Linux Setup and Useful Apps for Ubuntu/Debian Distros

Update System

Run this anytime you want to fully update your system from the terminal.

go to terminal and do this

sudo apt update -y && sudo apt upgrade -y && sudo apt autoremove

Update Drivers Linux Mint

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
# Driver Manager (pick NVIDIA/prop if needed)

sudo mintdrivers

If you end up installing any drivers from that, it could be wise to reboot

sudo reboot

Install the Ubuntu Driver Collection

sudo apt install -y ubuntu-drivers-common
sudo ubuntu-drivers install
sudo reboot

Install Nvidia Drive

⚠️ Only do this if you have an NVidia GPU!

sudo apt install -y nvidia-driver

Install Multimedia Support

sudo apt install -y mint-meta-codecs
sudo apt install -y libavcodec-extra vlc

Improve Battery & Power Management (Approach 1)

⚠️ Only do this if you're setting up a laptop

sudo apt install -y tlp tlp-rdw
sudo systemctl enable --now tlp

Improve Battery & Power Management (Approach 2 - May manage both battery life and cpu power monitoring, unlike tlp, which foces on battery)

⚠️ Only do this if you're setting up a laptop

Uninstall tlp, if it's installed

sudo apt autoremove tlp

Install auto-cpufreq

git clone https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/auto-cpufreq.git
cd auto-cpufreq && sudo ./auto-cpufreq-installer

Install GNOME Customizations

⚠️ Only if you are using GNOME and your distro is missing this stuff.

Install gnome-tweaks and gnome-shell-extension-manager

sudo apt install -y gnome-tweaks gnome-shell-extension-manager

Restore Dock Features (only required on some distros)
Dash To Dock
Tray Icons

Install uv tool installer and Python manager

Everyone needs this! It's how I manage Python and Various Apps

Download & run installer

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Ensure uv is on PATH for this session

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Preparation for Virtualization

sudo apt install -y qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system virt-manager
sudo usermod -aG libvirt,kvm $USER
sudo apt install -y gnome-boxes
sudo apt install -y virtualbox

Now log out and back in to set virtualization group membership

Post Virtual Machine Install (GNOME-Boxes)

Linux VMs

After you install a linux distro as a guest VM, you may need to install the spice system to get proper integration and desktop resizing:

# Inside the Linux VM
sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install spice-vdagent qemu-guest-agent -y
reboot

With Boxes, Cinnamon (e.g., Linux Mint) doesn't work properly with spice. So BEFORE running the above command, switch to the XFCE destkop.

sudo apt install mint-meta-xfce -y

After running the above command: 1) Log out of Cinnamon, 2) Choose the Xfce desktop, 3) Log back in, 4) Run the above commands.

Windows VMs...tba

Audio sanity tools

Useful if something goes wrong with your audio system

sudo apt install -y pavucontrol

Install Some Printer stuff

These are already installed installed on Linux Mint!

Printing (CUPS) + driverless USB printing support

sudo apt install -y cups ipp-usb system-config-printer
sudo systemctl enable --now cups ipp-usb
# (optional) allow your user to manage printers
sudo usermod -aG lpadmin "$USER"

Scanning

sudo apt install -y simple-scan sane-airscan sane-utils

Install Microsoft fonts

Install MS fonts, many applications and previous documents may rely on these.

sudo apt install -y ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Refresh the font cache

sudo fc-cache -f -v

Enable Firewall

Already installed on Linux Mint

Turn it ON (Home profile is fine)

sudo apt install -y gufw
gufw

Allow SMB file sharing (adjust to your LAN as needed)

sudo ufw allow 445/tcp

CPU Microcode (Intel)

⚠️ Only install this if you have an Intel CPU!

# Will immediately reboot!
sudo apt install -y intel-microcode
sudo reboot

CPU Microcode (AMD)

⚠️ Only install this if you have an AMD CPU!

