TL;DR.

This post provides a guide to setting up a personalized Ubuntu 24.04 LTS system with essential applications and utilities. It covers software installation for productivity, development, and media tasks, including package managers, partition tools, and specialized applications like VS Code and DaVinci Resolve Studio. This guide emphasizes the importance of keeping my system updated while exploring new tools that optimize workflows, supports daily tasks, and helps to achieve long-term goals.

Attributions:

Various ↗.

An Introduction.

Setting up a practical Ubuntu system requires a collection of apps and utilities that meet my needs. The applications and services I list below are used to adapt the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS distribution to my requirements.

The purpose of this post is to identify some apps and utilities that I find useful.

The Big Picture.

Software that is installed on my PC defines what I want to achieve with my computer. I run a dual-boot PC that allows me to boot into Ubuntu or Windows.

Ubuntu is my daily driver where I spend my time writing these blog posts, and practising my SysOps skills. It is also where I will develop my skills as a software developer and AI generalist.

I also run Windows-only programs like the Reason DAW (digital audio workstation) and the Anadigm Designer 2 computer-aided design tool.

A PC is a generic tool where the installed software defines what the user is capable of achieving.

Prerequisites.

A Debian-based Linux distro (I use Ubuntu).

Updating my System.

APT (advanced package tool) handles the installation and removal of software on Debian and Debian-based Linux distributions. The following commands are used to keep my Ubuntu system (a Debian-based Linux distro) up-to-date.

From the terminal, I update my system:

sudo apt clean && \
sudo apt update && \
sudo apt dist-upgrade -y && \
sudo apt --fix-broken install && \
sudo apt autoclean && \
sudo apt autoremove -y

My Capture Monitor Settings.

I use the following settings on my capture monitor. This is the screen where my activities and captured as video recordings:

I go to Settings > Screening Display > Capture Monitor,
I activate Fractional Scaling,
I set the Scale to 125%.

NOTE: The increase in scale makes it easier to see the actions I perform when staging a tutorial.

My Terminal Settings.

A terminal is a text window where I can type commands that are executed by my system.

I go to Preferences > Unnamed > Text tab,
I set the Initial terminal size to 72 columns and 20 rows,
I set the Custom font to Monospace at 18pt,
I set the Allow blinking text to Never, and
I set the Cursor blinking to Disabled.

NOTE: These settings make it easier to see the commands I use when using the terminal.

Installing Ubuntu Studio.

Ubuntu Studio contains most the media utilities I use (Inkscape, Audacity, VLC, etc.)

From the terminal, I install Ubuntu Studio:

sudo apt install -y ubuntustudio-installer

I run the installer:

ubuntustudio-installer

I reboot my system when the installation completes.

Installing the Package Managers.

There are numerous package managers, including APT (advanced package tool is the default package manager), Snap, and Flatpak.

NOTE: A developer might also package their app as an AppImage.

Installing the Snap Package Manager.

From the terminal, I use APT to install the Snap daemon:

sudo apt install -y snapd

I use Snap to install the Snap package manager core:

sudo snap install core

I create a symbolic (-s) link (ln) to the Snapd daemon:

sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

Installing the Flatpak Package Manager.

From the terminal, I use the APT to install the Flatpak package manager:

sudo apt install -y flatpak

I reboot my system.

Installing the Partition Managers.

GNOME Disks and GParted are popular partition managers. The following describes how to install these utilities, and add support for creating an exFAT file system.

Installing GNOME Disks.

GNOME Disks is the default, graphical, partition management tool on all the GNOME-based desktop environments. The following describes how to install the GNOME Disks utility, if required.

From the terminal, I install GNOME Disks utility (if required):

sudo apt -y install gnome-disk-utility

Installing GParted.

GParted, or GNOME Partition Editor, is an alternative to GNOME Disks. It is a free, graphical, partition management tool. The following describes how to install the GParted utility.

From the terminal, I install the GParted utility:

sudo apt -y install gparted

GParted can also be installed on a USB thumb drive↗.

Installing exfatprogs.

exfatprogs allows partition management tools, like GNOME Disks and GParted, to use the exFAT file system when formatting partitions. exFAT is a proprietary file system from Microsoft, was released in 2006, and is the successor to FAT32.

From the terminal, I install the exfatprogs library:

sudo apt -y install exfatprogs

Installing UNZIP.

UNZIP is a utility that is used to unpack compressed packages.

