• Openbox icon
  • VMware vCenter Converter icon
  • Pluma icon
  • GDebi icon
  • Karton icon
  • +24

Linux Essentials

OAKSIF029 appsUpdated
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The must haves for anyone using Linux!

  1. Openbox icon
     Like

    Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    BlackWhite theme by lyrae @ box-look.org
    Dyne theme by lyrae @ box-look.org
    Clearlooks theme by davidbarr @ box-look.org
  2. Automates physical to VMware VM conversion, supports migrating other virtual formats and disk images, enables backup cloning, and manages multiple tasks centrally.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    VMware vCenter Converter screenshot 1
    Convert Virtual Machines
  3. Pluma icon
     Like

    Pluma, fork of gedit icon gedit , is a text editor part of MATE icon MATE Desktop Environment. It supports most standard editor features, extending this basic functionality with other features not usually found in simple text...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Pluma screenshot 1
  4. GDebi icon
     Like

    GDebi lets you install local deb packages resolving and installing its dependencies. apt does the same, but only for remote (http, ftp) located packages.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    GDebi screenshot 1
    GDebi screenshot 1
    GDebi screenshot 2
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Fixes the pain of finding dependencies for youself!

  5. Karton icon
     Like

    Run Linux programs on macOS, a different Linux distro, or a different architecture.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
  6. GParted icon
     Like

    Manage partitions with ease, supporting resizing, moving, and copying. Utilize GParted Live for cross-platform use on x86 machines.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    GParted screenshot 1
    GParted screenshot 1
    GParted Live boot menu.
    +2
    GParted screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Makes Partitioning so much easier and supports many filesystems!

  7. Usability-focused file manager with tabbed browsing, dual panes, remote protocol support, archive browsing, integrated renaming, and file type previews.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    Dolphin File Manager screenshot 1
    Dolphin File Manager screenshot 1
    Dolphin File Manager screenshot 2
    +2
    Dolphin File Manager screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    It has built in support for checkboxes like in Windows Explorer!

  8. A fork of Remastersys.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Pinguy Builder screenshot 1
    Pinguy Builder screenshot 1
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Makes it easy to create and share your own distro!

  9. Wine icon
     Like

    A free, open-source compatibility layer allowing Windows applications to run on Linux and other systems, offering configuration and community support.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    Wine screenshot 1
    Wine screenshot 1
    Wine screenshot 2
    +1
    Wine screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Runs Windows Application by Right Click, or Double Click runs really well does all the work for you.

  10. Open-source browser with Gecko engine, supporting HTML add-ons and providing privacy features like Enhanced Tracking Protection and third-party cookie blocking.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • Samsung Galaxy Store
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • Gecko
    • F-Droid
    More protection from the start
    Firefox Desktop (Light Theme)
    Firefox Desktop (Dark Theme)
    +8
    Firefox iOS (Light Theme)
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Open Source Web Brower

  11. Florence is an extensible scalable virtual keyboard for GNOME. You need it if you can't use a real hardware keyboard, for example because you are disabled, your keyboard is broken or because you use a tablet PC, but you must be able to use a pointing device (as a mouse, a...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    hardware style
    shape style
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Incase you need a Virtual Keyboard and also as an anti-keylogger.

  12. KolourPaint is a simple painting program to quickly create raster images. It is useful as a touch-up tool and for simple image editing tasks.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Mac
    KolourPaint screenshot 1
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Easy to use if you are used to Microsoft Paint.

  13. GNOME Files, formerly known as Nautilus, is the official file manager for the GNOME desktop, giving the user a simple way to navigate and manage its files.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • GNOME
    • MacPorts
    • XQuartz
    • Linux Mobile
    GNOME Files screenshot 1
    GNOME Files screenshot 1
    GNOME Files screenshot 2
    +2
    GNOME Files screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Really stable and I like how easy to is to transfer files with. Lacks checkboxes though.

  14. Linux, Windows, and Apple Mac GUI that enables rapid selection & hashing of files (individually or recursively), text and physical disks.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    QuickHashGUI screenshot 1
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Makes it really easy to hash files in folders.

  15. KDE Partition Manager is a utility program to help you manage the disk devices, partitions and file systems on your computer. It allows you to easily create, copy, move, delete, resize without losing data, backup and restore partitions.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE
    KDE Partition Manager screenshot 1
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Good like Gparted and has some additional features to check out.

  16. Enable darker-than-dark dimming for internal and external screens.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Desktop Dimmer For Windows
    Desktop Dimmer For Mac OS
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Essential for using the computer at night.

  17. Tor icon
     Like

    Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Tor screenshot 1
    Tor screenshot 1
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Essential to protect your privacy. Can support routing all traffic through tor, or select applications.

  18. OpenVPN Connect provides flexible VPN solutions to secure your data communications, whether it's for Internet privacy, remote access for employees, securing IoT, or for networking Cloud data centers.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    • OpenAPK
    OpenVPN Connect screenshot 1
    OpenVPN Connect screenshot 1
    OpenVPN Connect screenshot 2
    +7
    OpenVPN Connect screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    You should route all your traffic through a VPN at least! Lacks GUI for Linux though. I'll make a bash script to do that one day.