# Will immediately reboot!
sudo apt install -y amd64-microcode
sudo reboot

Enable TRIM

First check if it is already running

systemctl status fstrim.timer

If, the above step suggests TRIM is not enabled, do this:

sudo systemctl enable --now fstrim.timer

Install GStreamer

Core

sudo apt update -y && sudo apt install -y gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-libav

Nice to Haves

sudo apt install -y gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-gl

Optional GPU Acceleration for AMD GPU

sudo apt install -y mesa-va-drivers gstreamer1.0-vaapi vainfo

Optional GPU Acceleration for INTEL/NVIDIA GPU

On Linux Mint -- You already have what you need! Otherwise:

sudo apt update -y
# Install/refresh the proprietary driver automatically
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
sudo reboot

Install Text-To-Speech Voices

eSpeak NG via Speech Dispatcher (classic & tiny but works everywhere)

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install -y espeak-ng speech-dispatcher-espeak-ng
spd-say "Hello from e-Speak N.G. via Speech Dispatcher"

RHVoice (higher-quality, lightweight voices)

sudo apt install -y rhvoice rhvoice-english speech-dispatcher-rhvoice
spd-say -o rhvoice -l en "Hello from R.H. Voice via Speech Dispatcher"

Install Rust

Install rustup + stable toolchain

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

Install some handy Rust components

rustup component add rustfmt clippy

Install Many Important System Tools

Includes things like access to exfat and ntfs, compatability with 7zip, java sdk, linux headers, and others.

Common Stuff

sudo apt install -y htop btop clang exfatprogs libu2f-udev samba-common-bin default-jdk curl wget unrar git unzip ntfs-3g p7zip-full

Linux headers (then pick the right headers meta (Debian/LMDE vs Ubuntu/Mint))

# on Debian
if apt-cache show linux-headers-amd64 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  sudo apt install -y linux-headers-amd64
# on Ubuntu/Mint
elif apt-cache show linux-headers-generic >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  sudo apt install -y linux-headers-generic
fi

Install fastfetch, but fallback to neofetch (older, arrested development) if fastfetch is not available.

sudo apt install -y fastfetch || sudo apt install -y neofetch

Install Essential Development Tools

sudo apt install -y build-essential pkg-config libssl-dev

Install Dropbox

⚠️ Only download the one appropriate for your desktop file manager. That usually depends on which desktop type you use. Installing the correct file-manager integration will automatically pull in and install the Dropbox daemon on first run.

Cinnamon (Linux Mint's Deafult Desktop)

sudo apt install -y nemo-dropbox

Nautilus (On GNOME Desktop)

sudo apt install -y nautilus-dropbox

Caja (On MATE Desktop)

sudo apt install -y caja-dropbox

Thunar (On Xfce Desktop)

sudo apt install -y thunar-dropbox-plugin

Install ffmpeg

Command-line toolkit for converting, recording, and streaming audio/video in virtually any format.

sudo apt install -y ffmpeg
sudo apt install -y libavcodec-extra

Enable Flatpak & Flathub

Ensures Flatpak is installed and the Flathub repo is enabled (Mint usually has this already).

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install -y flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Install the NPM package

Allows management of software built using Node.

# add NodeSource repo for Node.js LTS
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
node -v
npm -v

PDF App for Viewing/Commenting/FormFilling/Signatures

If none of the FOSS apps are good enough, consider PDF Studio

~~Install Okular PDF Reader~~

# Note: This installs needs to install a huge number of libraries and other files. Use PDFStudioViewer instead.
# sudo apt install okular -y

Install PDF Viewer (Free)

mkdir -p ~/tmp_installs
cd ~/tmp_installs
wget https://download.qoppa.com/pdfstudioviewer/PDFStudioViewer_linux64.sh
chmod +x PDFStudioViewer_linux64.sh
./PDFStudioViewer_linux64.sh

Install PDF Studio (PAID)

mkdir -p ~/tmp_installs
cd ~/tmp_installs
wget https://download.qoppa.com/pdfstudio/PDFStudio_linux64.sh
chmod +x PDFStudioViewer_linux64.sh
./PDFStudioViewer_linux64.sh

PDF Arranger

Lightweight tool to merge, split, rotate, crop, and reorder PDF pages.

sudo apt install -y pdfarranger

Stimulator

Tool that keeps your system “awake” by temporarily preventing screen dimming and sleep.

flatpak install -y flathub io.github.sigmasd.stimulator

Pika Backup

User data backup solution

flatpak install -y flathub org.gnome.World.PikaBackup

PicoCrypt

Free, open-source disk-encryption tool. It encrypts data on the fly so files are readable only after you unlock them, and they appear as a normal mounted drive while in use.

