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Install the Latest Unity 8 and Mir in Ubuntu 14.04/15.04 via PPA

Last updated: June 4, 2015

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For those who are interested in testing the latest Unity 8, the next generation Unity shell running on the Mir display, you can now install a preview from PPA.

A Launchpad project, Unity8 Desktop Preview in LXC, is a set of tools and scripts to run the Unity 8 desktop preview ISO in a Linux container on released Ubuntu versions starting with Trusty (14.04). User can log in to the Unity 8 LXC session from LightDM greeter just as they would any normal session.

Install Unity 8 Preview via PPA:

A PPA has been created for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 15.04 and next Ubuntu 15.10.

1. To add the PPA, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) from the Dash/launcher and run:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:unity8-desktop-session-team/unity8-preview-lxc

2. update your system cache by running command:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade

3. Install the package for Unity 8 in lxc:

sudo apt-get install unity8-lxc

Note: This installs a slightly modified version of lightdm that works allows the lxc container login.

4. To set up the Unity8 Desktop Preview LXC, you need to run:

sudo unity8-lxc-setup

What this does is setup the configuration for the LXC, downloads the ISO and then extracts it, and then any last bits of setup necessary to make it work.

Finally restart your computer and you should be able to select log in “Unity 8 in LXC” session from lightdm login screen. For more, read the wiki page.

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    5 responses to Install the Latest Unity 8 and Mir in Ubuntu 14.04/15.04 via PPA

    1. ryan June 6, 2015 at 7:59 pm

      whats the size of the download?

    2. Michael Coyle June 8, 2015 at 2:43 am

      Hmmm… I can’t get it to launch. The install seemed to go fine, no errors, but after a restart and an attempt to login, it just kicks me back out to the login screen.
      Ubuntu 15.04

      Any thoughts?
      Michael

      PS Great site BTW!

    3. gcrosby November 10, 2015 at 12:15 am

      It works fine when installed with Synaptic

    4. Pragun December 23, 2015 at 10:05 am

      after typing the last command it gets stuck on “downloading the rootfs”… HELP

    5. Copper Bezel January 17, 2016 at 3:06 am

      @Pragun – That step seems to be a large download that takes an awful lot of time, with no indication of its progress. I was convinced it was stuck as well, but about twenty minutes later, it moved onto the next step.