Free and Open Source Software

posted by Rianne Schestowitz on Dec 11, 2025

• Ballerburg SDL - classical castle combat game - LinuxLinks

  Ballerburg SDL is a classical castle combat game for Linux and other systems that are supported by the SDL library.

  Two castles, separated by a mountain, try to defeat each other with their cannonballs, either by killing the opponent’s king or by weakening the opponent enough so that the king capitulates.

  This is free and open source software.

• Marmite - static site generator for blogs - LinuxLinks

  Marmite [Markdown makes sites] is a very simple static site generator.

  It does “one” simple thing only:

  Reads all .md files on the input directory. Using CommonMark parse it to HTML content. Extract optional metadata from frontmatter or filename. Generated html file for each page. Outputs the rendered static site to the output folder.

  It also handles generating or copying static/ and media/ to the output dir.

• clipsim - simple and fast X clipboard manager - LinuxLinks

  clipsim is a simple and fast X clipboard manager. It retrieves clipboard text when the window owning it is closed, and keeps a clipboard history.

  If an image is detected, it is saved in /tmp, and the respective filename is saved on history. The primary and secondary selection buffers are ignored. When copying text equal to some previous text, the history order is updated so that each entry is unique in the history. Additionally, clipsim can send a signal to a specific program when clipboard content changes, which is useful for updating a status bar.

  This is free and open source software.

• trickle - bandwidth shaper - LinuxLinks

  trickle is a lightweight userspace bandwidth shaper.

  Currently, trickle supports the shaping of any SOCK_STREAM connection established via the socket interface. Furthermore, trickle will not work with statically linked executables, nor with setuid executables.

  trickle is highly configurable; download and upload rates can be set separately, or in an aggregate fashion.

  This is free and open source cross-platform software.

• CSSLint - CSS code quality tool - LinuxLinks

  CSSLint is a tool to help point out problems with your CSS code. It does basic syntax checking as well as applying a set of rules to the code that look for problematic patterns or signs of inefficiency. The rules are all pluggable, so you can easily write your own or omit ones you don’t want.

  A lint tool performs static analysis of source code and flags patterns that might be errors or otherwise cause problems for the developer.

  This is free and open source software.

• NooDS - portable Nintendo DS and GBA emulator - LinuxLinks

  NooDS aims to be a fast and portable DS and GBA emulator. It features accurate software rendering with upscaling, and can take advantage of multiple cores for better performance.

  NooDS should be able to run most things without any setup. DS BIOS and firmware files must be provided to boot the system menu, and can be dumped from a DS with DSBF Dumper.

  This emulator is available for Linux, Android, macOS, Windows, Switch, Wii U and Vita.

  This is free and open source software.

• Vanish - rm with cache - LinuxLinks

  Vanish (vx) is a modern, safe file deletion tool with recovery capabilities.

  Accidentally deleted an important file? Vanish gives you peace of mind with a smart cache system that lets you recover files easily. Say goodbye to permanent deletion anxiety and hello to confident file management.

  This is free and open source software.

• Eldiron - classical RPG creator - LinuxLinks

  Eldiron is a cross-platform creator for classic retro role-playing games (RPGs). Its primary goal is to enable the creation of RPGs reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s while incorporating modern features such as multiplayer support, procedural content generation, and more.

  Eldiron natively supports 2D (like Ultima 4/5), isometric, and first-person RPGs, allowing developers to craft a variety of experiences effortlessly.

  This is free and open source software.

• Dash - rich terminal UI for GitHub - LinuxLinks

  Dash is a rich terminal UI for GitHub that doesn’t break your flow.

  This is free and open source software.

• Useful Ubuntu Touch Apps - Sturm Reader - LinuxLinks

  Digital books are well established. Project Gutenberg, an online library of books that can be downloaded free of charge, has been expanding its collection since 1971. Almost its entire library consists of books that are available in the public domain, although there are a few copyright texts which are also included.

  The popularity of digital e-books has been accelerated by a number of dedicated portable e-book readers. The various Amazon Kindle are extremely popular devices which have enabled readers to conveniently access a huge library of books, magazines and newspapers on the move. What is particularly noteworthy is that Linux is the operating system that runs the devices.

  Sturm Reader is an ebook reader for Linux tailored for Ubuntu Touch and portable devices. This is free and open source software.

• Pipewire Soundpad - soundboard application - LinuxLinks

  It provides a user-friendly graphical interface for managing and playing audio files, directing their output directly to the virtual microphone. This makes it an ideal tool for gamers, streamers, and anyone looking to inject sound effects into voice chats on platforms like Discord, Zoom, or Teamspeak.

  PWSP is designed with a clear separation of concerns, operating through a client-server architecture. It consists of three main components:

  pwsp-daemon: This is the core of the application. It runs silently in the background, managing all the heavy-lifting tasks. The daemon is responsible for: Creating and managing virtual audio devices. Linking these devices within the PipeWire graph. Handling all audio playback. pwsp-gui: This is the graphical user interface. It acts as a client that communicates with pwsp-daemon via a * UnixSocket*. This is how you interact with your sound collection, control playback, and configure settings. pwsp-cli: This is the command-line interface, also acting as a client. It provides a way to control the daemon without a GUI, allowing for scripting or quick command-based actions.

  This is free and open source software.

• KaTeX - fast math typesetting for the web - LinuxLinks

  KaTeX is a fast, easy-to-use JavaScript library for TeX math rendering on the web.

  Fast: KaTeX renders its math synchronously and doesn’t need to reflow the page. See how it compares to a competitor in this speed test. Print quality: KaTeX’s layout is based on Donald Knuth’s TeX, the gold standard for math typesetting. Self contained: KaTeX has no dependencies and can easily be bundled with your website resources. Server side rendering: KaTeX produces the same output regardless of browser or environment, so you can pre-render expressions using Node.js and send them as plain HTML.

  KaTeX is compatible with all major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Edge, and IE 11.

  KaTeX supports much (but not all) of LaTeX and many LaTeX packages.

  This is free and open source software.

• dashi - simple shell for Linux window managers - LinuxLinks

  Dashi is a simple shell for lightweight window managers on Linux with minimal resources.

  This is free and open source software.

• Mensch - CSS parser - LinuxLinks

  Mensch is a CSS parser. It’s a non-validating CSS parser. While it can handle the major language constructs just fine, and it can recover from gaffes like mis-matched braces and missing or extraneous semi-colons, mensch can’t tell you when it finds invalid CSS like a misspelled property name or a misplaced @import.

  This is free and open source software.