Linux

2 min read · Desktop

Desktop setup

Flatpak, Ventoy install media, and the post-reinstall app checklist.

Flatpak

sudo apt install flatpak gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Node.js

sudo apt install -y curl ca-certificates gnupg

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/gpgkey/nodesource-repo.gpg.key \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg

# NODE_MAJOR: 22, 24, … whichever LTS is current
NODE_MAJOR=22
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_$NODE_MAJOR.x nodistro main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nodejs

The distribution’s nodejs and npm packages are old and split awkwardly — use NodeSource instead.

The old one-liner (curl … setup_current.x | sudo -E bash -) is deprecated: it prints a deprecation banner, waits, and is slated to stop working. The repo is now published under the nodistro codename, so one source line covers every supported distribution and the version is chosen by NODE_MAJOR rather than by the script name.

Ventoy

One USB stick, many ISOs — copy images on, no reflashing.

sudo ./VentoyGUI.x86_64
sudo bash VentoyPlugson.sh /dev/sdb

# Theme background lives at ventoy/theme/background.png (1024x768 or 1920x1080)

rsync -ah --progress /path/to/os.iso /media/<user>/Ventoy

Firmware

sudo apt install firmware-b43-installer   # Broadcom wireless

Post-reinstall checklist

  • Editors — VS Code, Obsidian
  • Graphics — Inkscape, GIMP
  • Database — HeidiSQL, DBeaver CE, SQLite Browser
  • Audio tagging — Picard, Kid3, EasyTag, PuddleTag, Mp3Tag
  • Audio editing — Audacity, fre:ac
  • Remote — Remmina
  • Containers — Docker, see Docker installation