Installing cinnamon

Question

To install Cinnamon DE in Ubuntu 22.04 should I install cinnamon package or cinnamon-desktop-environment?

What is the difference between these two packages?

Answer 1

It's up to you.

The full Cinnamon DE is provided by the meta-package cinnamon-desktop-environment:

These are the extended components of Cinnamon, a desktop environment which provides advanced innovative features and a traditional user experience.

This metapackage depends on all programs needed to have a fully fledged desktop environment. Install this if you want a complete cinnamon desktop, including graphical apps that allow users to perform almost all everyday tasks.

Whereas cinnamon is the basic DE. Either one will install all the required dependencies.