Best Free and Open Source Software

posted by Rianne Schestowitz on May 31, 2026

• Bagels - terminal user interface expense tracker - LinuxLinks

  Bagels is a terminal user interface expense tracker that helps users record and analyse their personal finances.

  It’s designed for people who prefer a fast, keyboard-driven workflow and want to keep their finance data under their own control. The application supports everyday expense tracking, transfers, recurring transaction templates, filters, insights, graphs, and budgeting tools.

  This is free and open source software.

• Pwndbg - Python-based debugger enhancement for GDB and LLDB - LinuxLinks

  Pwndbg is a Python-based debugger enhancement for GDB and LLDB aimed at low-level software developers, reverse engineers, hardware hackers, and exploit developers.

  It improves the standard debugger experience with richer context output, annotated disassembly, memory inspection tools, heap analysis, and commands designed for exploit development workflows.

  This is free and open source software.

• har-viewer - inspect HAR (HTTP Archive) files - LinuxLinks

  har-viewer is a terminal user interface for inspecting HAR (HTTP Archive) files from the command line.

  It lets developers, testers, and web performance analysts browse captured network requests, examine request and response metadata, inspect response bodies, and view timing diagnostics without needing to open a browser-based tool.

  This is free and open source software.

• ESSH - terminal-native SSH client - LinuxLinks

  ESSH is a terminal-native SSH client.

  It combines a text user interface with tools aimed at people managing multiple remote systems, letting them work across concurrent SSH sessions while monitoring host health, moving files, handling port forwards, and keeping diagnostics and audit information in one place.

  This is free and open source software.

• Caligula - write disk images to removable media - LinuxLinks

  Caligula is a terminal user interface for writing disk images to removable media.

  It helps you select the correct target device, works with compressed image files, and is designed to make the imaging process safer and more convenient from the command line.

  This is free and open source software.

• susshi - modern, terminal-based SSH connection manager - LinuxLinks

  susshi is a modern terminal-based SSH connection manager written in Rust.

  It’s designed to help system administrators and power users organise server inventories, handle complex access paths, and launch connections quickly from a text user interface. The project supports direct SSH access as well as more advanced workflows such as jump hosts and Wallix bastions, and it ships with configuration guides plus native Linux packaging options.

  This is free and open source software.

• diffyml - compares YAML documents by their structure - LinuxLinks

  diffyml is a command-line utility that compares YAML documents by their structure rather than by raw line changes.

  It’s designed for configuration files, Kubernetes manifests, CI workflows, and repositories where a conventional text diff can make semantic changes hard to follow. The tool parses YAML content, reports meaningful field-level differences, and can compare local files, remote HTTP/HTTPS files, or whole directories.

  It includes Kubernetes-aware matching, configurable output formats, Git integration, CI annotations, path filtering, custom colours, and optional masking of sensitive values. diffyml can also be used as a Go library for applications that need structural YAML comparison.

  This is free and open source software.

• 6 Best Free and Open Source Linux TUI Clipboard Managers - LinuxLinks

  The applications featured here are firmly in the first camp. They’re small, fast, and efficient tools designed to cut down the time spent hunting for snippets of text.

  Linux has a healthy selection of capable clipboard managers, including both graphical and terminal-based tools. This article focuses on the latter: TUI clipboard managers designed for users who prefer working from the terminal. GUI clipboard managers are covered separately.

  Clipboard managers let you copy, search, manage, and reuse items stored on the clipboard. They’re particularly useful for anyone who regularly works with snippets of text, commands, URLs, or other reusable fragments. Some tools go further, supporting images, HTML, and even synchronising clippings between computers, but the applications featured here keep the focus on fast, keyboard-driven clipboard management in the terminal.

  Here’s our verdict, presented in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. To qualify for inclusion, software must be both free and open source.

• Hulak - file-based API client for the terminal - LinuxLinks

  Hulak is a file-based API client for the terminal. It lets you define API requests as YAML files, keep them in Git, and run them directly from a project without an Electron-based client or online account.

  The tool supports REST, GraphQL, and OAuth 2.0 workflows, with an interactive picker, concurrent execution for request directories, environment handling, and a dedicated GraphQL explorer for building and running queries from the terminal.

  This is free and open source software.

• bmaptool - dd for embedded projects - LinuxLinks

  bmaptool is a command-line utility for creating block map files and using them to copy or flash raw disk images efficiently.

  It’s designed for embedded Linux and image deployment workflows, letting you work with sparse images in a way that is faster and more reliable than traditional byte-for-byte copying tools such as dd.

  This is free and open source software.

• Stash - Wayland clipboard manager - LinuxLinks

  Stash is a Wayland clipboard manager written in Rust.

  It keeps a persistent clipboard history, supports both text and image entries, offers previews in a terminal interface, and provides command-line tools for storing, listing, importing, decoding, deleting, and automatically watching clipboard changes.

  This is free and open source software.