content/blog/2020-01-25-linux-software.org

  1#+date:        <2020-01-25 Sat 00:00:00>
  2#+title:       Essential Software for Linux Systems: Catalog and Usage
  3#+description: Inventory and description of key Linux applications including graphical and command-line tools, with installation instructions for various distributions.
  4#+slug:        linux-software
  5#+filetags:    :linux:software:tools:
  6
  7* GUI Applications
  8
  9** Etcher
 10
 11[[https://www.balena.io/etcher/][Etcher]] is a quick and easy way to burn ISO images to CDs and USB devices. There
 12are two different ways you can install this program. First, you can navigate to
 13the [[https://www.balena.io/etcher/][official website]] and download the AppImage file, which can run without
 14installation.
 15
 16However, AppImage files are not executable by default, so you'll either need to
 17right-click to open the properties of the file and click the "Allow executing
 18file as program" box in the Permissions tab or use the following command:
 19
 20#+begin_src sh
 21chmod u+x FILE_NAME
 22#+end_src
 23
 24If you don't like AppImage files or just prefer repositories, you can use the
 25following commands to add the author's repository and install it through the
 26command-line only.
 27
 28First, you'll have to echo the repo and write it to a list file:
 29
 30#+begin_src sh
 31echo "deb https://deb.etcher.iostable etcher" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/balena-etcher.list
 32#+end_src
 33
 34Next, add the application keys to Ubuntu's keyring:
 35
 36#+begin_src sh
 37sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 379CE192D401AB61
 38#+end_src
 39
 40Finally, update the repositories and install the app.
 41
 42#+begin_src sh
 43sudo apt update && sudo apt install balena-etcher-electron
 44#+end_src
 45
 46Using Arch, Manjaro, or another distro using the AUR? Use this command instead:
 47
 48#+begin_src sh
 49sudo pacman -S etcher
 50#+end_src
 51
 52** Atom
 53
 54[[https://atom.io][Atom]] is the self-proclaimed "hackable text editor for the 21st century". This
 55text editor is made by GitHub, [[https://news.microsoft.com/2018/06/04/microsoft-to-acquire-github-for-7-5-billion/][now owned by Microsoft]], and has some of the best
 56add-ons available to customize the layout and abilities of the app.
 57
 58First, add the Atom repository to your sources.
 59
 60#+begin_src sh
 61sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/atom
 62#+end_src
 63
 64Next, update your package listings and install atom.
 65
 66#+begin_src sh
 67sudo apt update && sudo apt install atom
 68#+end_src
 69
 70If you have issues updating your packages with the Atom repository, you'll need
 71to use the snap package described below instead of the repository. To remove the
 72repository we just added, use this command:
 73
 74#+begin_src sh
 75sudo add-apt-repository -r ppa:webupd8team/atom
 76#+end_src
 77
 78You can also install Atom as a snap package, but it must be installed with the
 79=--classic= flag. A [[https://language-bash.com/blog/how-to-snap-introducing-classic-confinement][full explanation is available]] if you'd like to read more
 80about why you need the classic flag.
 81
 82#+begin_src sh
 83snap install atom --classic
 84#+end_src
 85
 86Using Arch, Manjaro, or another distro using the AUR? Use this command instead:
 87
 88#+begin_src sh
 89sudo pacman -S atom
 90#+end_src
 91
 92** Visual Studio Code
 93
 94[[https://code.visualstudio.com][Visual Studio Code]] is yet another fantastic choice for programming on Linux,
 95especially if you need those extra add-ons to spice up your late-night coding
 96sessions. The theme used in the screenshot is [[https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=EliverLara.mars][Mars]] by theme creator [[https://github.com/EliverLara][Eliver Lara]],
 97who makes a ton of great themes for VS Code, Atom, and various Linux desktop
 98environments.
 99
100To install VS Code, you'll need to download the =.deb= file from the official
101website. Once you've downloaded the file, either double-click it to install
102through the Software Center or run the following command:
103
104#+begin_src sh
105sudo dpkg -i FILE_NAME.deb
106#+end_src
107
108You can also install VS Code as a snap package, but it must be installed with
109the =--classic= flag. A [[https://language-bash.com/blog/how-to-snap-introducing-classic-confinement][full explanation is available]] if you'd like to read more
110about why you need the classic flag.
