Budgie Desktop Environment
The Budgie Desktop Environment is an independent, free, and open-source desktop environment designed for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It is developed by the Buddies of Budgie organization, which comprises contributors from various Linux distributions, including Fedora, Debian, and Arch Linux.
Design Philosophy
Budgie emphasizes simplicity, minimalism, and elegance. Its design aims to provide a traditional desktop metaphor while allowing users to extend and customize their desktop experience. Unlike other desktop environments such as Cinnamon, Budgie does not adhere to a reference platform. This flexibility encourages distributions that ship with Budgie to set defaults that align with their user experience objectives.
Origins
The Budgie Desktop Environment was initially created by Ikey Doherty as the default desktop environment for a new Linux distribution called EvolveOS, which was later renamed to Solus. The intent was to leverage GNOME components to craft a lightweight yet traditional desktop environment that retained many features of GNOME at the time.
Integration with Linux Distributions
Budgie serves as the default desktop environment for the Solus operating system, which is based on the Linux kernel. Solus offers users various choices, including GNOME, KDE Plasma, and XFCE, in addition to Budgie.
Furthermore, Ubuntu Budgie is an official community flavor of Ubuntu. It combines the Ubuntu-based system with the independently developed Budgie desktop environment. This integration highlights Budgie's adaptability and its growing presence within the Linux community.
Relation to Other Desktop Environments
Budgie shares some design philosophies with other GTK-based desktop environments, such as Pantheon, Unity, MATE, and XFCE. Despite these similarities, Budgie maintains a unique identity by focusing on a more refined and user-friendly desktop experience.