Best Free and Open Source Software

posted by Rianne Schestowitz on Nov 12, 2025

• Decman - declarative package and configuration manager for Arch - LinuxLinks

  Decman can be used to install pacman packages. Decman will install all packages defined in the source and remove all explicitly installed packages not defined in the source. You don’t need to list dependencies as those will be handeled by pacman. You can set packages to be ignored by decman, so that it won’t install them nor remove them.

  Decman can install AUR packages as well as user defined packages. Foreign packages are AUR and user packages combined.

  This is free and open source software.

• 13 Best Free and Open Source Terminal-Based Task Managers - LinuxLinks

  To be productive, you may need more than a task manager. Our features on Productivity Tools and Personal Information Managers help to organize your day in other ways.

  To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 13 useful terminal-based task managers. Hopefully, there will be something of interest here for anyone who wants to avoid that sinking feeling of remembering (albeit too late) something important that needs to be actioned. GUI task managers are covered in a separate roundup.

  Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.

• SwayBG+ - advanced multi-monitor background manager for sway - LinuxLinks

  SwayBG+ is a powerful, feature-rich background manager specifically designed for Sway window manager.

  It provides both GUI and CLI interfaces for managing backgrounds across multiple monitors with advanced positioning, scaling, and persistence features.

• ServiceMaster - powerful terminal-based tool for managing systemd units - LinuxLinks

  ServiceMaster is a powerful terminal-based tool for managing Systemd units on Linux systems.

  It provides an intuitive interface for viewing and controlling system and user units, making it easier to manage your units without leaving the command line.

  This is free and open source software.

• Useful Ubuntu Touch Apps - PodCat - LinuxLinks

  A podcast is a form of digital media consisting of an episodic program downloaded or streamed over the Internet using an XML protocol called RSS. Podcast episodes can be audio radio, video files, PDFs, or ePub files. These episodes can be viewed and listened to on a number of different devices including computers, portable media players, and smartphones.

  The publisher or broadcaster podcasts the program by offering the episodes and the XML document to a web server. Whilst large media corporations are prominent publishers of podcasts, almost anyone can publish them, as often or as infrequent as they wish. Podcasts are a great way of keeping up to date with the latest news, reviews, banter, gossip, to deepen your understanding of the world we live in, and much more.

• liz-desktop - Rust-based shortcut helper - LinuxLinks

  liz-desktop is a Rust-based shortcut helper to remember, customize and autorun shortcuts or commands. Developed via Tauri 2.0.

  This is free and open source software.

• Phantom Player - simple video player - LinuxLinks

  Phantom Player offers a range of practical features, making it easy to play, organize, and manage videos from your hard drive. Whether you’re watching individual videos or managing playlists, it provides a seamless experience.

  This is free and open source software.

• pacmixer - PulseAudio tool similar to alsamixer - LinuxLinks

  When run for the first time, it will create a new file with all configuration options set to their defaults. This file can be used as a template.

  This is free and open source software.