What are your favourite hidden gems on Linux?

I’ve been using Ubuntu as my daily driver for a while now, and I keep stumbling on tools or tricks that make me wonder how I missed them for so long.

Looking for:

lesser-known CLI tools
small config tweaks that improve daily use
utilities that quietly solve annoying problems
things you only discover after years on Linux


What is a hidden gem you wish you had found earlier?

https://redd.it/1pxh3y0
@r_linux

kernel merge acquired. adult linux contributor unlocked.
https://redd.it/1pxl0r4
@r_linux

Linux gaming is growing! The Roblox client Sober was downloaded 1.3 million times this year.
https://redd.it/1pxlf4v
@r_linux

Libreboot 26.01 RC1 released - free/opensource BIOS/UEFI replacement
https://libreboot.org/news/libreboot2601rc1.html

https://redd.it/1pxlxgh
@r_linux

8 years of “This Week in Plasma” - Actively looking for a person or team interested in taking over TWiP
https://blogs.kde.org/2025/12/28/8-years-of-this-week-in-plasma/

https://redd.it/1pxndle
@r_linux

What are your expectations for Linux in 2026?

My first expectation from Linux is to surpass 5% user base.

My second expectation is that online games will massively start supporting Linux.

My third expectation is that Epic or GOG will release a native launcher.

Four is snapdragon linux laptops.

Fifth on the list is that either GIMP or LibreOffice has become an industry standard.

Sixth steam machine will sell 4 million units.

https://redd.it/1pxx5z9
@r_linux

Proxmox-GitOps: IaC Container Automation (v1.3 with staging, „75sec to infra stack“ demo)
https://redd.it/1py0dds
@r_linux

Thoughts on Valve’s Project Lepton and what it could mean for Linux

I’ve been thinking about Valve’s Project Lepton lately, and I’m curious if anyone else sees the same potential here or if I’m overreading it.

On the surface, Lepton looks like an Android compatibility layer for Linux / SteamOS, kind of the same idea as Proton but aimed at APKs instead of Windows games. For VR alone, that already makes sense. Android basically owns the VR app ecosystem right now, so if Valve wants their VR hardware to compete seriously, being able to run Android VR apps without ports is a huge win.

But what keeps sticking in my head is the Linux desktop angle.

Proton didn’t just help gaming on Linux it changed expectations. People stopped asking “does Linux have games?” and started asking “why wouldn’t this work?” If Lepton focuses more on apps than games, Linux could suddenly access a massive pool of Android apps that never had Linux ports in the first place. Productivity apps, indie tools, niche stuff that would never justify a native Linux version.

And if Valve treats Lepton the same way they treated Proton (open, community-driven, iterative), then it’s not really Valve vs Microsoft or Valve vs anyone. It’s an ecosystem thing. That’s much harder to shut down or “compete away,” especially without looking hostile to users.

I don’t think this means Linux suddenly replaces Windows or anything dramatic like that. Inertia is real. But I do think it could make Linux seriously competitive in a way it hasn’t been before especially as Windows keeps losing user trust and Steam Deck already showed that people are fine with Linux as long as it stays out of their way.

Google is the wildcard here. Android spreading everywhere helps them, but losing control over distribution and services probably doesn’t. I’m really curious how they respond long-term.

Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s niche. But Proton felt niche once too.

Curious what others think is Lepton just about VR, or could this turn into another slow but meaningful shift for Linux?

https://redd.it/1py3035
@r_linux

In doing some cleaning, I came across my old RHEL class books. They're at least 15 years old. I'm not in the biz anymore. Are these of any value to anyone? Or are they horribly dated?
https://redd.it/1py5ca2
@r_linux

Time to revive FatELF?

About 16 years ago now, FatELF was proposed, an executable format where code for multiple architectures can be put into one "fat binary". Back then, the author was flamed by kernel and glibc devs, seemingly partly because back then x86_64 had near complete dominance of computing (the main developer of glibc even referring to arm as "embedded crap"). However a lot has changed in 16 years. With the rise in arm use outside of embedded devices and risc-v potentially also seeing more use in the future, perhaps it's time to revive this idea seeing as now we have multiple incompatible architectures floating around seeing widespread use. The original author has said that he does not want to attempt this himself, so perhaps someone else can? Maybe I'm just being stupid here and there's a big reason this isn't a good idea.

Some more discussion about reviving this can be found here.

What do you guys think? Personally I feel like the times have changed and it's a good idea to try and revive this proposal.

https://redd.it/1py8j5b
@r_linux

Ripple v2.0.0 is Out Now
https://redd.it/1pyalg9
@r_linux

I just made the switch from Windows to Linux, and now I wish someone had introduced me to Linux sooner

The noscript, basically.

Originally I tried cinnamon mint for an older laptop that had pretty much stopped working, it had become so slow, even with a clean Windows 10 install, that I was going to throw it away.

Much to my surprise, after a clean Cinnamon mint install, the laptop is like new. It runs as fast as on the day I bought it, many, many years ago.

So of course, I had to try and check if gaming was possible - and much to my surprise, it is. Sure, it does require a bit of tinkering with settings, and it is definitely not plug and play, but for just a tiny time investment, I can now run pretty much all my Steam games.

I have two sons, 16 and 13, and they are now getting my older laptops with Cinnamon Mint installed, and we are going to completely switch off anything google or microsoft related, be it on laptops or on phones.

Wish I could do it for my wife too... But she is just the kind of user that is not made for Linux.

Anyway - I even made the switch with my more recent laptop - I took the plunge and had to edit the registry to transition my disks to AHCI, which had me a bit anxious, but everything went well.

