Accessories
Bitwarden
I used to use Keepassx to manage my passwords but recently I have been using Bitwarden. It is a lot simpler to sync between devices and I like that it is almost purely focused on secure password management. It also meant that I could stop using the password managers built into web browsers and have a one stop shop across all my devices.
bitwarden.com
Flatseal
Flatseal is a permissions manager for flatpak applications. Occasionally you will run into a problem with a flatpak application, like Digikam not having permission to read files outside your Pictures folder or no sound, and often Flatseal can solve those problems for you in about one click.
flathub.org
KeypassXC
If you want to manage passwords locally then a good place to start is with KeePassXC. It’s a great program to create and store all your passwords in and it isn’t hard to create a system to make your passwords available on all your devices. You could, for instance, use Mega or Nextcloud to synchronize your database keeping in mind that it should be password protected and backed up.
keepassxc.org
Kfind
KFind is a standalone search tool from KDE. It has finer grained search than the default search in Dolphin (the file manager) and it just seems to be better at finding files.
apps.kde.org
Kup
Kup is a backup scheduler for KDE that uses rsync or bup depending on whether you want to do incremental backups or a synchronised backup. Primarily it is used to backup to USB (It will recognise when the USB drive is attached) but it can also be used to backup to an smb share with a few tricks.
apps.kde.org
Okular
Okular is a document viewer that supports file formats such as like PDF, Postscript, DjVu, CHM, XPS, ePub and others. Easy to use, it is the default document viewer in Kubuntu 20.04 but can also be used on Windows, macOS, *BSD, etc.
okular.kde.org
Microsoft core fonts
In 1996 Microsoft decided to create a pack of core fonts for the Web. Unfortunately there were propriety restrictions on the fonts restricting their distribution. Microsoft terminated the project in 2002 but many websites still default to these fonts if the one used is not available so it is handy to have them installed. The fonts are, Andalé Mono, Arial, Arial Black, Comic Sans MS, Courier New, Georgia, Impact, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS, Verdana and Webdings.
sourceforge.net
Ventoy
Ventoy is extremely useful. You install it on a USB drive and then you can put as many operating system iso's as the stick will hold and on booting the stick you will be presented with a menu asking which iso you want to boot from.
ventoy.net
Vorta
Vorta is a backup solution based on borg backup and it is quite simply the best backup solution I have used so far. Remote backups with depuplication and encryption that are fast and reliable. The only time I ever seem to have a problem with it is when I cause it (usually ssh keys permissions).
vorta.borgbase.com
Administration
KDE Partition Manager
If you want to change your partitions there is a very good partition manager called KDE Partition Manager. With it you can create, destroy, resize, move, and backup partitions in formats such as ext2, ext3, ext4, fat16, fat32 and ntfs. There are also many other formats where not all the options are available.
apps.kde.org
Konsole
To be precise, Konsole is a terminal emulator running BASH (Bourne Again SHELL). A terminal is what you get when you strip away all the extraneous parts of a computer like the graphical user interface, etc… and end up with a black screen and a cursor. A shell is basically the system you use to put commands into the terminal.
konsole.kde.org
Nano
Nano is a simple command line editor that is good for editing configuration files. You simply open up a terminal, type nano and then the filename and off you go. The other great thing about it is that it is installed almost everywhere so Nano is already available my NAS as it will be in many Linux distributions by default.
nano-editor.org
Education
Anki
Anki is a flashcard memorization programs that can sync between devices. So you can have the application on your phone, Linux, Windows and so on and sync your progress and updates between them. Very handy.
apps.ankiweb.net
Graphics
Digikam
Digikam is the KDE equivalent of Picasa, or maybe Shotwell with the ability to handle large collections of video and images. It can also import your pictures, adjust meta data, tags photos, export them to social media and a whole lot more. It even has basic facial recognition.
If I had a criticism about it it is that it can be a little confusing on the import process but once you have done a little research and decided what settings are correct you never have to do it again. It really is my favourite program for photos on Linux.
digikam.org
Gimp
GIMP, or the GNU Image Manipulation Project is the standard Linux program for manipulating images. And it is great. I have to say I use it more than Krita although that maybe because I am more used to it. If you want to resize, crop, or layer your images (or for that matter any number of other edits) then GIMP is a great program to install.
gimp.org
Gwenview
Gwenview calls itself an image viewer but it is actually a lot more than that as it can crop, rotate, mirror, flip, and resize images as well. It also supports basic file management action such as copy and paste. What really makes it stand out though is that it is fast.
apps.kde.org
KColorChooser
KColorChooser is a handy little tool for picking colours anywhere on the screen. For instance you might want to know what colour the menu is on a website or maybe the colour of an icon in the application launcher.
apps.kde.org
Krita
Krita is the KDE version of GIMP or Photoshop. Actually, it is more than that. For the past ten years it has focused on cartoonists, illustrators, and concept artists in addition to image manipulation until today it is a painting tool designed for concept artists, illustrators, matte and texture artists, and the VFX industry.
