Essential Software for Creativity and Productivity
A Curated List of Essential Applications
Video and Audio Production
Kdenlive
An open-source, non-linear video editor with powerful video creation and export abilities.
Lightworks
A professional video editing tool. (Note: Not open-source)
FFmpeg
A command-line tool to convert video or audio files, such as converting FLV to MP4.
OBS Studio
Desktop recording and live streaming software.
SMPlayer
A video player and playback tool with built-in codecs.
Strawberry
A music player and organizer with a beautiful interface.
Cava
A fun music visualizer that runs in the terminal.
Graphics, Design, and Photography
GIMP
A powerful image editing tool, popular on Linux.
Inkscape
A vector graphics and drawing tool.
Krita
A professional digital painting and drawing application.
Darktable
A photography workflow and management tool with RAW support. It also functions as an image downloader for devices like iOS, Android, Nikon, and Sony.
Shotwell
A simple photo manager and downloader.
Flameshot
A powerful and simple screenshot tool with additional editing capabilities.
guvcview
A webcam settings editor that works with many webcams for changing default settings.
Development and System Utilities
Sublime Text
A popular coding and text editor.
Tilix
An advanced tiling terminal emulator.
Fish
A smart and user-friendly command-line shell. To set Fish as your default shell, use: chsh -s /usr/bin/fish
Pamac
A great GUI for software management and installation. (Note: For Arch-based distributions ONLY)
Ukuu
A tool to upgrade the Linux kernel for better hardware support, as some major distributions can lag behind on kernel versions. (Use with caution)
Remmina
A remote desktop client for system administrators and travelers who need to manage remote computers.
Productivity and Organization
Calibre
An e-book management and conversion tool.
SimpleNote
A simple note-taking tool that saves to the cloud.
SimpleScan
A simple utility to interface with scanners and create scanned documents, including PDF files.
DejaDup
An easy-to-use backup utility for saving and backing up important files.
Clonezilla
A powerful disk imaging and cloning tool.
Bleachbit
Cleans your system and frees up disk space. (Use with caution)
MultibootUSB
Burns live ISO images onto USB drives, allowing multiple live ISOs to be on the same drive.
Internet, Privacy, and Communication
Brave
A web browser with a built-in adblocker.
Firefox
A web browser featuring useful tools like container tabs.
Telegram
A messaging and social app with a focus on privacy and encryption. (Note: Only partially open-source)
Whalebird
A Mastodon desktop client for social media.
Zoom
A reliable video conferencing software. (Note: Not open-source)
PIA VPN
The Private Internet Access VPN tool and GUI for internet privacy.
Bitwarden
A cross-platform and open-source password manager.
ProtonMail
A secure and private email service with free and paid options.
Thunderbird
A free desktop email management tool.
FeedReader
A desktop RSS feed reader and management tool.
Cloud and Media Servers
Nextcloud
A powerful, self-hosted cloud server application for communication, storage, notes, contacts, and more. Available as a Snap.
Mega.nz
A privacy and security-focused cloud storage service, similar to Dropbox.
Kodi
A free media player designed for large screens but works just as well on smaller ones.
Screenly
Digital signage management software, often used with Raspberry Pi.
Gaming
Steam
Valve’s official store and game management tool.
Itch.io
An indie gaming platform and game management tool.
Lutris
A gaming platform that helps manage and launch games from various sources.