Stuff to get you started on your next installation
So, say you have a brand-new installation of a linux distro, you are new to the ecosystem
you definitely need to setup essential tools aimed towards your area of interest and working profile.
here are some essential software packages you might want to pick up to help you along the way.
Index:
- Getting Started with Software Packages in Linux
- Essential software catalog
- Wrap up
Getting Started with Software Packages in Linux:
In linux, most software is distributed via a "package manager", which is essentially automates the installation, deletion, modification of programs.
Most of the software listed here is packaged in a format called "Flatpak", and is widely accessible on almost all Linux distros.
some software will be available from native distro package manager like apt, dnf, pacman etc.
All flatpaks available can be viewed from Flathub.org.
To get flatpak on your system, you will need to install it from your distro package manager, follow the following commands to install it:
Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:
sudo apt install flatpakManjaro, and other Arch based distros:
sudo pacman -S flatpakOpenSuse, Fedora, and other Redhat based distros:
sudo dnf install flatpakEssential software catalog:
Thunderbird Email Client:
Mozilla's Thunderbird is an amazing email client, accepting a wide number of accounts such as gmail, yahoo, outlook etc.
The setup is seamless and all your mail is neatly displayed with side tabs and folders.
features auto-sync functionality, desktop notifications, standard security protocols, etc.
It also has extra features such as plugins, extensions, and themes. Calendar view is also present so you can sync your reminders to your desktop as well, making it a multi-functional Email and Planner application.
Website: https://www.thunderbird.net/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.mozilla.Thunderbird
GNU Image Manipulation Platform (GIMP):
GIMP is a powerful algorithmic Image editor like Adobe's photoshop, but is free and open. It comes packed with plenty of standard features for editing like exposure, saturation, layers, color mapping etc.
GIMP provides extensions via multiple different programming languages, to provide a seamless and superfast image manipulation setup.
There is also a large community backing GIMP, so rest assured it does not come with the baggage that most proprietary software comes with.
Website: https://www.gimp.org/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gimp.GIMP
Evince document reader:
Evince is another free and open-source piece of software that allows you to read your documents in formats like PDF, XPS, DjVU, etc.
It has standard features such as search indexing, outlines, annotations, and bookmarks.
The search feature is exceptional in the sense when tested against other document readers, it has been always able to find the search term much quicker than something like Adobe Acrobat.
The lightweight-ness, simplicity, and speed of Evince makes it an instant recommendation as a preferred document reader on Linux.
Website: https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evince
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gnome.Evince
Kdenlive Video editor:
Kdenlive from the KDE community is one of the most popular video editing software out there, like a much lighter version of much more professional tools like DaVinci Resolve.
It has many features, a uniform UI, simple and easy access to all kinds of tools to edit your videos, and is also very extensible, not to mention also free and open.
with the power of ffmpeg, it supports a wide variety of video formats, from MP4, WebM, RAW, etc. and Popular video codecs such as VP8, H.264, H.265, etc.
Website: https://kdenlive.org/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.kde.kdenlive
Libreoffice suite:
The LibreOffice document suite is a powerful text document, spreadsheet, slide creator/editor with support for multiple document formats.
Similar to something like Microsoft office, but being free and open, and has extensions, making the productivity experience much better and seamless.
Its free, fast and lightweight and its an absolute recommend when it comes to document production on Linux.
Website: https://www.libreoffice.org/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.libreoffice.LibreOffice
Wine:
Wine (Wine is not an emulator), is a piece of software that allows you to run native windows programs on Linux.
It's a very useful piece of software that helps in getting applications that don't have a Linux version to run on Linux nevertheless. it does this by translating the executable via a Linux translation layer, so it is able to run.
Many applications from standard programs, to even games can run on Wine, (however for games, there is a more specific translation software available)
Website: https://www.winehq.org/
There isn't a flatpak for wine and it has to be installed by your native package manager,
Mostly the package's name is wine, you can check here
Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:
sudo apt install wineManjaro, and other Arch based distros:
sudo pacman -S wineopensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:
sudo dnf install wineGparted:
Gparted is disk management software that allows you to manage storage disks like hard drives and thumb drives, and allows for thing things like, formatting, partition creation/deletion/resizing, etc.
being a very simple graphical program, having an understandable UI, it makes the cumbersome process of disk partitioning a bit easier to do compared to command line alternatives like fdisk.
website: https://gparted.org/
There isn't a flatpak for wine and it has to be installed by your native package manager,
Mostly the package name is gparted, you can check here
Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:
sudo apt install gpartedManjaro, and other Arch based distros:
sudo pacman -S gpartedopensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:
sudo dnf install gpartedSyncthing:
Syncthing is a Peer-to-Peer file syncing service that allows you to have shared folders between computer to computer, or phone and computers etc. on the same network.
using encrypted file sharing, it's a very secure file syncing service that is also very lightweight and speed of syncing is adjustable as needed.
You can use it to do continuous backups of media like photos, videos, and documents between your phone and computer to make sure data is somewhere safe at all times as well.
Website: https://syncthing.net/
Flatpak: https://flathub.org/apps/details/me.kozec.syncthingtk
Blueman:
Blueman is a versatile Bluetooth peripheral management center, just like gparted, this simplifies what can be done over a command line, and just uses a simplified graphical interface to make pairing, disconnecting, modifying Bluetooth peripherals much easier.
it has a simple UI, easy access to some important things associated with Bluetooth device connections and much more.
website: https://blueman-project.github.io/blueman/
There isn't a flatpak for wine and it has to be installed by your native package manager,
mostly the package name is blueman, you can check here
Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:
sudo apt install bluemanManjaro, and other Arch based distros:
sudo pacman -S bluemanopensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:
sudo dnf install bluemanKDE Connect:
There are a lot of software packages that are available to have integrations with mobile phones and your desktop, some proprietary like Samsung's flow integration, KDE connect supports all android devices.
You can get message notifications, call alerts, battery info, file sharing, and even desktop control from your phone on the same network.
Overall, a great piece of software to keep your mobile smartphone connected.
website: https://kdeconnect.kde.org/
There isn't a flatpak for kde-connect and has to be installed from your native package manager,
Mostly the package name is kde-connect, you can check here
Ubuntu, Pop, Mint and other debian based distros:
sudo apt install kde-connectManjaro, and other Arch based distros:
sudo pacman -S kde-connectopensuse, fedora, and other redhat based distros:
sudo dnf install kde-connectWrap up:
If you want to take a look at more available packages from distro specific package managers, check out pkgs.org
If you have the Gnome desktop then you will have access to these packages via the "Gnome software center", which is a graphical app store/package manager.