Best Free and Open Source Software, and Many More

posted by Rianne Schestowitz on Sep 17, 2026

• Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Apple iCloud Drive

  iCloud Drive is Apple’s cloud storage service. It lets users store files and folders online and keep them synchronized across Macs, iPhones, iPads and other devices. Files are available through Finder, the Files app and a web browser, with sharing facilities for giving other people access to selected files and folders.

  iCloud Drive is proprietary software and the service is tied closely to Apple’s ecosystem. Here are our recommended free and open source alternatives.

• LCOS - Linux distribution based on Devuan

  LCOS (Lunduke Computer Operating System) is a minimalist desktop Linux distribution based on Devuan and using the Xfce desktop environment. The project aims to provide a practical operating system that requires no online accounts, age verification, or other forms of authentication.

• slang - SystemVerilog compiler and language services

  It lexes, parses, type-checks and elaborates SystemVerilog projects, exposing the resulting representation both through its command-line tools and as a reusable software library. The compiler includes static-analysis and lint diagnostics, but its scope is considerably broader than a conventional linter: the same frontend can support editors, refactoring software, synthesis tools and other applications that need a detailed understanding of SystemVerilog source. Its ability to continue parsing imperfect source also makes the infrastructure useful for interactive development tools where files are frequently incomplete while being edited.

  This is free and open source software.

• Periodic Table – detailed interactive chemistry reference

  The application combines the familiar periodic-table layout with a substantial collection of atomic, chemical and physical information. It is designed not merely for looking up atomic numbers and symbols but for exploring element properties, comparing values and accessing related nuclear data.

  A particularly notable part of the project is its integration of nuclide information alongside conventional element data. The underlying databases are also made available as structured data, allowing them to be reused independently of the website.

  This is free and open source software.

• Icarus Verilog - Verilog compiler and simulation system

  Icarus Verilog is a compiler implementation for the Verilog hardware description language with support for a substantial subset of SystemVerilog.

  Its normal workflow preprocesses, parses and elaborates a design before generating code for a back-end target, most commonly the VVP simulation runtime. Although simulation is its principal use, the compiler is also useful for checking HDL source because it performs language parsing, elaboration and selectable warning diagnostics before code generation. Its long-established command-line workflow makes it suitable for scripting, automated testing and integration with other electronic design automation tools on Linux.

  This is free and open source software.

• ZPico – tiny package manager for Zsh

  Packages are Git repositories and can be loaded from several popular code-hosting services, arbitrary cloneable URLs or the local filesystem. ZPico can also select a particular branch or file pattern when a repository contains more than the component required by the user’s shell configuration.

  Its small implementation makes the behaviour relatively straightforward to inspect and modify.

  This is free and open source software.

• emplace - synchronize installed packages across multiple machines

  Rather than acting as another package manager, it works with package managers already in use and records software that the user chooses to mirror. Its shell integration can notice installation commands and prompt for additions to a human-readable synchronization file. That file can be kept under Git, making a package setup portable between computers while leaving the actual installation to the appropriate package manager on each system.

  This is free and open source software.

• ab-av1 – AV1 encoding with fast quality sampling

  Rather than requiring users to encode an entire video repeatedly while experimenting with quality settings, ab-av1 can encode short samples, measure the resulting perceptual quality and search for a CRF that meets a requested target. Once it has selected an appropriate value, the same tool can perform the complete encode through FFmpeg.

  Although its name highlights AV1, it can also work with other compatible FFmpeg encoders.

  This is free and open source software.

• 3D Periodic Table – visualize element properties in three dimensions

  Instead of restricting the display to a conventional flat grid, each element is represented within an interactive Three.js scene. The height and appearance of the elements can be altered according to the property being examined. Users can rotate and zoom the scene, select an element for additional information and change how the data is represented.

  The application is built with React, TypeScript and React Three Fiber, with Material UI providing interface components.

  This is free and open source software.

• sdctl - security-focused TUI for managing systemd services

  The interface brings together service discovery, unit control, log inspection and unit-file management. System and user units can be handled from the same application, while filtering and fuzzy search help locate services quickly on systems with large numbers of units.

  sdctl is written in Rust and uses ratatui for its interface, zbus for D-Bus communication and tokio for asynchronous operation.

  This is free and open source software.

• Picogen – minimalist static website generator

  Content is divided into posts and standalone pages, with metadata embedded at the top of each Markdown source file. Site-wide values are supplied through environment variables or an environment file and are made available to the templates during generation.

  Picogen ships with a theme but also supports custom themes, allowing its templates and static resources to be replaced when a site requires a different design.

  This is free and open source software.

• 4 Useful Free and Open Source Code Formatters for C#

  A code formatter is an automated tool designed to adjust source code according to a predefined set of formatting rules, covering areas such as indentation, spacing, and line breaks. This improves readability and consistency while ensuring the code’s functionality remains unchanged. It saves developers valuable time and helps minimize disagreements over style preferences.

  Using this type of software means coders cede control over the minutiae of hand-formatting. In return, the software offers speed, determinism, and freedom from style-checker nagging about formatting. Save time and mental energy for more important matters.

  This roundup selects some useful code formatters for C# developers.

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

• rdmatop - real-time TUI monitor for RDMA network traffic

  It provides an htop-style view of RDMA devices without tying monitoring to a particular NIC vendor. The program reads the kernel’s RDMA netlink interface, the same underlying interface used by rdma statistic, and combines hardware counters with process information. This makes it useful for diagnosing communication bottlenecks on GPU clusters and other systems using InfiniBand, RoCE, AWS EFA or other Linux RDMA providers.

  This is free and open source software.

• LoMux – lightweight FFmpeg media converter

  LoMux is a graphical media converter that places a streamlined desktop interface around FFmpeg. It targets users who want powerful transcoding facilities without repeatedly constructing long FFmpeg command lines.

  The program handles video, audio, and image conversion and provides presets for common publishing platforms, professional intermediate formats, general-purpose codecs, and audio workflows. Users who need more control can define encoding parameters themselves.

  yt-dlp integration is optional and extends the workflow to downloading online video before processing it through the same conversion pipeline.

  This is free and open source software.