Yes, you need a desktop environment for Debian.
Yes, you need a desktop environment for Debian.
I can't cope with all this GUI on Linux (Debian). I thought something else would work. A completely dark screen, with you and that moving cursor in space. I already destroyed my desktop—should I be worried? The default tty resolution is low; can I make it bigger? The font looks bad, can I change it? Maybe I’m not familiar with the login tty. It’s not a terminal emulator, but is that okay? Still, at least I retain most of my memory.
It seems you're new to Linux and might be confused about running it. You can see a black screen with a cursor by starting in runlevel 3. Adjusting your font is easy with the setfont command. When you say "I nuked my desktop," it means you've changed your desktop settings. Runlevels differ depending on the distribution, but for Debian runlevels 2 through 5, they support multi-user environments. You can switch runlevels using systemd or by modifying configuration files like /etc/somefilenameiforgot.conf, or even through the GRUB menu.
You can certainly install Debian in console only mode. This is how I run it on my servers. There is no reason for a UI to exist on a server you only interact with through SSH (and it has the benefit of reducing the attack surface -> less software, less potential exploits). Of course on a machine you sit in front of to e.g. browse the web, a DE is definitely a plus (though not strictly required, depending on your use case)
I possess a desktop setup with xorg set up on my server for backup purposes. By default, the OS only launches a terminal and doesn’t display a GUI. Most of the time I connect via SSH without a monitor. To activate a GUI, I simply run startx from the command line, which initializes Xorg and displays a desktop environment (I usually use xfce for servers). Simple enough.
The setfont command failed because the default font couldn't be located.
For personal use, maintaining the desktop environment is strongly advised as it simplifies daily tasks. If you prefer Debian to launch directly into a terminal, execute the command: systemctl set-default multi-user.target To enable GUI booting, run: systemctl set-default graphical.target. To transition from the desktop to a terminal, use Ctrl+Alt+F* (link: https://wiki.debian.org/Console). For a lighter GUI experience, consider installing Xfce or Lxde.
By default, most distributions aim to provide a functional desktop for everyday users. There are window managers such as https://awesomewm.org/ that use non-overlapping "tiles" and are closer to the more advanced options you might prefer. Alternatively, you can explore repositories like https://github.com/Swordfish90/cool-retro-term to discover retro-inspired projects that suit your taste.
What are you aiming to achieve? Should I check what users of Linux rely on—standard text terminals or graphical interfaces?
The standard terminal settings aren't adjustable, but you can tailor the graphical interface. Most people rely on GUI-based terminal emulators because they offer greater ease of use—the core features remain consistent, as they're essentially bash terminals.