to compile it from source (instructions from 8.04 to 10.10 only).

Or if you want a recent Ubuntu distro with E17 as the default desktop check out Bodhi Linux.

9.10 only

You have to add the ppa ppa:e17-packaging/ppato your software sources (here's how to do that) and install e17 from the software center.

Then:

• Logout of your X session
• Change Session (bottom of GDM login screen after you click on username)
• Log back into enlightenment