From the terminal, I install UNZIP:

sudo apt install unzip

Installing Curl.

curl is a command-line utility for transferring data to, or from, a remote server.

From the terminal, I install Curl:

sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https curl

Installing Wget.

Wget is a command-line utility for retrieving files using the HTTP or FTP protocols.

From the terminal, I install Wget:

sudo apt install wget

Installing NodeJS.

NodeJS is a server-side runtime that uses the V8 JavaScript engine.

From the terminal, I install NodeJS:

sudo apt install -y nodejs

I verify the NodeJS installation:

node -v

Installing the NodeJS Package Managers.

NPM (NodeJS Package Manager) is a software registry, package manager, and installer for NodeJS packages.

NVM (Node Version Manager) manages NodeJS versions on my system.

PNPM (Performant Node Package Manager) is another JavaScript package manager.

NPX (Node Package Executor) is used to execute NPM packages.

Installing NPM.

I install NPM:

sudo apt install -y npm

I verify the NPM installation:

npm -v

Installing NVM.

I download, and run, the NVM installation script:

wget -q -O- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/master/install.sh | bash

I refresh the current terminal:

. ~/.bashrc

I verify the NVM installation:

nvm -v

Installing PNPM.

I install PNPM:

sudo npm install -g pnpm

I verify the PNPM installation:

pnpm -v

Installing NPX.

NOTE: NPX is now part of the NPM CLI.

Installing Miniconda.

Check out this post to see how to install Miniconda.

Installing LXD and Using LXCs.

Check out these posts to see how to install LXD and create an LXC.

Installing Ollama.

Ollama is used to download, set up, and run large language models on a local PC.

From the terminal, I install Ollama:

curl https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh

I list the LLMs downloaded by Ollama:

ollama list

If the above command fails, I run Ollama as a background service:

ollama serve &

If the following error displays when Ollama is already running as a background service:

Error: listen tcp 127.0.0.1:11434: bind: address already in use

Updating Ollama.

I update Ollama:

curl https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh

Uninstalling Ollama.

I stop the Ollama service:

sudo systemctl stop ollama

I disable the Ollama service:

sudo systemctl disable ollama

I remove the Ollama service:

sudo rm /etc/systemd/system/ollama.service

I remove the Ollama binary from my bin directory:

sudo rm $(which ollama)

I remove the models downloaded by Ollama:

sudo rm -r /usr/share/ollama

I delete the Ollama service user:

sudo userdel ollama

I delete the Ollama service group:

sudo groupdel ollama

Installing Pinokio.

Pinokio is a browser that lets me install, run, and programmatically control ANY application, automatically. I can run chatbots, image generators, and music AI on my PC at the click of a button.

I visit the download page:

https://github.com/pinokiocomputer/pinokio/releases/tag/3.0.26

NOTE: In this example, I am referencing Pinokio v3.0.26.

At the bottom of the page, I download the Debian package for AMD64 processors.
From the terminal, I install Pinokio:

sudo apt install -y ~/Downloads/Pinokio*

I run Pinokio from the Apps drawer.

Installing Docker Desktop.

Docker Desktop is used to build, share, and run containerized applications.

I download the Docker Desktop DEB package for Ubuntu and save it to the Downloads directory.
From the terminal, I change to the Downloads directory:

cd ~/Downloads

I install the DEB package with the APT command:

sudo apt install -y ./docker-desktop-*.deb

I run the following command to launch Docker Desktop from the terminal:

systemctl --user start docker-desktop

NOTE: . I can also launch Docker Desktop from the Apps drawer.

Updating Blender.

Blender is a 3D modelling, rendering, animation, and simulation application.

From the terminal, I update Blender:

sudo apt purge -y --auto-remove blender && sudo snap install blender --classic

Removing Blender.

I use the following command to remove Blender:

sudo snap remove blender

Installing VS Code.

VS Code (Visual Studio Code) is a free and versatile code editor that supports almost every major programming language.

From the terminal, I install VS Code:

sudo snap install code --classic

Removing VS Code.

I use the following command to remove VS Code:

sudo snap remove code

VS Code Extensions.

I find the following VS Code extensions useful:

Live Server,
Geo Data Viewer,
Code Spell Checker,
JavaScript (ES6) Code Snippets,
Prettier - Code formatter,
Markdown All in One,
rust-analyzer, and
C/C++

These optional VS Code extensions are also handy:

Ayu,
ES Lint,
Beautify,
Colorize,
Rainbow Tags,
Auto Rename Tag,
Markdown Table Prettifier,

Installing Spotify.

