How I do my computing, programs I use everyday.

I want my computer to feel like an extension of myself, whether that’s executing my thoughts or expanding my capabilities. I value speed and minimal latency between an idea and an action. Because of this, I prefer my computer to have as little personality as possible. That said, I’m not against sensible defaults—they exist for a reason and help establish standards for operating systems.

I prefer using the command line whenever possible, not because it’s cool or more “nerdy,” but because it’s extensible through scripts and gives precise control over outcomes. At the same time, I acknowledge that GUIs are very convenient and especially important for visual tasks like video, image, and audio editing—though tools like ffmpeg and imagemagick are still hard to ignore for simpler conversions. Using a computer is more enjoyable when it lets you experiment and play, rather than forcing anti-patterns on you. I also agree with the idea that favoring terminal-based programs over non-terminal ones is a good heuristic, as it tends to encourage simplicity.

I usually recommend and gravitate toward applications that use the same widget toolkit or GUI framework, because shared styling and dependencies make everything feel cohesive. I prefer Qt/QML applications from KDE Gear, as they integrate nicely with Hyprland, and I generally enjoy software designed for KDE Plasma.

I value web apps highly and believe that if an application fundamentally depends on the internet, it should be a web app. Web apps work across platforms, run on any internet-connected device, and make life easier for developers since they don’t need to maintain multiple platform-specific versions.

Basics

Operating system & distribution.

The more you understand Linux and its inner workings, the less the choice of distribution matters. With enough knowledge, you can take almost any distro and make it look and behave like another. At that point, the main difference is really just the package manager.

Yes, “I use Arch btw” with LUKS on systemd. There are countless memes making fun of Arch users, but honestly, installing Arch is a valuable learning experience that teaches you how computers actually work. The best part is that once you understand your system, you can usually fix it yourself if something breaks (I reinstall Arch every 6 months just for the thrill lol). And it has to be said: the Arch Wiki is legendary—genuinely one of the best technical resources on the entire internet.

Terminal

I use Konsole from KDE. It may not be the most minimal terminal emulator out there, but it offers excellent features and is very configurable. Since I already use many KDE GUI applications, my system is full of Qt and KDE dependencies anyway, and the apps share them. Because of that, being slightly less minimal than something like st or alacritty doesn’t bother me.

Window Manager/Desktop environment

Hyprland on UWSM. Hyprland is so easy even a caveman could do it! Configuration is straightforward, styling is simple, and best of all, it’s a modern Wayland compositor.

I’ve been using Linux for almost five years now, and I think every desktop environment comes with its own caveats and limitations—none of them are perfect. For example, as much as I love GNOME’s Adwaita design language, I can’t ignore how strange KDE apps or GTK 3 and 4 applications can look when placed side by side.

Shell

I use BASH. Everyone starts with BASH, and I’m no exception. The reason I still stick with it is that I learned scripting in BASH. I’ve been experimenting with zsh on Termux, and it works well with a few script tweaks, so I may switch to zsh in the future for its additional features.

Text Editing & Programming

Vim. Less of a text editor and more of a lifestyle. No, I’m never switching to VS Code or Notepad. Technically, I use Neovim—but at the end of the day, it’s still Vim.

Web Browser

LibreWolf with Pi-hole as my DNS server gives me a clean browsing experience. Even though Firefox is free software, it ships with a lot of trackers and annoying “features.” I stopped using Chromium-based browsers after Google announced the move to Manifest V3 for Chrome and Chromium. I recommend using these extensions:

• uBlock Origin
• Decentraleyes
• I Still Don’t Care About Cookies

Utilities

File Manager

I use lf—it’s simple and uses Vim-like keybindings. Sometimes I switch to Dolphin from KDE if I don’t know the filename or want to check previews.

Mail Client

I use RainLoop Webmail. It’s a web-based email client that supports IMAP and SMTP, offers a modern interface, requires minimal system resources, and is easy to install and update.

Music/Audio-player

MPD + ALSA is pure magic, controlled and managed with ncmpcpp for tagging and playback. I occasionally use Navidrome when I don’t have my Pi Zero (which I use as my iPod).

Video Player

MPV. Once you use it, you’ll understand that mpv is everything a video player should be.

RSS Reader

yarr (yet another RSS reader) combined with rss-bridge is all I need for fast and flexible reading. yarr is a web-based feed aggregator that works both as a desktop application and as a self-hosted personal server.

ebook reader

Calibre, used for ebook reading on the web. Like yarr, it’s quick and flexible, and Calibre itself is a feature-rich ebook management suite. I absolutely love it and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an ebook reader.

What I Don’t Use

Proprietary software

I only use libre software. I don’t recommend, review, or experiment with proprietary programs. I avoid them because they take control away from the user. When software is closed-source, you’re forced to trust the vendor blindly—you can’t know what the program is doing, what data it’s collecting, or how deeply it integrates into your system. For me, computing is about understanding and controlling my tools, not negotiating with them.

Anything made by Apple Inc. (or Microsoft Windows)

I avoid these platforms for the same reason. In the 1990s and early 2000s, people cared about understanding their computers and software. Today, that curiosity has largely disappeared, and most users accept closed ecosystems without question. I prefer systems that put control and transparency first, rather than those that lock users into a particular way of working.