Download Debian Installer

flatpak install -y flathub io.github.picocrypt.Picocrypt

Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client

wget https://installers.privateinternetaccess.com/download/pia-linux-3.6.2-08398.run
chmod +x pia-linux-3.6.2-08398.run
./pia-linux-3.6.2-08398.run

Mulvad VPN Client

Download the Mullvad signing key

sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/mullvad-keyring.asc
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc arch=$( dpkg --print-architecture )] https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/stable stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list
sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install mullvad-vpn

SpeechNote

A lightweight note-taking app with built-in speech recognition (voice-to-text) and (text-to-speech).

flatpak install -y flathub net.mkiol.SpeechNote

Elisa Music Player

KDE’s clean, modern music player and library manager for local audio collections.

sudo apt install elisa -y

Audacity

Popular open-source audio recorder and multitrack editor.

sudo apt install -y audacity

Bitwarden

Open-source password manager with end-to-end encryption. ⚠️ You don't really need this desktop app if you mostly use Bitwarden in your browser.

flatpak install -y flathub com.bitwarden.desktop

BleachBit

System cleaner that frees disk space and removes traces.

sudo apt install -y bleachbit

Boxy SVG

User-friendly SVG vector editor optimized for UI/web graphics.

flatpak install -y flathub com.boxy\_svg.BoxySVG

Brasero Disc Burner

Simple CD/DVD burning application for creating data and audio discs.

sudo apt install -y brasero

draw.io / diagrams.net

Full-featured diagramming tool for flowcharts, UML, mind maps, and more.

flatpak install -y flathub com.jgraph.drawio.desktop

EasyTAG

Audio tag editor that quickly fixes and organizes music metadata.

sudo apt install -y easytag

Eyedropper

Handy color picker for grabbing and managing colors from your screen.

flatpak install -y flathub com.github.finefindus.eyedropper

Filelight

Sunburst-style disk usage viewer to find large folders and files fast.

sudo apt install -y filelight

Fluent Reader

Modern, cross-platform RSS reader with a clean, distraction-free UI.

flatpak install -y flathub me.hyliu.fluentreader

Flatseal

GUI to review and adjust Flatpak app permissions per application.

flatpak install -y flathub com.github.tchx84.Flatseal

GIMP

Powerful raster graphics editor for photo retouching and image creation.

sudo apt install -y gimp

GPU Screen Recorder

Low-overhead screen recorder leveraging GPU encoders for high performance.

flatpak install -y flathub com.dec05eba.gpu\_screen\_recorder

GPU Viewer

Shows detailed OpenGL/Vulkan/Mesa/driver information for your system.

flatpak install -y flathub io.github.arunsivaramanneo.GPUViewer

Inkscape

Professional-grade vector graphics editor ideal for logos and illustrations.

sudo apt install -y inkscape

JASP (Statistics)

Easy-to-use statistical analysis suite with APA-style outputs and plots.

flatpak install -y flathub org.jaspstats.JASP

Jamovi (Statistics)

Free, open-source statistical spreadsheet and analysis suite (SPSS-like) with R-based add-ons; the official Linux build is distributed via Flathub.

flatpak install -y flathub org.jamovi.jamovi

K3b Disc Burner

Feature-rich disc authoring tool for CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray.

sudo apt install -y k3b

Kooha

Minimal screen recording app with a simple, elegant GNOME-style UI.

flatpak install -y flathub io.github.seadve.Kooha

LocalSend

Share files securely over your local network without the internet or cloud.

flatpak install -y flathub org.localsend.localsend\_app

OnionShare

Share files, host websites, and chat securely over Tor.

System (Debian) Installer: Installs a lot of stuff, maybe consider the flatpak version instead?

sudo apt install -y onionshare

Flatpak Installer:

sudo flatpak install -y onionshare

LosslessCut

Ultra-fast lossless video/audio trimming, splitting, and merging.

flatpak install -y flathub no.mifi.losslesscut

MakeMKV

Rips DVDs/Blu-rays to high-quality MKV files while preserving most metadata.

