Open-source tools I use as a developer on Linux
As a developer on Linux, I use a lot of open-source tools to get the job done. In this article, I’ll be listing down all the fantastic open-source tools (not the obvious ones) I use as a developer on Linux.
- Peek — A simple animated GIF screen recorder
Peek is a simple animated GIF screen recorder for Linux. It’s a very simple tool to use and it’s very easy to install. It’s available in the official Ubuntu repository and you can install it using the following command.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peek-developers/stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install peek
But if you’re on some other Linux distribution, you can check the installation instructions on its GitHub repository
- Flameshot — A powerful yet simple to use screenshot tool
It’s my preferred tool to take screenshots on Linux. Taking screenshots using Flameshot is effortless. You can invoke it using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + / and then you can select the area you want to capture. It’s that simple. On top of that, it also allows you to annotate screenshots which is pretty handy.
It’s available in the official Ubuntu repository and you can install it using the following command.
sudo apt install flameshot
- Espanso — A cross-platform text expander
A lot of times, I have to type the same text over and over again. For example, my email address, my name, my phone number, etc. Espanso is a cross-platform text expander that allows you to define your own snippets and then use them anywhere you want throughout the system.
It’s available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Here’s the documentation on how to install it on Linux.
- DbGate — A cross-platform database client
I work with a lot of databases and I need to connect to them from time to time. So, I use DbGate which is a cross-platform database client which allows you to connect to a lot of databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, etc.
The interface is very simple yet intuitive and it’s very easy to use. You can connect to multiple databases, directly or through SSH tunnel.
It’s available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Lazygit — A simple terminal UI for git commands
Git’s command-line interface is nice but it’s not very intuitive. So, I use Lazygit which is a simple terminal UI to manage Git-related tasks.
The best part about Lazygit is that it’s very easy to use. You can use the arrow keys to navigate through the menu and then press Enter to select the option you want. It’s that simple.
You can also click through things in the UI despite being a terminal application.
- RunJS — A JavaScript desktop playground
RunJS is a JavaScript playground that allows you to run JavaScript code in a form of a desktop application. It’s very handy when you want to quickly test something in JavaScript.
Technically, it’s not an open-source tool but I added it here because it’s free to use and can come in handy if you want to quickly test something in JavaScript.
In its paid version, you’ll be able to install npm packages and use them in the playground itself. It’d also allow you to save your code snippets and then use them later.
- Ulauncher — An application launcher
Navigating through the applications on Linux is not very easy. So, I use Ulauncher which is an application launcher that allows you to quickly launch applications, search for files, and do a lot of other things.
It’s like the Spotlight on macOS and the Windows Search on Windows.
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