  19. Encrypts online activity, provides anonymous IPs, has a strict no-logs policy, open-source VPN protocols, large server network, fast speeds, and multi-device support.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Google Chrome
    • Apple TV
    • Android TV
    • Google TV
    • Tomato
    • Fire TV
    • pfSense
    • OpenVPN
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • DD-WRT
    • Opera
    Private Internet Access screenshot 1
    Private Internet Access screenshot 2
    Private Internet Access screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    You should route all your traffic through a VPN at least! $3.33 a month, but gives you so many locations, its fast and has a GUI!

  20. The Tor software protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, it prevents the sites you visit from learning...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Flathub
    • OpenBSD
    Tor Browser screenshot 1
    Tor Browser screenshot 1
    Tor Browser 10.0.3 is now based on the new version of Firefox for Android.
    +1
    Tor browser for android alpha
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Keeps you anonymous, and is great for web browsing. Streaming might be a bit slow so use VPN's and Firefox for that.

  21. Cross-platform, free media player supports multimedia files, DVDs, streaming, offers hardware acceleration, 4K, lossless audio, and more.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Windows Mobile
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Apple Watch
    • Snapcraft
    • Google Chrome
    • Apple TV
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Kindle Fire
    • Haiku
    • Android TV
    • OpenAPK
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • Xbox
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
    VLC Media Player screenshot 2
    +4
    VLC Media Player screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Really good for playing Videos because supports so many formats! Also use it for playing music and it lets you adjust the bass and treble with advanced contol!

  22. Open source virtualization tool supporting x86/AMD64, runs on Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris. Offers portable, lightweight, ad-free use.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Oracle Solaris
    VirtualBox Manager
    Create Virtual Machine
    Setting of an OS
    +5
    Instaling Windows 10 as Virtual Machine
    OAKSIF0’s note

    The must have if you like Virtualizing, and you should get into it. Also if your Windows Apps don't work in Wine or Play on Linux you can use a Minimalized Windows like Windows Vista as a last resort.

  23. RedshiftGUI changes the color temperature of your monitor to better match that of your surrounding. This means that it sets a cooler color temperature during the daytime (due to natural lighting) and sets a warmer temperature at night (due to indoor lighting). Similar to f.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Main dailog
    Location lookup
    Settings
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Great at night so all that blue light doesn't bother your eyes!

  24. Synaptic icon
     Like

    Synaptic is a graphical package management program for apt. It provides the same features as the apt-get command line utility with a GUI front-end based on Gtk+.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Debian
    • Xfce
    Synaptic screenshot 1
    Synaptic screenshot 1
    Synaptic screenshot 2
    +1
    Synaptic screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Finnaly! A GUI to find packages, and its not a single store, It lets you add repositories if you can't get what you are looking for!

  25. Alien is a program that converts between the rpm, dpkg, stampede slp, and slackware tgz file formats. If you want to use a package from another distribution than the one you have installed on your system, you can use alien to convert it to your preferred package format and...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Really useful if you are trying to get something work that's an RPM made for RedHat based distros on Debian based distros! Its a way to convert packages between the two. Its a Command Line Interface, but its easy to use because you only need like two commands.

  26. PlayOnLinux is a graphical frontend for the Wine software compatibility layer which allows Linux and Mac users to install Windows-based video games, Microsoft Office (2000 to 2010), Microsoft Internet Explorer, as well as many other applications.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Wine
    • FreeBSD
    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac screenshot 1
    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac screenshot 1
    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac screenshot 2
    +1
    PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    If it doesn't run on Wine, you can manually configure it to run. Also has some Windows Apps preconfigured for you.

  27. Brave icon
     Like

    Fast, secure browser with built-in ad block, privacy controls, and global tracking protections. Optimizes data, speed, and battery life.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Snapcraft
    • Epic Games Store
    • Flathub
    • Samsung Galaxy Store
    • F-Droid
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    Brave screenshot 1
    Brave screenshot 1
    Brave screenshot 2
    +7
    Brave screenshot 3
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Its based off of Chromium just degooglified. It protects your privacy, and I like it because you can get Chrome Apps to work in it.

  28. The Snap Store gives you instant access to thousands of free and open-source applications. And now you can buy apps from some of the leading providers too. All our software is easy to find and install so you can have a customised desktop that suits you in no time.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Ubuntu
    Snap Store  screenshot 1
    Snap Store  screenshot 1
    OAKSIF0’s note

    Ubuntu Software Center has Hundreds of Applications to Choose From. It is my favorite store to get free software!

Linux and Linux distros don't have much applications out of the box they expect you to download them manually and search for repositories yourself and edit config files to make things work. Its 2018 and also why should you waste time manually configuring things and looking for the software you need to make Linux usable for you? That's why I have created this list.

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