You can still use it to easily manipulate images though with most of the simple options such as crop, colour and shape selector are on the left hand side. Other more complex tools and filters such as Raindrops are in the top menus.
Internet
Crow Translate
Crow Translate is a simple and lightweight translator that allows to translate and speak text using Google, Yandex and Bing.
crow-translate.github.io
Element
Element is an open, private and secure messenger application built with Matrix that allows you to chat, exchange files, make voice or video calls and conference. It also allows you to bridge other networks as well so you can use the Matrix ecosystems to talk in an IRC room as well.
element.io
Ferdium
Ferdium is a messaging app of messaging apps. Or in other words if you have multiple messaging accounts and you want to view them in one place then this is the application for you. There is support for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, Twitter and many many more.
ferdium.org
Filezilla
Filezilla is one of the best File Transfer Protocol (FTP) programs around and is so popular that many hosting sites give step by step instructions on how to use it to access them. There is also a site manager so it is easy to setup and save multiple servers for quick access.
filezilla-project.org
Firefox
Firefox is the default browser in most Linux distros. Although it currently holds only 5% of the browser market it is a good idea to use and support it. This is for a variety of reasons,
- It is free and open source
- Only using the most popular browser leads to stagnation
- It is a very good browser
mozzilla.org
Freetube
Freetube to an application to watch Youtube with that tries to block tracking and advertisements. I don't know how long it will be around as Youtube has started targeting adblockers but if you have a child and want to watch something on Youtube then it is a godsend.
freetubeapp.io
Jitsi
Zoom has been in the news a lot lately and Skype has been around for a long time but there is another way to video conference for free. Jitsi is a set of open source projects that allow you to go to the Jitsi Meet webpage, type in a name for your meeting room and then connect to it in your browser.
meet.jit.si
Kde Connect
KDE Connect is quite simply a program that connects your KDE desktop to your Android phone allowing you to share files, notifications, ring your phone, use it as a remote or a pointer and much more.
kdeconnect.kde.org
Keybase
Keybase is an encrypted chat, storage, encryption key directory, and more with clients for most operating systems including Android, iPad and iPhone. Additionally it allows people to create teams with admins, use git, send and store XLM (Stella) and create a web of trust to verify peoples identities.
keybase.io
Mega
Mega is a secure cloud storage provider that offers at least 5GB of free encrypted storage. It also has apps for mobile and desktop and extensions for Firefox and Chromium. It is a great option to sync your important files between your devices, upload your photos from you phone or share files with your friends.
mega.io
Nextcloud Client
Nextcloud is a personal cloud storage solution which allows you to be in charge of your data unlike Google and others. The Nextcloud Client is the program installed on your computer that allows you to sync a folder and Nextcloud. This allows you to be able to add to or obtain the files in that folder from your desktop, phone or web browser.
You need a working Nextcloud installation for this to be useful. If you are unable to set one up for whatever reason then maybe try Mega. It is easier but you don’t have as many options or as much control. There are other options after installing the client though. ‘Register with a Provider’ for example allows you to register with a server provider and in some cases get free storage. I am going to ignore those options.
nextcloud.com
Signal
Signal messenger is an end to end encrypted applications that can be installed on most distros and is also available on Andriod, iPhone, Windows and Mac. It’s basic functions are encrypted text and video messaging which it does very well and very easily compared to many other applications. Signal is primarily tied to a cell phone number so it will need to be installed on a phone before it can be used.
signal.org
Syncthing
Syncthing is one of those programs that really makes open source software stand out. It gives you the ability to synchronise your computer with another computer without having to have a server to negotiate the connection. Eg; You change a file on you computer and the file will update on the other.
syncthing.net
Tor Browser
The Tor Browser tries to hide users from traffic analysis and does so very successfully by bouncing users communications around a network or Tor nodes operated around the world. It is what you use if you want to use the web without being able to be tracked to your physical location.
