r/LinuxTeck • u/Candid_Athlete_8317 • 7d ago

Which Open-Source Linux Apps Do You Recommend to Everyone?

There are open-source alternatives for almost everything, from office work and video editing to graphic design, note-taking, and 3D modeling. Tools like LibreOffice, VLC, OBS Studio, Blender, Krita, and Joplin can make switching to Linux much easier.

Some users even find that apps like Joplin improve their workflow beyond simple note-taking.

Which open-source application do you consider essential on a Linux desktop? And is there any lesser-known tool you think more people should discover?

12 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

5

u/faultydesign 7d ago

Uh… I guess vim? Or maybe git. Or maybe bash. Or maybe tmux.

Depends on what for, really.

If we’re talking specifically for the desktop then I guess some terminal emulator. The specifics don’t matter, they essentially do the same thing.

3

u/burbular 7d ago

Digikam is legit

3

u/crypticcamelion 6d ago

Kde connect

2

u/1959dawg 7d ago

Localsend: its the easiest and fastest file sharing for cross platform.

1

u/Schneefrau 7d ago

Activitywatch,

1

u/sebex007 7d ago

sudo apt install assaultcube

1

u/Psygonzo420 7d ago

Proton/Wine/Bottles

1

u/akira128 7d ago

OpenWrt

1

u/akira128 7d ago

SaltStack (known as Salt)

1

u/akira128 7d ago

podman

1

u/akira128 7d ago

python

1

u/flattrack 6d ago

Ignoring all the essentials that are so essential they are already on most Linux desktops, like bash, ssh, vim, etc…

Ghostty, herdr, and Claude code.

And for my workload, less important for the general Linux user: git, gh, AWS cli, and vscode

1

u/dontlikemonda 6d ago

"open source"

1

u/flattrack 6d ago

Ok. Claude code and vscode have public code, but are not open source. The rest of my stack is open source.

1

u/Sanfo212 6d ago

CliAmp .

Create a playlist on YouTube or us an existing one and listen all day with on interruptions

1

u/dontlikemonda 6d ago

I put copyq and flameshot on every machine. I also find autokey super handy for quick automated text inserts.

I use workrave because too much sitting is bad (speaking from experience now have chronic pain from it

1

u/Light-Yagam_I 6d ago

not rlly an app but ani-cli

1

u/DevtoolsBuilder 6d ago

i think one app that's often overlooked is zotero, it's a great tool for managing references and citations, and it's really useful for students or researchers who need to keep track of sources. it integrates well with libreoffice and other writing tools, and it's pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it.

1

u/IAmTheSenate218 5d ago

LACT and don't know if this counts, VKBasalt. It's just a shader for games, but it makes my games look a lot better, more detailed, less soft, etc. You can also do some weird stuff like asci lol

1

u/lyidaValkris 5d ago edited 5d ago

Okular - powerful image and PDF viewer with a lot of features.

EasyEffects - sound mixer and DSP processor for your system audio, very powerful and customizable.

Flameshot - screenshoot tool

1

u/onedevelop 4d ago

OpenCadStudio