How To Install Ubuntu MATE on Your Raspberry Pi

If you’re bored with Raspberry Pi OS and not too excited about the heavy Ubuntu environment, Ubuntu MATE might be worth a try for desktop use. It’s based on Ubuntu, but uses the lighter MATE desktop environment instead of GNOME. In this article, I’ll show you how to easily install it on your Raspberry Pi.

Ubuntu MATE officially supports the Raspberry Pi, so with each new version, an image is released for the Raspberry Pi. It can be flashed on an SD card to start the installation.

MATE is a desktop environment that’s a continuation of GNOME 2, so if, like me, you prefer the old interface, you will love Ubuntu MATE. Ready to get started? Let’s jump to it.

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Prerequisites for Ubuntu MATE on Raspberry Pi

Here’s the hardware you need run Ubuntu MATE:

• Raspberry Pi – Raspberry Pi 4/400 or Pi 3 models are recommended. The Raspberry Pi 5 is not officially supported yet but may still work with these instructions. Pi 1 and Pi Zero are not supported. Check the compatibility here for an updated list.
• Memory – 2 GB RAM minimum, 4 GB RAM recommended. I’m testing the installation for you on my Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB).
• Storage – an SD card (or other storage media) with 8 GB minimum. 16 GB or more is recommended. Here’s my favorite SD card at the moment.

How To Install Ubuntu MATE on Raspberry Pi

Note: For Ubuntu 24.04 and newer versions, the installation method for Ubuntu MATE has changed. It’s no longer available as a stand-alone image, so please follow the new installation method below.

Here’s a broad overview of how to install Ubuntu Mate on Raspberry Pi:

• Flash Ubuntu Server onto your SD card using Raspberry Pi Imager.
• Insert it into your Raspberry Pi and boot the new system.
• Install the Ubuntu MATE desktop package.

I will now explain each step in detail.

Flash Ubuntu Server onto an SD Card

First, we’ll start by installing Ubuntu Server as the base system.
Use Raspberry Pi Imager to make it easy to flash the image onto your SD card.

Here’s how to flash Ubuntu Server with Raspberry Pi Imager:

• Download and install Raspberry Pi Imager if you don’t have it yet (can even run on Raspberry Pi OS directly). Launch it.
• Click Choose OS > Other general-purpose OS > Ubuntu > Ubuntu Server:
  
• Click Choose Storage and select the media for the installation (can be SD card or USB drive).
• Click Next to start the installation.
  The OS customization options are not mandatory.
  But if you want SSH or Wi-Fi at first boot, I highly recommend setting them now.
• Confirm your choices, and Imager should begin the write process.

If you’re new to this, feel free to check my full guide about Raspberry Pi Imager for the entire step-by-step process.

That’s it! Nothing fancy here. If you are used to trying different operating systems, it should be pretty similar to any other installation. After a few minutes, your SD card should be ready.

Boot into Ubuntu Server

You can now insert your SD card (or USB disk) into your Raspberry Pi, and boot it.
The first boot may take a long time before displaying anything, but don’t worry too much.

Unlike other desktop distros, Ubuntu Server has no welcome wizard.
You get directly to the login prompt, where you can enter your login and password.

If you didn’t set a user / password in Raspberry Pi Imager, the default login details are:

• Login: ubuntu
• Password: ubuntu

If you haven’t already done so, now is a good time to connect to the Internet.
For more guidance, please check out our full guide to Ubuntu Server on Raspberry Pi.

Install the Ubuntu MATE Desktop Package

Now that you have Ubuntu Server as your base system and have connected to the Internet, you’re ready to install Ubuntu MATE.

But since we just loaded a new system, let’s update everything before going further:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Now we’re ready to install the desktop environment.
Ubuntu MATE is available as a package from the default repository:
sudo apt install ubuntu-mate-desktop

Since you started with a minimal system, it’ll need to install over a thousand packages to get a desktop environment up. This may take awhile, so sit back and relax, or play some Sudoku.

Once it’s done, restart your system:
sudo reboot now

After restarting, you’ll be presented with a graphical login screen.
Login to launch Ubuntu MATE.

Congrats, you’ve completed the installation!
Check the next section to get a tour of Ubuntu MATE.

Getting Started With Ubuntu MATE on Raspberry Pi

Ubuntu MATE is pretty intuitive once installed, but if you need some help to get started, here are the most important things you need to know.

Interface Overview

If you are used to Raspberry Pi OS, you shouldn’t be lost. MATE is similar to GNOME 2, so not too far from PiXeL/LXDE which is used by default on Raspberry Pi OS. The main menu is found in the top-left corner, and apps are sorted by category:

I’m always lost with similar categories like “Accessories”, “System Tools” and “Administration”, but what’s great is that there’s a search bar at the top you can use to quickly find the terminal for example. You can also use the “Favourites” and “All” submenus to quickly find something.

In the top-right corner, you’ll find the notifications area, and a few additional widgets like on most systems (clock, sound, Bluetooth, network, etc.). Nothing that isn’t expected for a modern desktop.