111
112#+begin_src sh
113snap install code --classic
114#+end_src
115
116Using Arch, Manjaro, or another distro using the AUR? Use these commands
117instead:
118
119#+begin_src sh
120sudo pacman -S yay binutils make gcc pkg-config fakeroot yay -S visual-studio-code-bin
121#+end_src
122
123** GNOME Tweaks
124
125[[https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-tweaks][Gnome Tweaks]] is the ultimate tool to use if you want to customize your GNOME
126desktop environment. This is how you can switch application themes (GTK), shell
127themes, icons, fonts, and more. To install GNOME Tweaks on Ubuntu, you just need
128to install the official package.
129
130#+begin_src sh
131sudo apt install gnome-tweaks
132#+end_src
133
134If you've installed Manjaro or Arch with Gnome, you should have the tweak tool
135pre-installed. If you're on Fedora, this tool is available as an official
136package:
137
138#+begin_src sh
139sudo dnf install gnome-tweaks
140#+end_src
141
142** Steam
143
144[[https://steampowered.com][Steam]] is one of the most popular gaming libraries for computers and is one of
145the main reasons that many people have been able to switch to Linux in recent
146years, thanks to Steam Proton, which makes it easier to play games not
147officially created for Linux platforms.
148
149To install Steam on Ubuntu, you just need to install the official package.
150
151#+begin_src sh
152sudo apt install steam-installer
153#+end_src
154
155For Arch-based systems, you'll simply need to install the =steam=
156package. However, this requires that you enable the =multilib= source.
157To do so, use the following command:
158
159#+begin_src sh
160sudo nano /etc/pacman.conf
161#+end_src
162
163Now, scroll down and uncomment the =multilib= section.
164
165#+begin_src config
166# Before:
167#[multilib]
168#Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
169
170# After:
171[multilib]
172Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
173#+end_src
174
175Finally, install the program:
176
177#+begin_src sh
178sudo pacman -S steam
179#+end_src
180
181[[./2020-01-26-steam-on-ntfs-drives.html][Problem Launching Steam Games? Click Here.]]
182
183* Command-Line Packages
184
185** neofetch
186
187[[https://github.com/dylanaraps/neofetch][Neofetch]] is a customizable tool used in the command-line to show system
188information. This is exceptionally useful if you want to see your system's
189information quickly without the clutter of some resource-heavy GUI apps.
190
191This is an official package if you're running Ubuntu 17.04 or later, so simply
192use the following command:
193
194#+begin_src sh
195sudo apt install neofetch
196#+end_src
197
198If you're running Ubuntu 16.10 or earlier, you'll have to use a series of
199commands:
200
201#+begin_src sh
202sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dawidd0811/neofetch; sudo apt update; sudo apt
203install neofetch
204#+end_src
205
206Using Arch, Manjaro, or another distro using the AUR? Use this command instead:
207
208#+begin_src sh
209sudo pacman -S neofetch
210#+end_src
211
212** yt-dlp
213
214[[https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp][yt-dlp]] is an extremely handy command-line tool that allows you to download video
215or audio files from various websites, such as YouTube. There are a ton of
216different options when running this package, so be sure to run =yt-dlp --help=
217first to look through everything you can do (or give up and search for the best
218config online).
219
220While this shouldn't be a problem for most users, yt-dlp requires Python 2.6,
2212.7, or 3.2+ to work correctly, so install Python if you don't have it already.
222You can check to see if you have Python installed by running:
223
224#+begin_src sh
225python -V
226#+end_src
227
228To get the youtube-dl package, simply curl the URL and output the results.
229
230#+begin_src sh
231sudo curl -L https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases/latest/download/yt-dlp -o
232/usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
233#+end_src
234
235Finally, make the file executable so that it can be run from the command-line.
236
237#+begin_src sh
238sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/yt-dlp
239#+end_src