Raspbian with Desktop or lite what does it matter

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My Pi4b should be here today and I have downloaded both the Buster desktop and Buster lite editions. Does it matter which one I should install if I am not using the Piaware image?

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The desktop is good if you want to access the GUI via VNC.
I think you can add it later if you install Buster lite.

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It’s certainly doable on Stretch, so I assume it is with Buster as well.
/edit - I’m struggling to find my notes but I think this is how I did it.

sudo apt install raspberrypi-ui-mods
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So I had Buster desktop installed then can I also install Piaware?

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Yes. You can also install it on Buster Lite, it doesn’t need the desktop.

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Desktop is with graphical interface and additional packages preinstalled.
Lite is without the graphical interface.

piaware doesn’t care.
It’s the same system, just other software installed.

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There are 3 options now: desktop and recommended software, desktop only, and lite (no desktop).

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I downloaded all three but I figure that I want to try out the desktop version. Also since it’s Buster on a Pi 4 it should not matter. My next question is I want to install Piaware 3.7.1 on the desktop version with both 1090 and 978. Maybe also installed

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Also I dont use the Pi for the web browser all my map and graph viewing is done from my desktop computer

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Right choices: Raspberry Pi OS – Raspberry Pi

Wrong choice: Raspberry Pi Desktop for PC and Mac – Raspberry Pi

Your title says Raspbian Desktop which strictly speaking is for PC and Mac.
It won’t run on the Pi4 anyway.
One could say the naming is a little ambiguous.

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The top one is what I had selected for my downloads. I picked up all three images.

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I agree with my naming of this subject.

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It’s likely not an issue with a 4GB Pi4, but why use Raspbian with desktop on a Pi3/3+?

Even on a Pi4, if the Pi is remote, what’s the benefit? I think one is better off using PuTTY for example, rather than VNC in this case.

All of the above in a Piaware context. YMMV with other uses.

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as long as you do not want to use a graphical interface locally (with a screen, keyboard and mouse attached directly to the Pi, there is no need to install it with the desktop interface.

For almost all tasks you will need a command line anyhow which can be used either directly (if screen is attached) or via SSH from a remote computer in your local network.

Otherwise the GUI would be a waste of memory ressources.

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I use the interface every so often. I am setting it up right now and making sure that it’s up to date.