I hope I can become more knowledgeable about the possibilities Linux offers in the future. For now, I very much enjoy owning my hardware again, and not having telemetry running on my hardware 24-7.

https://redd.it/1pyecdh
@r_linux

KDE - Highlights from 2025
https://pointieststick.com/2025/12/28/highlights-from-2025/

https://redd.it/1pymp29
@r_linux

SuperTux 0.7 Beta 1 released

The first BETA for SuperTux v0.7.0 is out now! You can download it from https://github.com/SuperTux/supertux/releases/tag/v0.7.0-beta.1

Check out the development summary for 0.7 on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PczyNWV8gI0 for the main changes!

Please try it out and report issues on GitHub here: https://github.com/SuperTux/supertux/issues

Thank you all for playing SuperTux and supporting us throughout the years!

https://redd.it/1pynjxa
@r_linux

I’m a young Linux user and my mother doesn’t like how the terminal looks.

I’m a young Linux user and I’ve been having a problem recently. Yesterday I was planning on designing the motherboard for a DIY game console, so I was downloading the proper software then I realize “My windows always look messy and unorganized“. This is a huge problem if you’re working on a project that requires more than one windows, so I decided to download swaywm. Whilst I was downloading Sway, my mother walked in on me with the terminal open and text flying by (normal sudo apt Install stuff) and told me to turn off the computer and not use it again because she didn’t like the terminal.


For context I’m using my grandmothers old IMac, which was bricked due to apple being greedy. All the stuff on the IMac was already off the computer and my mother was worried about me messing with said (inaccessible) data via the terminal I guess?


Does anyone know how to explain this situation to a tech illiterate person?

https://redd.it/1pypxra
@r_linux

39C3: Multiple vulnerabilities in GnuPG and other cryptographic tools
https://www.heise.de/en/news/39C3-Multiple-vulnerabilities-in-GnuPG-and-other-cryptographic-tools-11125362.html

https://redd.it/1pyu27b
@r_linux

What do people mean when they say “learn linux” ?

I often saw people recommending to learn linux be it because of a job or something else. I never quite understood what this meant. Is knowing linux = knowing windows, just being able to use it effectively or is there more to it?

https://redd.it/1pywoxb
@r_linux

Built a secure shared memory library for Linux

I’ve built a Linux shared memory toolkit and C library that adds a security-focused layer on top of POSIX/SysV shared memory.

It includes:

\-A C library for creating and accessing shared memory

\-Encryption using libsodium, with keys managed outside the shared segment

\-Explicit attach/access control

\-Semaphore-based synchronization

\-Structured reads/writes instead of raw byte buffers

\-A small CLI and daemon used for shared memory lifecycle and key management

I’d appreciate feedback on the overall design, and any obvious issues or improvements.

Repo-link: https://github.com/Dhinesh-Fedor/Secure-SHM

https://redd.it/1pywvr6
@r_linux

Does anyone remember a Dope Wars clone for Linux?

I used to have a Dope Wars game that ran in Linux that, when you were in a cop battle, you had to use your mouse to aim and shoot the bad guys? Everything else ran the same as the age old game. Anyone remember it, and where I can get it? I used to have it on my system, but lost it in a re-install.

https://redd.it/1pyynui
@r_linux

the installation of windows feels so slow compared to any linux distro

Today I decided I'd install Windows 11 on my HDD whilst keeping Linux Mint on my SSD for compatibility purposes.

Linux Mint installed in 20 minutes without restarting once during tue installation, Windows 11 installed after a solid 40 minutes and two reboots.

Now this probably has to do with my HDD, but still, the process to install Linux is so much more.. Simple, faster, less shit on your face..

Glad I use it as my main OS for a few months now

https://redd.it/1pz5ea8
@r_linux

Day one of switching to Linux: I absolutely love it.

After Windows 11 started having more and more issues and bugs for Me. And after adding more and more AI stuff and other things I really didn't care about. I decided to switch to Linux

After doing lots of research and thinking about what would be best for Me. I decided to go with Fedora.

Since I know it's dumb to dual-boot on the same drive and I knew I would have some things that I would need Windows for. I decided to go and buy 2 SSDs.

After waiting for a month, I installed my SSDs and began installing Fedora.

I first had some issues understanding the manual partition process but after some time I understood it and managed to install it perfectly fine.

Now... I did have some issues.

My first install was with Btrfs on my root drive and XFS on my secondary drive... So I went to install the drivers for my RTX 4070 Super and idk how it happened or what was going on, but somehow the reboot managed to delete my entire root subvolume.

I troubleshooted for 3 hours before finding out that my root is simply bricked. So after that I decided to simply reinstall Fedora. This time I went with EXT4 on my root drive and XFS on my secondary drive. That wasn't a major issue since I didn't really have a need for the Btrfs features anyways.

After having reinstalled the OS, I tried to install my Nvidia drivers again and this time I had no issues whatsoever.

Next I added my secondary Windows drive as read-only in fstab and began porting over some stuff to Linux.

I also began porting my Steam games and tested how those ran. I was extremely surprised to see that almost all my Games run absolutely perfect on Linux (Some games also running faster than on Windows).

I ran into some KDE Plasma bugs at the start, but I fixed those fairly quickly in around 15 minutes.

I had some applications that didn't run on Linux natively. But I managed to get them running at perfect speed after some tinkering. And for some I found great alternatives (Prismlauncher instead of MultiMC, and Pinta instead of Paint.NET).

It definitely took Me some time to set everything up (Nearly an entire day tbh). But I am very happy with Fedora so far and I don't think I'll go back to Windows after I got everything set up.

https://redd.it/1pz6eoz
@r_linux