cinnamon

The command line executable most commonly associated with initiating or managing a Cinnamon session is typically:
cinnamon-session [OPTIONS]

While cinnamon refers to the desktop environment itself, it is usually launched automatically by a display manager (e.g., LightDM, GDM) upon user login, rather than directly invoked by a user from the terminal.

-h, --help
    Displays help options for the cinnamon-session executable.

--version
    Shows the version information of the cinnamon-session executable.

--session=SESSION
    Starts the session using a specific session definition file.

--builtin
    Starts a builtin session, typically used for default configurations.

--debug
    Enables debug output for troubleshooting session startup issues.

--failsafe
    Starts the session in a failsafe mode, often with default settings and no custom configurations, useful for recovery.

Cinnamon is a free and open-source desktop environment for GNU/Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Primarily developed by the Linux Mint community, it is a prominent fork of GNOME 3.

Designed to offer a traditional user experience, Cinnamon integrates modern aesthetics with a familiar desktop metaphor, featuring a bottom panel, an applications menu, desktop icons, and window lists. Its goal is to provide a user-friendly, powerful, and highly customizable interface that appeals to users who prefer a classic desktop layout while incorporating contemporary technologies and features.

Key components of Cinnamon include the Muffin window manager (a fork of Mutter), the Cinnamon Settings application for system configuration, and a robust ecosystem for applets, desklets, and extensions, enabling extensive personalization. The design philosophy emphasizes stability, comfort, and ease of use, making it a popular choice, particularly for Linux Mint users.

The term cinnamon primarily refers to the desktop environment itself, not a typical command-line utility run directly by users for specific tasks.

Attempting to run cinnamon or cinnamon-session directly from a terminal within an already running Cinnamon graphical session can lead to unexpected behavior, errors, or conflicts, as it tries to start a new instance of the desktop environment.

Its primary method of invocation is via a display manager during the login process, and its management usually involves system-level configurations rather than direct command-line interaction.

Cinnamon is not a standalone command-line utility for specific tasks, but rather the complete graphical desktop environment itself. Its existence defines the user's interactive graphical experience on a system where it is installed.

The desktop environment is highly modular. Users can extend its functionality and appearance through:
Applets: Small applications displayed on the panel (e.g., weather, system monitors).
Desklets: Widgets displayed directly on the desktop (e.g., sticky notes, picture frames).
Extensions: Alter or add functionality to Cinnamon's core behavior or user interface.

Cinnamon was conceived and developed by the Linux Mint team as a distinct desktop environment following the release of GNOME 3 and its GNOME Shell interface. Many users found GNOME Shell to be a significant departure from the traditional desktop metaphor.

First publicly released in 2011, Cinnamon aimed to provide a user experience that maintained the familiar desktop paradigm (panels, menus, desktop icons) while leveraging the underlying modern technologies of GNOME 3. It quickly became the flagship desktop environment for Linux Mint, playing a crucial role in its popularity by offering a comfortable and intuitive environment to users migrating from older operating systems or other Linux desktops.

gnome-session(1), startx(1), lightdm(1), gdm(1), cinnamon-settings(1), cinnamon-screensaver-command(1)