Here are sample instructions for some distributions. You should be able to install and run gnome-shell in a similar way on other distributions. Please feel free to add instructions for your distribution.
Fedora 15 (and newer)
Gnome Shell is the default UI for Fedora 15 and later. Fedora 14 and ealier have already reached their end of life dates.
Ubuntu 11.04
The GNOME3 Ubuntu team makes more recent packages available. To get and install, simply run:
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3 $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install gnome-session $ sudo apt-get install gnome-shell
Run gnome-shell --replace to use or choose "GNOME 3" session in your favorite display manager.
Ubuntu 11.10
It can be easily installed by running
$ sudo apt-get install gnome-shell
OpenSUSE 11.2
Run sudo zypper in gnome-shell then run gnome-shell --replace.
Mandriva Linux 2010 Spring (or cooker)
Install gnome-shell package (using either rpmdrake or urpmi) and choose "GNOME3Preview" session in your favorite display manager.
Debian unstable
Currently (2011-10-22), GNOME 3 and GNOME Shell are available in the unstable repository.
# apt-get install gnome-shell # apt-get install gnome-session
Run gnome-shell --replace to use or choose "GNOME 3" session in your favorite display manager.