We all love open-source software, but there are so many amazing projects out there that often go unnoticed. Let’s change that! Share your favorite open-source software that you think more people should know about. Here’s how you can contribute:
- Single Option Per Comment: Mention one open-source software per comment to be able to easily find the most popular software.
- No Duplicates: Avoid duplicating software that has already been mentioned to ensure a wide variety of options.
- Upvote What You Love: If you see a software that you also appreciate, upvote it to help others discover it more easily.
Check out last year’s post for more inspiration: Last Year’s Post
Let’s create a comprehensive list of open-source software that everyone should know about!
KeePassXC: A modern, secure, open-source password manager that stores and manages sensitive information offline.
Mixed with syncthing to sync your database file across your devices and its chef’s kiss
but don’t forget to exclude your key file from sync
My only complaint with KeePass is that if any corruption occurs, your passwords are borked. I use KeePass for non-critical accounts, like Lemmy, etc. I don’t trust myself or the sync enough for storing my bank or other identity passwords.
KeePassXC can automatically keep a backup when it makes changes.
I have used KeePass for many, many years and have never run into this. Besides, I usually have a copy of the database on some other device so I’m not too worried
Syncthing means it and its backup lives on two laptops, a desktop and my phone.
Beware that syncthing is a bad backup strategy as it will update to sync the broken file (or even file deletion). I advice to do some other sort of backup. Even a simple shell script that copies selected folders into selected location that you run from time to time is a better one.
Edit1: I’ve looked at my script, I use rsync for that.
Syncthing can easily be set to retain the last n copies. And you only need one or two to protect against corruption because you aren’t editing a corrupted file. Likewise a lot of the KeepassX clients can snapshot periodically too. Been doing this for years with no issues over Linux/Win/iOS and Android.
I use rsync for that.
As does syncthing under the hood. The issue is with backing up an open database and getting an inconsistent state, but KeepassXC keeps its database closed except on update. I also tick the backup old before save setting in KeepassXC (the aforementioned ‘and it’s backup’) and use a versioning backup of the sync directory on the desktop with 3-2-1, so I am sanguine.
VLC (VideoLAN media player): play media files, DVDs, network streams and more. Just works,
Markor is a handy fast Android note taking app with Markdown and todo.txt support.
Since everything it creates are text files, it pairs well with various file syncing apps recommend in this thread.
Inkscape - the best vector graphics program out there. So easy to use, and so powerful.
screen
a gnu until that let’s you run a persistent session, even if you log off. log back in and reattach your screen and whatever you were doing is still running.
Thunderbird - a brilliant e-mail program, which also handles contacts, newsfeeds, calender and more. It’s available for multiple platforms, like Android, Windows, Linux and so forth…
LibreOffice - simply the best office suite there is (IMHO). I was a MS-office user for years, but since I switched, I haven’t looked back…
tmux: A terminal multiplexer that enables managing multiple terminal sessions within a single window, allowing detaching and reattaching sessions to keep programs running in the background.
and lastly, Tor Browser: anonymous web browser to evade state censorship and surveillance
OsmAnd, mobile app for navigation and maps. Offline, based on OSM, can do anything. I use it for checking out and bookmarking places, finding POIs and pubic transport stations, routing (especially for bike and foot), measuring distances, and so on. It can also show and record tracks, do car navigation, edit OSM points, and more stuff that I don’t use. Pro/plus/full version free on FDroid
This post is a gold mine!
Newpipe, an YouTube client, which is:
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ad free
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lightweight
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useful, it allows downloading videos, music, and playing them when screen is locked
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usable without account
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multi-platform, it can also serve as client for the PeerTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud
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Lichess: A popular free, open-source online chess platform offering play, puzzles, and tournaments.
Syncthing: Continuous, private, and encrypted file synchronization across multiple devices without using the cloud.
The gods of learning and studying with flashcards. You will never want another flashcard program, especially if you were still using Quizlet (so enshittified now…) because Anki uses SRS (spaced repetition system) which makes you review things right before your brain forgets it to reinforce the subject material.
Add-ons: Bread and butter of Anki, I use several to make beautiful automatic flashcards of reading material/videos/games when I study Japanese. There’s an add-on for literally anything.
Cross platform: Free on desktop, cost $25 on iOS, and free on Android, although Ankidroid is an unofficial app. Still great though!
Cloud: Syncs your anki database across devices. If you don’t use anki for a while, will delete from the cloud, but as long as you have your own local database intact, you can reupload again later. (EDIT: Went through settings, you can self-host your own sync server!)
Sharing Decks: If you don’t feel like making your own decks, download ones that others shared for free.
Anki is used by language learners, college students, med students, etc. If you need to memorize it, use Anki.
