The Fastest Way to Run Ubuntu Desktop on Your Machine with Multipass

🌍 Why Ubuntu Desktop?

Ubuntu Desktop is gaining serious traction—especially as countries like Denmark and Germany transition from Windows to Linux. It’s a powerful, open-source alternative that comes bundled with a complete suite of productivity apps, making it a great option for work, education, or casual use.

If you’ve ever wanted to spin up a clean, isolated Ubuntu Desktop environment on your machine in minutes, Canonical’s Multipass tool is your new best friend.

⚡ Meet Multipass

Multipass is a lightweight, command-line tool from Canonical that lets you launch Ubuntu VMs effortlessly. Think of it as a faster, simpler alternative to VirtualBox—purpose-built for Ubuntu and great for local development and testing.

You can install Multipass in just a few clicks by following the instructions on their website.

🛠️ Automate the Setup with Cloud-Init

By default, Multipass creates minimal Ubuntu Server VMs—no desktop environment included. But we can fix that!

Using a cloud-init file, you can automatically install a full Ubuntu Desktop environment and even configure Remote Desktop access. Here’s an example cloud-init file that does exactly that:

package_update: true
package_upgrade: true

users:
  - default

chpasswd:
  list: |
    ubuntu:yourpassword   # 🔒 Replace 'yourpassword' with a secure password!
  expire: False

packages:
  - xrdp
  - ubuntu-desktop

# Uncomment to run additional commands after setup:
# runcmd:
#   - echo 'VM setup complete!'

🖥️ Launch Your Desktop VM

Save the above YAML file as cloud-init.yml and run:

multipass launch --memory 2G --disk 20G --cloud-init ./cloud-init.yml --network=bridged

This command creates a VM with:

• Ubuntu Desktop preinstalled
• RDP server enabled (via xrdp)
• 2GB RAM and 20GB disk space (feel free to adjust)

The --network=bridged flag makes the VM access your wifi connection on your host machine to simplify internet access.

🔌 Connect via RDP

Once your VM is up and running:

1. Open the Multipass app to find the VM’s public IP address

2. Download an RDP client:

   • Search for “Microsoft Remote Desktop” on the App Store or Microsoft Store

3. Connect to the VM:

   • Create a new connection using the ”+” button;
   • Enter the IP address and login using the credentials from your cloud-init file;
   • Click on the connection just created and enter the password you set in the cloud-init file: , then click on “Continue”;

You should see the desktop setup screen; choose your language and click “Next”. Then, you should now see your desktop. Click on the show apps button to see the apps available:

And that’s it! You’ve now got a fully functioning Ubuntu Desktop environment running in a lightweight virtual machine—great for testing, development, or simply exploring Linux.

🙌 Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a developer looking to isolate your work environment, or just curious about trying Ubuntu Desktop without messing up your main OS, this setup offers a fast, clean, and customizable solution.

Let me know if you try it out or have any improvements to suggest!