Add the MakeMKV beta PPA and install

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa\:heyarje/makemkv-beta
sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install -y makemkv-oss makemkv-bin

Meld (Diff/Merge)

Visual diff and merge tool for comparing files and directories.

sudo apt install -y meld

Mullvad Browser

Privacy-focused web browser with anti-tracking and fingerprinting defenses. ⚠️ It won't run unless there is an active VPN!

Download the Mullvad signing key

sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/mullvad-keyring.asc

Add the Mullvad repository server to apt

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc arch=$( dpkg --print-architecture )] https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/stable stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list

Install the package

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install -y mullvad-browser

MuseScore

Full music notation editor and playback tool for composers and students.

flatpak install -y flathub org.musescore.MuseScore

MusicBrainz Picard

Tag your music files using the MusicBrainz database with acoustic fingerprints.

sudo apt install -y picard

ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors

Full office suite for text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

flatpak install -y flathub org.onlyoffice.desktopeditors

Peruse

Comic book reader supporting CBZ/CBR/PDF with a library view.

flatpak install -y org.kde.peruse

Transmission

Lightweight, reliable BitTorrent client with a clean interface. This is already installed on Linux Mint

sudo apt install -y transmission-gtk

VLC

Swiss-army-knife media player with wide codec support and streaming tools.

sudo apt install -y vlc

VSCodium

Telemetry-free builds of VS Code from upstream open-source sources.

Import the GPG key

wget -qO - https://gitlab.com/paulcarroty/vscodium-deb-rpm-repo/raw/master/pub.gpg | \
  gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/vscodium.gpg > /dev/null

Add the VSCodium repository (Mint 22.1 = Ubuntu 24.04 base = "noble")

echo 'deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/vscodium.gpg] https://download.vscodium.com/debs vscodium main' | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscodium.list

Update package lists and install VSCodium

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install codium -y

Zotero

Reference manager for collecting, organizing, citing, and sharing research.

flatpak install -y flathub org.zotero.Zotero

QuickGUI

Simple GUI for creating and running virtual machines using Quickemu.

Add PPA & install

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa\:flexiondotorg/quickemu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y quickgui

Sublime Text 3 (not v4)

Fast, extensible text editor with powerful search, multi-cursor, and plugins.

⚠️ I only have lic for v3, so this approach forces v3. If you want the latest, look in the app store.

Optional remove any Sublime apt repo you might have added earlier

sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sublime-text.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sublime-text.sources
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/keyrings/sublimehq-pub.asc /usr/share/keyrings/sublimehq-archive.gpg
sudo apt update -y

Download Sublime Text 3 (Build 3211) .deb

mkdir -p ~/tmp_installs && cd ~/tmp_installs
wget -O sublime-text_3211_amd64.deb "https://download.sublimetext.com/sublime-text_build-3211_amd64.deb"

Install it

sudo apt install ./sublime-text_3211_amd64.deb -y

Hold the package so apt won’t upgrade it to ST4

sudo apt-mark hold sublime-text
apt-mark showhold

Zoom

Video conferencing client with screen sharing and breakout rooms.

flatpak install -y flathub us.zoom.Zoom

SimpleScreenRecorder

Feature-rich screen recorder with live preview and fine-grained control.

sudo apt install -y simplescreenrecorder

GPT4All

Desktop app for running and managing local LLMs on your machine.

flatpak install -y flathub io.gpt4all.gpt4all

KDiskMark

Cross-platform disk benchmarking utility inspired by CrystalDiskMark.

sudo apt install -y kdiskmark

AppImage Pool

Browse, download, and manage AppImages from a convenient catalog.

flatpak install -y flathub io.github.prateekmedia.appimagepool

OBS Studio

Free, open-source live streaming and screen recording app with scenes/sources and hardware encoding (NVENC/VAAPI) when drivers are installed.

sudo apt install -y obs-studio

(Optional, ⚠️ Ubuntu-based Mint Only) Use the official OBS PPA for newer versions

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:obsproject/obs-studio
sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install -y obs-studio

(Optional) Enable Virtual Camera (so OBS appears as a webcam)

sudo apt install -y v4l2loopback-dkms
sudo modprobe v4l2loopback devices=1 video_nr=10 card_label="OBS Virtual Camera" exclusive_caps=1