Free and Open Source Software

posted by Rianne Schestowitz on Aug 22, 2026

• wayvnc - VNC server for wlroots-based Wayland compositors

  wayvnc is a VNC server for wlroots-based Wayland compositors.

  It attaches to an existing Wayland session, creates virtual input devices and exposes a display using the RFB protocol. Headless Wayland sessions are supported, allowing remote access without a physical monitor attached.

  This is free and open source software.

• BlueVein - Bluetooth device synchronisation service

  BlueVein is a Bluetooth device synchronisation service for dual-boot systems.

  It synchronises Bluetooth pairing keys between Linux and Windows, avoiding the need to pair the same devices again when switching operating systems. Pairing information is exchanged through the EFI partition and changes are monitored automatically.

  This is free and open source software.

• wradlib - process weather radar data

  wradlib is a Python library designed to assist with the processing of weather radar data.

  It provides functionality for reading common radar data formats, georeferencing observations, converting reflectivity to rainfall intensity, identifying and correcting typical error sources, and visualising radar data.

  This is free and open source software.

• PyTorch Lightning - deep learning framework

  PyTorch Lightning is a deep learning framework for pretraining and fine-tuning models with PyTorch. It separates model and research code from much of the repetitive engineering needed to train models at scale.

  Lightning can automate training infrastructure such as backpropagation, mixed precision, device management, and distributed execution while leaving the underlying PyTorch model logic under the developer’s control.

  This is free and open source software.

• Metview Python - Python interface to Metview

  Metview Python provides a Python interface to Metview, a meteorological workstation and batch system for accessing, examining, manipulating and visualising meteorological data.

  It lets users access Metview’s meteorological processing and visualisation capabilities from Python programs and interactive environments such as Jupyter notebooks.

  This is free and open source software.

• Flet - framework for building multi-platform applications

  Flet is a framework for building multi-platform applications entirely in Python, without requiring frontend development experience.

  Apps can target Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and the web from a single codebase. Flet uses Flutter to render its user interface and includes a large collection of built-in controls and services.

  This is free and open source software.

• NCO - manipulate and analyse data stored in netCDF-accessible formats

  NCO (netCDF Operators) is a suite of command-line programs for manipulating and analysing data stored in netCDF-accessible formats.

  The tools take netCDF, HDF and DAP files as input and can derive new data, compute statistics, extract subsets, manipulate metadata and output results in text, binary or netCDF formats. NCO is particularly suited to analysing gridded scientific data.

  This is free and open source software.

• bzmenu - launcher-driven Bluetooth manager for Linux

  bzmenu is a launcher-driven Bluetooth manager for Linux.

  It uses BlueZ and lets users manage Bluetooth devices through application launchers such as Fuzzel, Rofi, dmenu and bemenu. Custom launchers supporting standard input can also be used.

  This is free and open source software.

• VAPOR – interactive 3D visualization environment

  VAPOR (Visualization and Analysis Platform for Ocean, Atmosphere, and Solar Researchers) is an interactive 3D visualization environment for scientific data.

  It is designed particularly for Earth system science and lets researchers explore large datasets, create animations and generate still frame images. Its VAPOR Data Collection data model provides progressive access to different levels of data fidelity, helping users visualize terascale datasets on commodity hardware.

  This is free and open source software.

• 8 Useful Free and Open Source S3 GUI Tools

  While command-line tools offer considerable flexibility, desktop clients can make everyday object storage management much more approachable. They typically provide facilities to browse buckets, upload and download files, create and remove folders or objects, manage multiple storage accounts, and transfer data between local and remote locations. Some also integrate cloud storage more closely with the desktop or provide a familiar dual-pane file management workflow.

  This roundup looks at useful desktop S3 and S3-compatible storage tools for Linux. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.

  Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart.

• bluetui - manage Bluetooth devices on Linux

  bluetui is a terminal user interface for managing Bluetooth devices on Linux.

  It works with BlueZ and provides keyboard-driven control over Bluetooth adapters and devices. Users can scan for nearby hardware, pair and unpair devices, connect and disconnect, manage trust settings, rename devices and control adapter power.

  This is free and open source software.