Minimalistic Windows Setup

This is a minimalistic list of applications that I have found to be necessary after freshly installing windows! Most of the applications included are open source unless there isn't an open source alternative.

Kristian Marku
Kristian MarkuList by Kristian Marku, last updated 
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
  1. Web & Messaging

  2. LibreWolf icon
     Like

    This project is a custom and independent version of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy, security and user freedom.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • AppImageHub
    • Linux Mint
    • Arch Linux
    • Gentoo
    • Flathub
    • Fedora
    • Ubuntu
    • Debian
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • OpenBSD
    Homeage
    Settings
  3. uBlock Origin (uBO) is a CPU and memory-efficient wide-spectrum content blocker. It blocks ads, trackers, coin miners, popups, annoying anti-blockers, malware sites, etc., by default using EasyList, EasyPrivacy, Peter Lowe's Blocklist, Online Malicious URL Blocklist, and uBO...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Thunderbird
    • Opera
    • Node.JS
    • Mozilla Firefox
    uBlock Origin screenshot 1
    uBlock Origin screenshot 1
    uBlock Origin screenshot 2
    +3
    uBlock Origin screenshot 3
  4. Bitwarden icon
     Like

    Open-source password manager with AES-256 encryption and device sync. Store and access encrypted logins across platforms like iOS and Android.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Apple Watch
    • Snapcraft
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Vivaldi
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • Tor Browser
    • Safari
    • F-Droid
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Flatpak
    • Cloudron
    • Docker
    • Opera
    • Chocolatey
    • Mono
    • Brave
    • AppImage
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • OpenAPK
    Bitwarden screenshot 1
    Bitwarden screenshot 1
    Bitwarden screenshot 2
    +11
    Bitwarden screenshot 3
  5. Cross-platform email client providing POP/IMAP support, robust filtering, multiple accounts, and chat. Extendable via add-ons with RSS/Atom, etc.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • OpenAPK
    Thunderbird screenshot 1
    Thunderbird screenshot 1
    Thunderbird screenshot 2
    +8
    Thunderbird screenshot 3
  6. Office

  7. Free and open-source office suite with advanced word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, vector graphics, math formula editor, and database tools.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    • Android
    Libreoffice Viewer on Android
    Libreoffice Writer Viewer on Android
    Libreoffice Calc Viewer on Android
    +11
    LibreOffice Writer on Linux
  8. An end-to-end encrypted note-taking by Proton. Offline access, unlimited sync across devices, tagging, passcode and biometric security, plus advanced premium privacy features.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    Plain text note on free version.
    Cross-platform sync and end-to-end privacy
    A note using the Super note editor.
    +1
    Extensions and Themes
  9. Media

  10. Screenbox icon
     Like

    Screenbox is a modern video player that cares about performance and ease of use on a wide range of device types. It features a beautiful, friendly user interface while being fast and lightweight

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Black and White Themes
    Black Theme
    White Theme
    +1
    Screenbox screenshot 3
  11. FreeTube icon
     Like

    Experience YouTube ad-free on desktop with enhanced privacy. FreeTube prevents Google tracking and works seamlessly across Windows, Mac, and Linux.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • AppImageHub
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Subscriptions showcase
    Video player
    Settings
    +4
    FreeTube screenshot 3
  12. A feature-rich, simple-to-use app seamlessly integrated with a clean, minimal and modern user interface.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    ImageGlass screenshot 1
    ImageGlass screenshot 1
    ImageGlass screenshot 2
    +1
    ImageGlass screenshot 3
  13. Tools

  14. Snappy Driver Installer Origin is a portable Windows tool to install and update device drivers. It can be used offline to install drivers where Internet isn't available. No more searching for drivers after a clean install, just let Snappy Driver Installer Origin do it's...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Snappy Driver Installer Origin screenshot 1
    Snappy Driver Installer Origin screenshot 1
    Snappy Driver Installer Origin screenshot 2
  15. Windows Update Blocker is a freeware that helps you to completely disable or enable Automatic Updates on your Windows system, with just a click of the button. This utility is portable, which means that you are no longer required to go through the installation process and no...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Windows Update Blocker screenshot 1
  16. PeaZip icon
     Like

    PeaZip is free file archiver utility, based on Open Source technologies of 7-Zip, p7zip, FreeArc, PAQ, and PEA projects, for Linux, macOS and Windows.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    PeaZip
    Archive creation
    Archive extraction
    +4
    PeaZip on macOS
  17. PowerShell script for Windows 10 and 11 removes preinstalled apps, disables telemetry, blocks ads, hides suggestions, customizes taskbar, and controls privacy settings.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Win11Debloat screenshot 1
    Win11Debloat screenshot 1
  18. Okular icon
     Like

    Multi-platform document viewer supporting PDF, EPUB, comics and images with annotation tools, sidebar navigation, signature verification, and text-to-speech.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Snapcraft
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    Okular screenshot 1
    Okular screenshot 1
    Okular screenshot 2
    +2
    Okular screenshot 3
  19. PyWall icon
     Like

    A small app to make it easy to administrate simple firewall configurations, allowing or blocking individual files or entire folders, using either a GUI or a context menu.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    GUI
    Context menu
  20. BleachBit icon
     Like

    Erase unnecessary files like cache and cookies, maintain privacy, and optimize disk space on Linux and Windows. Supports various applications and uses.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    BleachBit user interface in dark mode [source: official documentation]
    BleachBit 1.9.3 on Windows 10 showing Firefox preview
    BleachBit 1.9.3 on Windows 10 showing the Preferences dialog
    +1
    BleachBit 0.8.2 on Ubuntu 10.10 (Kurdish translation)
  21. Filelight icon
     Like

    Displays disk usage visually with interactive segmented rings, scans local and remote disks, allows direct file management, and integrates with KDE file managers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    Filelight screenshot 1
    Filelight screenshot 1
    Filelight screenshot 2
    +2
    Filelight screenshot 3
  22. Free and open-source tool for batch uninstalling multiple apps with minimal input, removing portable, protected, and damaged software, and cleaning up leftovers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Bulk Crap Uninstaller screenshot 1
    Bulk Crap Uninstaller screenshot 1

Comments

Darlene Sonalder
2

Nice setup here is a couple change I would personnaly consider : Replacing MPC-HC icon MPC-HC with Screenbox icon Screenbox , it's also open source and built with libvlc but with a more native Windows design.

Replacing PeaZip icon PeaZip with NanaZip icon NanaZip which is also a maintained 7-Zip fork but with a more native Windows design and better performance when last tested.

LibreOffice icon LibreOffice is my favorite Office suite but ONLYOFFICE icon ONLYOFFICE has a better Windows themed interface so I would mention it too.

PDFgear icon PDFgear is a great free (as in free beer) PDF editor for Windows but unlike Okular it's not free as in freedom.

Gu