Good news for all Linux Mint lovers and users: the much awaited Linux Mint 22, codenamed “Wilma,” has landed and is available to the public!. This release has long term support which will extend through 2029. Linux Mint 22 is based on Ubuntu 24.04, and it comes with many improvements, updates and new features that takes your Desktop experience to a new level – the world of comfort and possibilities.
What’s new in Linux Mint 22 “Wilma”?
- Installation improvements for better localization and less disk space usage
- Shutdown timeout reduces to 10 seconds
- This release ships with modern slimmer version of Ubuntu fonts
- The default sound server is now Pipewire
- Linux Kernel 6.8
- Language packs for selected language are downloaded automatically during installation
- Themes updated to support GTK4
- All software using libsoup2 migrated to libsoup3
- HiDPI support improvements in boot sequence, Plymouth and Slick-Greeter.
For an in-place upgrade refer to our article: Upgrading to Linux Mint 22 from 21
Download Linux Mint 22 ISO
To kickstart the installation process, head over to Linux Mint Downloads page and get the ISO latest release.
Linux Mint is available in different flavors. You will need to choose an edition from:
- Cinnamon Desktop Edition: The default and most popular version of Linux Mint. Cinnamon DE is developed by Linux Mint team.
- Xfce Edition: Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for Linux. If you care about Desktop speed and response, then this suits.
- MATE Desktop Edition: More of a classic desktop environment with origins from GNOME 2
For users who love CLI, you can download the ISO images using wget or curl
- Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon Edition
wget https://mirrors.layeronline.com/linuxmint/stable/22/linuxmint-22-cinnamon-64bit.iso- Linux Mint 22 Xfce Edition
wget https://mirrors.layeronline.com/linuxmint/stable/22/linuxmint-22-xfce-64bit.iso- Linux MATE 22 Edition
wget https://mirrors.layeronline.com/linuxmint/stable/22/linuxmint-22-mate-64bit.isoCreate Bootable Medium
If you are doing the installation on a physical hardware like Desktop or Laptop computer, create bootable USB or using CD ROM.
Create bootable medium using Etcher
On Windows and macOS, you can use Etcher.
Create bootable medium using dd command
On Linux machine this can be done using dd command:
sudo dd if=linuxmint-22-cinnamon-64bit.iso of=/dev/sdX status=progress && syncInstallation of Linux Mint on Virtualized environments – VirtualBox, VMware, Proxmox, e.t.c doesn’t require bootable medium, what you need to do is upload ISO, create a new VM , then attach the ISO image for instalallation.
Installing Linux Mint 22 – Complete Steps
There is no difference in the OS installation process on a physical compute hardware vs on a virtual machine. Boot directly from the ISO, or from bootable medium you created in the earlier step.
On Virtualized environments – Create VM instance and give it a name.
Attache the ISO you downloaded to being Linux Mint instalallation.
Installing Linux Mint 22 (Steps to follow)
As it boots up, select “Start Linux Mint” in the boot up screen displayed.
You will see Linux Mint logo.
Wait for the system to complete start up. In the desktop click “In stall Linux Mint” icon begin installation of Linux Mint into disk.
Select your installation language.
Choose the right layout of your keyboard. In most cases this is same for the language chosen.
Optionally tick to install multimedia codes, although this can be installed at later stage.
Select the most appropriate disk installation type. If the system is new, most certainly what you need is “Erase”
Add first user to the system – give a name, computer name, system username, and assign the user a strong login password. If you require strong data security encrypting home folder can help.
Copying of files to the hard disk will start. This should not take long if your disk speed is decent.
After the installation is completed, reboot the system to start using Linux Mint 22.
Access your Linux Mint machine using the username and password created earlier.
Accept to update packages when prompted during the first system login.
Linux Mint Post installation tips
After a successful installation of Linux Mint 22, consider the following operations
1 – Update the System
Execute the following commands in your terminal to update the OS and all packages.
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y2 – Install key utilities
We can install important utilities such as vim, curl, git, wget, vlc, libreoffice, tlp , flatpak, tmux, e.t.c. The list may vary from user to user depending on the preferences.
sudo apt install vim curl wget git vlc libreoffice tlp flatpak tmux3 – Install Multimedia codes
Install all necessary multimedia codes for better management of media files.
sudo apt install mint-meta-codecs -y4 – Setup Timeshift
Timeshift is a Linux utility that allows you to backup and restore your system using snapshots taken at regular intervals. When a system failure occurs, you can easily restore from good state.
sudo apt install timeshift -y
sudo timeshift-gtk5 – Using Zsh Shell
Personally I’m not a daily user of the Bash shell but Zsh with Oh-my-zsh framework. Zsh (Z shell) is a highly customizable and powerful shell for Unix systems. It incorporate features from bash, ksh, and tcsh.
The Oh My Zsh is an open-source framework for managing Zsh configurations. It provides plenty of plugins and themes to enhance the functionality and appearance of Zsh.
To install Zsh and oh-my-zsh on Linux Mint, run the following commands:
sudo apt install zsh -y
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"The default shell of a user can be changed to zsh by using chsh command
sudo chsh -s /bin/zsh $USER6 – Install Grub2 theme in HiDPI
To ensure that grub2 theme looks okay in your HiDPI monitor, install the following package.
sudo apt install grub2-theme-mint-2k7 – Installing Wine – running Windows Apps
If you want to run Windows applications on Linux Mint, then installing win is important.
sudo apt install wine-installer8 – Configure OpenSSH server
Remote login to the server can be enabled through SSH. Install openssh-server package.
sudo apt install openssh-server Enable ssh service once it’s installed.
sudo systemctl enable --now sshdThere are many other considerations for a newly installed system like adding user accounts, enabling firewall, installing third party tools and many other operations. In this article our key focus was to help you run on Linux Mint. Refer to other resources available in the internet to configure your system to the ultimate desired state.