Spotify is an audio streaming and media service provider.

From the terminal, I install Spotify:

sudo snap install spotify

Removing Spotify.

I use the following command to remove Spotify:

sudo snap remove spotify

Installing Rust.

Rust is a general-purpose, memory-safe, programming language that emphasises performance, type safety, concurrency, and does not require garbage collection.

From the terminal, I install Rust:

sudo apt install build-essential && curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.3 https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh && source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

I check to version:

rustup --version

I open the docs:

rustup doc

Uninstalling Rust.

I use the following command to uninstall Rust:

rustup self uninstall

Installing HydraPaper.

HydraPaper is used to display different wallpapers on each monitor screen.

From the terminal, I install HydraPaper:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo && flatpak install -y flathub org.gabmus.hydrapaper

Uninstalling HydraPaper.

I use the following command to uninstall HydraPaper:

flatpak uninstall org.gabmus.hydrapaper

Installing Screenkey.

Screenkey is used to display each key press on the monitor.

From the terminal, I install Screenkey:

sudo apt install -y screenkey

Installing DaVinci Resolve 19 Studio.

DaVinci Resolve is a video editing, colour grading, and sound mixing program released by Blackmagic Design. The Studio version of this product requires the purchase of a license.

I download the latest Linux copy of DaVinci Resolve 19 Studio:

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/support/family/davinci-resolve-and-fusion

From the terminal, I go to the Downloads directory:

cd ~/Downloads

I extract the contents of the ZIP file:

sudo unzip ./DaVinci_Resolve_*_Linux.zip

I change the mode of the extracted RUN file to an executable:

sudo chmod +x ./DaVinci_Resolve_*_Linux.run

I install the unzipped file:

sudo SKIP_PACKAGE_CHECK=1 ./DaVinci_Resolve_*_Linux.run -i

NOTE: This command does not check for missing libraries during the installation.

I change to the libs directory:

cd /opt/resolve/libs

I make a new directory called disabled_libs:

sudo mkdir ./disabled_libs

I move the libglib, libgio, and libgmodule into the disabled_libs directory:

sudo mv libglib-2.0.so* libgio-2.0.so* libgmodule-2.0.so* disabled_libs/

NOTE: Moving these libraries forces Resolve to use the Ubuntu libraries.

I update my NVIDIA drivers:

sudo apt install -y nvidia-driver-550

NOTE: Resolve requires the 550 drivers or later.

I run the application:

/opt/resolve/bin/resolve

Installing the Brave Browser.

Brave is a Chromium-based web browser.

From the terminal, I install the Brave browser:

sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg && echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg] https://brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main"|sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list && sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y brave-browser

The Results.

Setting up a personalized Ubuntu 24.04 LTS system involves selecting and installing a variety of applications and utilities that cater to my specific needs. From essential software like package managers and partition tools to specialized applications for development, media, and productivity, each component plays a crucial role in enhancing my computing experience. By carefully choosing and configuring these tools, I can create a versatile and efficient environment that supports my daily tasks and long-term goals. I keep my system updated while exploring new tools that can further optimize my workflow.

In Conclusion.

I’ve improved my Ubuntu experience with these essential apps & utilities.

Over the past 10 years, I’ve discovered these must-have applications and utilities that let me tailor my system to my requirements. As a developer, a creative, and someone who loves a well-organized digital workspace, this guide includes a minimum set of tools that I find essential.

From package managers like APT, Snap, and Flatpak, to partition managers like GNOME Disks and GParted, and the media utilities that ship in Ubuntu Studio, I have a standard set of tools that meets most of my daily needs.

With tools like Blender for 3D modelling, DaVinci Resolve Studio for video editing, and VS Code for app development, I can easily achieve any outcome that comes to mind.

I can stream my favourite tunes with Spotify while compiling new software using the Rust compiler. I can even enhance my app development with tools like Docker Desktop and Miniconda.

Keeping my system updated and exploring new tools will significantly optimize my workflow and support my daily tasks as well as my long-term goals.

What are your go-to applications? Share your favourites in the comments below!

Until next time: Be safe, be kind, be awesome.

Hash Tags.

#Ubuntu #Linux #OpenSource #Productivity #SoftwareDevelopment #TechTools #Innovation #UbuntuStudio #Blender #DaVinciResolveStudio #VSCode #Docker #Spotify #TechCommunity

Apps & Utilities for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

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