Tor Project
Transmission
Transmission is a very popular BitTorrent client. It also has a remote client called transgui for if you are running Transmission on a server or NAS in your network. It is very good for downloading large files such as Linux distributions or scheduling them to download at times the Internet connection is not being used.
transmissionbt.com
Transmission Remote GUI
If I am running the transmission daemon on a remote server then Transmission Remote GUI, or transgui as the package is called, is my preferred way to keep up with what is happening. The main alternative is Transmission Remote GTK but it doesn't automatically pick up magnet links from the clipboard or volunteer as much information as to what is going on.
github.com
Un-Googled Chromium
Chromium is the open source base for Google’s Chrome browser which dominates the browser market. It is an open-source browser project that aims to build a safer, faster, and more stable way for all Internet users to experience the web. Un-Googled Chromium almost the same. As per the git repository,
- ungoogled-chromium is Google Chromium, sans dependency on Google web services.
- ungoogled-chromium retains the default Chromium experience as closely as possible. Unlike other Chromium forks that have their own visions of a web browser, ungoogled-chromium is essentially a drop-in replacement for Chromium.
- ungoogled-chromium features tweaks to enhance privacy, control, and transparency. However, almost all of these features must be manually activated or enabled. For more details, see Feature Overview.
github.com
Whalebird
f you are looking for a good client for Mastodon, Plemoma or Misskey client then Whalebird is an Electron based application for Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s quite good and looks a little like the Slack UI.
whalebird.social
Office
Calibre
Calibre is a fantastic e-book manager with previews, import and export, format changing, pretty much the whole she-bang but the version in the distribution repos is often out of date.
calibre-ebook.com
Libre Office
If you want to create or read documents of many kinds then Libre Office will serve you well. Not just writing either, spreadsheets, databases, drawing, presentations and maths are all catered for and, in the hands of the Document Foundation, constantly improving.
libreoffice.org
Programming
Bluefish
Bluefish is an extremely powerful text based HTML editor. Actually it is more than that. It also has support for over twenty other languages including C++, D, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby…well, the list goes on. What is does is make editing easy, especially for multi-document projects like a website.
bluefish.openoffice.nl
Code::Blocks
Code::Blocks is a very good free integrated development environment (IDE) for writing in C, C++ and Fortran. It has been around for a long time and is recommended as the learning environment on sites such as Learn C++.
codeblocks.org
Netbeans
Netbeans is an IDE that has recently shifted management from Oracle to the Apache Software foundation. It is primarily an IDE for Java, JavaScript, PHP, HTML5, and C++ but can be expanded through the use of plugins.
netbeans.apache.org
Publii
Publii is a static site generator that allows you to very simply create a blog or other website on your local computer and then upload it to a server. This site is built on it and updating a page, creating a new one with all the site map additions, updates and other useful bits and pieces of a website is largely automatic and easy.
XAMPP
XAMPP is an easy to use installer to create a pre-built LAMP stack on your machine. That sounds a lot more technical than it is. Basically it installs a web server onto your computer so you can access the files through your browser and the actual files being served as an aid to web-development.
apachefriends.org
Sound & Video
Clementine
Long a favorite of the Linux community for both its functionality and stability. While I have used Lollypop, Amorak, Elisa and various other players on my machine it is Clementine that I have kept coming back to.
clementine-player.org
Freetube
FreeTube is an open-source YouTube client designed to enhance user privacy and experience. It allows users to watch and manage YouTube videos without ads, tracking, or the need for a Google account. The software offers a clean interface, customizable subscriptions, and features like playlists, dark mode, and video downloads. FreeTube supports various video resolutions and provides options for background playback. By using its own API, it minimizes data collection, making it a privacy-focused alternative to the official YouTube platform.
freetubeapp.io
Kazam
Kazam is a very simple screen recorder for KDE but just because it is simple doesn’t mean it isn’t really good at it’s job. Kazam provides a well designed and easy to use interface for capturing screen‐casts and screenshots. It can record desktop video and multiple audio streams simultaneously with control over audio levels and the screen region being captured.
github.com
Lollypop
I thought I would try Lollypop and I have been pleasantly surprised. It isn’t complex, but it has enough to keep me interested. The layout is nice. I like being able to see all the album covers and best of all it just seem to work.
wiki.gnome.org
SoundConverter
If you need to convert sound from one format into another then SoundConverter is the way to do it. You can add an entire directory of files and have them convert or just a single file or URL. It is a very easy program to use and gives good results.
soundconverter.org
VLC
VLC media player has got to be one of the most popular ways of watching media files in the world. And video is not the only media it plays. In fact it plays just about everything, on just about everything, without charging you anything.
videolan.org
Virtualization
Virtual Box
Virtual Box is a virtualization product which allows a user to run another operating system inside their current one. For instance, while using KDE Neon you could start Virtual Box and then start an instance of Windows 10, CentOS or BSD (or all of them at the same time depending on the power of your system) without having to leave the current desktop.
VirtualBox.org
