Free and Open Source Software

posted by Rianne Schestowitz on May 04, 2026

• HAML-Lint - Ruby-based linter for HAML templates - LinuxLinks

  HAML-Lint is a Ruby-based linter for HAML templates. It’s designed to keep HAML files clean, readable, and stylistically consistent, and works with Ruby 3+ and HAML 5+. Packaged as a gem, it gives developers an opinionated way to enforce standards across HAML codebases and improve template quality during development.

  This is free and open source software.

• Hellwal - fast and extensible color palette generator - LinuxLinks

  Hellwal is a fast and extensible color palette generator. It’s designed to create terminal and desktop color schemes from wallpaper images or predefined theme files, making it useful for users who want to automate theming across their setup.

  The project also supports template generation, JSON output, and a range of palette adjustment options for fine-tuning the final result.

  This is free and open source software.

• Standard Ruby - linter and formatter - LinuxLinks

  Standard Ruby is a Ruby linter and formatter that aims to remove style debates by providing an opinionated, unconfigurable ruleset.

  It’s built on top of RuboCop, includes rubocop-performance defaults, and helps teams keep Ruby code consistent without spending time tuning formatter and linter settings.

  This is free and open source software.

• vbl - terminal-based hexadecimal viewer for Linux - LinuxLinks

  vbl is a terminal-based hexadecimal viewer for Linux that lets you inspect binary data from files and devices in a dynamic hex and ASCII interface.

  It also works as a file differ, dumper, and editor, supports very large files and devices, and offers both interactive and command-line driven workflows for examining binary content. The program is designed to keep normal operation read-only, only switching to write access when edits are explicitly confirmed.

  This is free and open source software.

• Gitte - desktop Git client for GNOME - LinuxLinks

  Gitte is a desktop Git client for GNOME built with GTK4 and libadwaita. It provides a native graphical interface for working with Git repositories, helping developers inspect repository state, review history, manage branches and tags, and perform everyday version control tasks without relying solely on the command line.

  The application is written in Rust with Relm4 and follows GNOME design conventions. It’s aimed at users who want a focused Git GUI that integrates cleanly with a modern Linux desktop.

  This is free and open source software.

• tailspin - terminal log file highlighter - LinuxLinks

  tailspin is a terminal log file highlighter designed for inspecting log output in the shell.

  It recognises common patterns in arbitrary log formats and highlights them for readability, making it useful for application logs, system logs, and streamed command output. It can read log files directly, work in pipelines, follow live output, and display results through less for interactive navigation.

  This is free and open source software.

• Nerdlog - remote-first terminal log viewer - LinuxLinks

  Nerdlog is a remote-first terminal log viewer designed to help you inspect logs from one or more machines through a single interface.

  It connects directly to hosts over SSH, works with common Linux log sources such as /var/log/messages, /var/log/syslog, and journalctl, and presents merged results alongside an interactive timeline histogram so you can quickly spot bursts of activity and drill into matching entries. The software is built for efficient querying on large logs and performs analysis on the remote side rather than pulling complete log files down to the local machine.

  This is free and open source software.

• KDE Material You Colors - wallpaper-driven theming tool for KDE Plasma - LinuxLinks

  KDE Material You Colors is a wallpaper-driven theming tool for KDE Plasma that generates Material You inspired light and dark colour schemes from the current wallpaper.

  It integrates with Plasma through a widget and backend, and can also extend the generated palette to applications such as Konsole and other software themed through pywal.

  This is free and open source software.

• Mini EQ - compact system-wide parametric equalizer - LinuxLinks

  Mini EQ is a compact system-wide parametric equalizer for Linux desktops using PipeWire.

  It provides a GTK and Libadwaita interface for shaping desktop playback audio, with routing handled through WirePlumber and equalization performed using PipeWire filter-chain DSP. The application is focused on a straightforward 10-band fader workflow while still offering more advanced features such as spectrum analysis and Equalizer APO preset import.

  This is free and open source software.

• hl - command-line tool for inspecting structured logs - LinuxLinks

  hl is a command-line tool for inspecting structured logs from the terminal.

  It’s designed for fast analysis of large log files and streams, helping users search, sort, and navigate log output without relying on heavier graphical tools. The project focuses on practical day-to-day troubleshooting with readable output, flexible filtering, and efficient handling of multiple inputs.

  This is free and open source software.

• Basildon - static site generator - LinuxLinks

  Basildon is a static website generator written in PHP. It builds sites from text content files with YAML frontmatter and body content, uses Twig templates for rendering, stores page metadata in SQLite during builds, and can generate HTML as well as PDF output through LaTeX.

  This is free and open source software.