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Installing essential tools

Table of Contents

Why “essential tools” matter

A fresh Linux installation is usually minimal: it includes the system, a desktop, and a few applications. To be productive, you’ll typically add a small set of “everyday” tools:

This chapter focuses on what to install and how to install it on a typical beginner-friendly distribution (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, etc.), without going deeply into package manager theory (covered elsewhere).

Where you see distribution‑specific commands, you can use:

Adjust to your system as needed.

Basic package installation from the GUI

Most desktop distributions come with a graphical “software center.” It hides the package manager details and lets you search and click‑to‑install.

Typical names:

Typical workflow:

  1. Open the software center from the menu.
  2. Use the search bar to find the application (e.g. “Firefox”, “VLC”).
  3. Click the application → click Install.
  4. Enter your password when asked.

Use the GUI if you’re not yet comfortable with the terminal; both methods install the same underlying packages on most distributions.

Installing tools from the terminal (quick patterns)

Before installing, update your package index (this is detailed in a separate chapter, but you’ll see it often): 

  sudo apt update
  sudo dnf check-update
  sudo pacman -Sy

Then install: 

  sudo apt install package-name
  sudo dnf install package-name
  sudo pacman -S package-name

You’ll see these patterns in the examples below.

Web browsing and communication

Most distributions ship with at least one browser. If you want alternatives:

Chat and communication:

For beginners, using the software center to grab communication apps is usually easiest, since some come from external sources (Flatpak, Snap, vendor repositories).

Office and document tools

Office suites

A full office suite lets you handle documents, spreadsheets, and presentations:

If your system already has LibreOffice, you can skip this.

PDF viewers

Often installed by default, but alternatives include:

Examples:

Media tools: audio, video, images

Video and audio playback

On some distributions, extra codecs may be in an “extra” or “nonfree” repository. Use your distribution’s documentation or software center if VLC won’t play some formats.

Music players

Image viewing and basic editing

Archive and compression tools

You will often encounter .zip, .tar, .tar.gz, .7z, etc. Graphical file managers can usually open the common ones, but having the underlying tools installed avoids surprises.

CLI tools to know:

Examples: 

  sudo apt install zip unzip p7zip-full
  sudo dnf install zip unzip p7zip p7zip-plugins
  sudo pacman -S zip unzip p7zip

These integrate with your file manager, so right‑click → “Extract here” typically just works.

Terminal and text tools

Even if you plan to stay mostly in the graphical environment, a few terminal-based tools are extremely useful.

Alternative terminal emulators (optional)

Your desktop comes with one (GNOME Terminal, Konsole, etc.), but you might like alternatives: 

  sudo apt install tilix terminator
  sudo dnf install tilix terminator
  sudo pacman -S tilix terminator

Essential command-line utilities

These are typically pre-installed, but worth checking:

These help with basic troubleshooting and system observation.

Text editors

Graphical editors:

Non‑graphical editors will be covered more in the text‑editing chapter, but you can install them now:

Development basics (optional but handy)

Even if you’re not a programmer yet, some tools are widely useful for following tutorials or compiling small utilities.

Build tools / compilers

Meta‑packages that bring in compilers and basic headers: 

  sudo apt install build-essential
  sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
  sudo pacman -S base-devel

These install gcc, make, and related tools.

Git

Version control is used for downloading and managing code and configuration:

Networking and troubleshooting helpers

For simple diagnostics and remote help, some tools are worth installing early: 

    sudo apt install iproute2 net-tools
    sudo dnf install iproute net-tools
    sudo pacman -S iproute2 net-tools

For remote help:

Using Flatpak, Snap, and AppImage (overview)

Some popular applications (e.g. certain proprietary software) are easier to install via “universal” formats. You’ll see these terms often:

They are explained in detail in the package management chapter; at this stage, just know:

If the software center offers a Flatpak/Snap/AppImage version of an app you need and it is verified or popular, it’s usually fine to install it that way.

A practical “starter list” by role

You don’t need everything at once. Here are small, focused sets.

Everyday desktop user

“I want to learn the command line”

Add:

“I might need remote support”

Ensure:

Keeping track of what you installed

Later chapters cover more systematic package management; for now, simple ideas: 

    dpkg -l | less
    rpm -qa | less
    pacman -Q | less

You don’t need to memorize this now, but it’s useful to know that your system keeps a record.

Summary

After installing Linux, adding a small, intentional set of tools makes the system comfortable to use:

Later chapters will show you how to manage, update, and remove these tools in more detail.

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