My question is: Is it possible to create a multi-profile install on linux?

For example.....I have a base install of LinuxMint (just happens to be what I'm currently running at the moment ) but I would like to have a choice upon boot/login as to what gets loaded and avaible dependent on what I'm needing.

Let's say I am:

1. doing web developing and I want to only load what I need for my web developing including LAMP

2. Doing office related task such reports, letters, etc.. so I only want things related to office stuff.

3. General web, games, social, etc (basic normal everyday stuff) everything else can be here

is it possible to config a profile selection for each of the above using normal user login?

I do realize is this kind of a wide open question so to help keep it simple am just wanting to know if can be done and a good place to start on how to...

At a desktop level it is possible to customize the working desktop environment to suit a particular set of tasks. KDE Plasma 5 has activities (virtual desktops) - used to provide customized workspaces for different tasks...

https://userbase.kde.org/Plasma#Activities

I'm not a Gnome user, but I believe it offers its own activities implementation.

1 members found this post helpful.

I'd recommend to use a desktop environment or window manager with four (or more) work spaces. You can then have one for each project with one extra for miscellaneous tasks that pop up. In other words, try using one workspace per project. That method has worked well for me.

2 members found this post helpful.

if you want to choose upon login: you need to create different users for different kind of jobs. But it is not really required, you can use workspaces (and different users too). It depends on how do you want to separate them.

2 members found this post helpful.

At GRUB you'd need a different install for each (I'd think) but good answers here, I like KDE*... for CLI I'd do different users.