Apps

A curated set: each app was reviewed before it went in. Extra apps install from the Store (Flathub).

Area	Apps
Browsers	LibreWolf (default), Chromium (Flatpak), Tor Browser (Flatpak)
Privacy	Proton VPN, Proton Mail, Proton Pass, Proton Authenticator, Mullvad VPN, Flatseal, mat2 (removes metadata from files)
Development	git, build-essential, Docker (starts on demand), rootless Podman, distrobox, VSCodium, Neovim, tmux, zsh, pipx, ripgrep, fzf, bat, shellcheck, git-lfs, Meld, Claude Code and GitHub CLI (both signed out)
Office & media	LibreOffice, Papers (PDF), GIMP, mpv
Files & backup	Pika Backup, Timeshift, Syncthing (off until you enable it), GNOME Disks, 7-Zip, Proton Drive via rclone
Gaming	Steam, Lutris, Heroic, ProtonUp-Qt, gamescope, MangoHud, GameMode, Discord (Flatpak)
Phone	KDE Connect

Where apps come from

• Ubuntu’s archive — the base system and most tools.
• Each maker’s own signed repository — the COSMIC desktop, LibreWolf, VSCodium, Proton VPN, Mullvad VPN, Claude Code, GitHub CLI.
• Proton’s own downloads — Proton Mail, Pass and Authenticator.
• Flathub (sandboxed Flatpaks) — Chromium, Tor Browser, Discord, Lutris, Heroic, ProtonUp-Qt, GIMP, Papers, Meld, Flatseal, Pika Backup.

No snaps. Snap is removed and pinned so it can’t come back.

Tips for developers

Claude Code

Run claude in a terminal and sign in with your own account.

GitHub CLI

gh auth login connects the GitHub CLI to your account.

VSCodium

VSCodium is VS Code without Microsoft's telemetry, ready on your dock.

Docker stays local

docker run -p 8080:80 listens on 127.0.0.1 only.

Expose on purpose

Use -p 0.0.0.0:8080:80 when you really want a container reachable on your network.

Docker on demand

Docker starts on first use. sudo systemctl enable --now docker keeps it running.

Rootless containers

Podman runs containers without root, out of the box.

Other distros

distrobox create gives you another Linux distro in a container.

Fast search

rg searches code fast. fzf finds files as you type.

Nicer cat

batcat file.py prints a file with syntax highlighting.

Large files in git

git-lfs is installed for repositories with big binaries.

Check your scripts

shellcheck script.sh catches shell scripting mistakes.

Python tools

pipx install a-tool installs Python apps in their own environments.

Terminal multiplexer

tmux keeps terminal sessions alive and splits them into panes.

Neovim

nvim is installed for editing in the terminal.

Try zsh

zsh is installed. chsh -s /usr/bin/zsh makes it your shell.