MATE Desktop
Hacker ApprovedRanked 6 of 24 desktop environments by recommenders
Long-running fork of GNOME 2 that people pick for its familiar layout, stability and low fuss. Development has slowed, so newer features like fractional scaling are missing.
Long-running fork of GNOME 2 that people pick for its familiar layout, stability and low fuss. Development has slowed, so newer features like fractional scaling are missing.
36 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 29
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 81%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 29 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Keeps the GNOME 2 layout
“Mate (formerly known as Gnome 2) is pretty functional and almost as lightweight as Xfce.”
Comment from 16 Oct 2026 in “Wayland desktop for Linux with skeuomorphic design” “it was still possible to keep your workflows with MATE, the continuation of gnome 2”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “macOS Needs Its Grid Back” “It's a fork of old Gnome 2, so it got a lot more polish back on the day”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “XFCE Is Great” - Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft bans the word "Microslop" on its Discord, then locks the server”
- Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft bans the word "Microslop" on its Discord, then locks the server”
- Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “Resizing windows on macOS Tahoe – the saga continues”
Stable for years without surprises
“It was stable in 2009 when I built my first gaming desktop and it's stable in 2025 with my newer one.”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 in “Linux gamers on Steam cross over the 3% mark” “Try XFCE or Mate, they will look and behave the same years after setting them up.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “A Love Letter to FreeBSD” “have given them a consistent environment ever since (kept them on mate)”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” - Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “KDE Plasma 6.8 Will Go Wayland-Exclusive in Dropping X11 Session Support”
Good for family and new users
“Instead I set her up on a nice mature Linux desktop - Mate - and that was fine.”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “I spent a year on Linux and forgot to miss Windows” “have given them a consistent environment ever since (kept them on mate)”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” “I gave her Debian with a Mate desktop.”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Apple rejected my dictation app for using the accessibility API” Simple, uncluttered menus
“Mate / Cinnamon is quite nice, actually, for those who haven't gotten used to the Mac-style app bar.”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “I said no and Apple said yes” “I'm very thankful for Mate, especially the Alt+F2 behavior, but also the simple menu layout”
Comment from 19 Feb 2026 in “27-year-old Apple iBooks can connect to Wi-Fi and download official updates”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Development has stalled
“development has slowed down to the point it is missing important features like fractional scaling”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Ubuntu Mate Leader Stepping Down, Seeking New Contributors” “mate-desktop is more of a desktop-centric UI but sadly the project slowed down immensely”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” “the lack of development is starting to show”
Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “Resizing windows on macOS Tahoe – the saga continues” Missing volume, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
“Things like bluetooth not being integrated with the DE, and various details that we take for granted not working correctly”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “IBM to acquire Confluent” “MATE lacking volume and WiFi controls”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 in “Using FreeBSD to make self-hosting fun again” Occasional instability and video problems
“I remember mate being ever so slightly unstable”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “XFCE Is Great” “due to persistent video instability”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great”
Other desktop environments people recommend
The four most recommended other desktop environments, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KDE Plasma | 650 | 264 | 71% | 13 | 2 yrs79 owners | Approved |
| GNOME | 340 | 464 | 42% | 12 | 5 yrs29 owners | — |
| Xfce | 183 | 48 | 79% | 12 | 10 yrs29 owners | Approved |
| COSMIC desktop | 75 | 28 | 73% | 12 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| MATE DesktopThis page | 29 | 7 | 81% | 10 | — | Approved |
What people said
39 of the 45 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Mate (formerly known as Gnome 2) is pretty functional and almost as lightweight as Xfce.”
“Mate on Debian just wasn't for me”
“I have problems with it, but I've realized I don't want to be hit with surprise! on upgrades.”
“I left Gnome 3 for Mate early on and I never looked back”
“I was thinking on going back to Mate.”
“It's still around and what I use. It's called Mate now.”
“Mate / Cinnamon is quite nice, actually, for those who haven't gotten used to the Mac-style app bar.”
“I gave her Debian with a Mate desktop.”
“it was still possible to keep your workflows with MATE, the continuation of gnome 2”
“I am fine with mate-desktop”
“most blind people recommend Mate as being the most accessible desktop still”
“I'm still clinging to MATE for goodness's sake”
“At least you can use Mate Desktop.”
“development has slowed down to the point it is missing important features like fractional scaling”
“mate-desktop is more of a desktop-centric UI but sadly the project slowed down immensely”
“I built Mate after my son had a seizure at 3 AM and every crisis line went unanswered.”
“it is essentially the long-term maintenance of GNOME 2”
“These days she uses MATE which still offers that Gnome 2 layout.”
“it is cozy in a way that post-3.0 versions aren't”
“I'm very thankful for Mate, especially the Alt+F2 behavior, but also the simple menu layout”
“the lack of development is starting to show”
“I like the Gnome 2 title bars (Mate).”
“have given them a consistent environment ever since (kept them on mate)”
“Instead I set her up on a nice mature Linux desktop - Mate - and that was fine.”
“I remember mate being ever so slightly unstable”
“It's a fork of old Gnome 2, so it got a lot more polish back on the day”
“due to persistent video instability”
“Cinnamon and MATE are the directions I'd have preferred for Gnome to go.”
“why I switched to Mate years ago”
“I had to switch to Mate and then spend another 20 minutes trying to get it look ok.”
“I can't imagine what I'd be doing without MATE”
“Things like bluetooth not being integrated with the DE, and various details that we take for granted not working correctly”
“MATE exists. You can use it right now.”
“XFCE, mate-desktop, KDE and GNOME are too slow or too crap”
“works pretty much exactly like it did”
“Try XFCE or Mate, they will look and behave the same years after setting them up.”
“Or unity, mate, Pantheon from elemenetary os - why don't they just stick to being a theme on top of gnome or KDE”
“It was stable in 2009 when I built my first gaming desktop and it's stable in 2025 with my newer one.”
“MATE lacking volume and WiFi controls”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.