In the bottom bar, you’ll see all the open apps and can quickly switch from one to another (a bit like on Windows). The bottom-right corner gives access to virtual desktops and a shortcut to the trash.

System Configuration

In the main menu, there’s a tool named “Control Center” that you can use to configure almost anything on your system. Here’s what it looks like:

Most modern desktop environments have something similar. I don’t think this is the best one I’ve seen, but it’s better than the tools on Raspberry Pi OS. From there, you can configure everything, from the desktop appearance to your network settings or regional configuration.

After connecting to Wi-Fi, I performed some more updates and synced the clock.
To update your system, open the Software Updated in the Control Center. But you’ll probably get a notification asking you to update as soon as you are connected to the Internet.

Default Apps & Installing New Ones

Once connected to the Internet and the first batch of updates done, you are ready to use your new system. Ubuntu MATE comes with a bunch of default apps:

• Firefox: the default browser on all Ubuntu distributions, I think. I prefer Chromium, but it’s a personal choice.
• LibreOffice: the most popular office suite on Linux (free alternative to Word/Excel/etc.).
• Celluloid: the preinstalled media player. I probably missed something, as I don’t really understand this choice over VLC, but anyhow, you can watch videos with it.
• A few nice tools: like the disk usage analyzer or a backup tool that are preinstalled by default. There is also the “Software Boutique” that we’ll see in a few seconds.

Obviously, you’ll also find many accessories, like a terminal, notepad, screenshot tool, etc. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the default apps, a beginner can start directly with them, nothing much is required for desktop usage.

Ubuntu is also known for its “app store”, which tries to replicate what you have on your smartphone. An application catalog to help you install anything with an intuitive interface instead of using the command line or a package manager.

And good news, it works really well on Ubuntu MATE, which wasn’t the case in my review of all desktop environments. Here’s what the Software Boutique looks like:

Basically, you can either browse the different categories to find interesting new apps to install, or just use the search engine to find something. For example, you can search for “VLC” to install it or click on the sound & video icon to access the corresponding category. For each app, you’ll get a description and a button to install it:

That’s really great and is something that’s missing on Raspberry Pi OS. The apps are almost the same, but finding them with the “Add/Remove Software” tool on Raspberry Pi OS is almost impossible if you don’t know the app’s name.

Pros & Cons of Ubuntu MATE on Raspberry Pi

As a whole, Ubuntu MATE is an interesting system, but I think MATE is not the best desktop environment (read this article to learn more about this), and I also got several weird issues while testing it. But it’s a personal choice, so I’ll give you a summary of my thoughts, and you can make a decision from there to see if it’s worth your time or not:

Pros	Cons
More modern than Raspberry Pi OS.	Installation time.
Decent control center for system configuration.	Several bugs at the beginning (network, black screen, etc.). Fixed quickly.
Software Boutique to quickly install new apps.	The system is a bit slow in general. If possible, use a USB disk or a fast SD card.
64-bit operating system.	Not the best default app choices (Firefox, no VLC, etc.).

About the performance, I think the upgrade to a 64-bit version makes it bearable, but it’s not the fastest distribution. Ubuntu is still a bit slow on Raspberry Pi in general, and using apps like Firefox doesn’t really help. But I did some tests like YouTube full screen in HD, and there was no loss, so it’s improving with the newer versions at least.

In my opinion, Ubuntu MATE is a decent alternative to Raspberry Pi OS for desktop usage. It will make a few things easier for beginners, and add powerful features for more advanced users (access to Ubuntu repositories and snaps, for example).

But I’m uncertain if it deserves all the praise that many people give it. For me, it’s not the best distribution available for the Raspberry Pi (you can find my top 15 here). I always find Ubuntu-based distributions a bit slow on Raspberry Pi, and the default apps are not chosen with the hardware limitations in mind.

It might be a different conclusion with a Raspberry Pi 5, but unfortunately, it’s not yet officially supported by Ubuntu MATE.

But you know what? The best way to make up your own mind is to try it by yourself 🙂
So follow the steps in this tutorial to install it on your Raspberry Pi, try it for a few days, and see what you think about it!

If it’s not for you, here are a few other great alternatives you should try:

• Twister OS
• Manjaro
• Linux Mint

If you really want a distribution based on Ubuntu, then Pop!_OS on Raspberry Pi can also be a great choice.

Video

https://youtu.be/kBRCS45tOF4

Whenever you’re ready, here are other ways I can help you:

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The RaspberryTips Community: Need help or want to discuss your Raspberry Pi projects with others who actually get it? Join the RaspberryTips Community and get access to private forums, exclusive lessons, and direct help.

Master your Raspberry Pi in 30 days: If you are looking for the best tips to become an expert on Raspberry Pi, this book is for you. Learn useful Linux skills and practice multiple projects with step-by-step guides.

Master Python on Raspberry Pi: Create, understand, and improve any Python script for your Raspberry Pi. Learn the essentials step-by-step without losing time understanding useless concepts.

You can also find all my recommendations for tools and hardware on this page.