List of Linux tools I put on almost every Linux / Debian host.
How to read this list: Most entries below are also installed by
Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py. A few are reference-only (configs, Windows-only, or too heavy) and are marked not in the Lazy installer. Debian/Ubuntu often renames some commands after apt install — those PATH names are noted inline.
- Download eget, then run
$ eget schollz/croc - Change
schollz/crocto any other GitHub repo discussed below (owner/name form)
Note: The Lazy installer no longer bootstraps eget/croc with
curl | sh. It downloads GitHub release artifacts and validates them. Eget remains useful for one-off installs.
- Linux Tools: 2026 Edition
- geany -> GUI editor like "notepad++" for Windows
- wireshark -> network packet analyzer
- Visual Studio Code -> via snap:
sudo snap install --classic code(Lazy installer uses the same) - guake -> dropdown GUI terminal for Linux
- tabby -> Modern cross-platform terminal (desktop app; GitHub releases are AppImage/
.deb/tarballs, not a tiny static CLI) (source thread)
- xplr -> Very graphical TUI file explorer, best on large screens (sayanarijit/xplr on GitHub)
- 🌟 nnn -> Efficient and elegant
- lf -> Cross-platform TUI file explorer (gokcehan/lf on GitHub)
- eza -> Modern
lsreplacement with colors and Git integration (successor to exa) (source thread) - 🌟 lsd -> Another
lsclone, cross-platform (Linux/macOS/Windows); can show directory sizes (lsd-rs/lsd) - personal favorite
- micro -> Friendly terminal editor if you are not into vi/vim (micro-editor/micro)
- ne -> Terminal editor (nano-like menus; Esc or F1)
- 🌟 vim -> Vi Improved - personal favorite
- neovim -> Modern Vim-compatible editor (apt package
neovim; commandnvim) (source thread) - vimrc -> Shared vim config (amix/vimrc) -> ⭐ vim_awesome based on this — configs only; not installed by the Lazy installer
- bat ->
catclone with syntax highlighting / git integration (source thread) — on Debian/Ubuntu apt the command is oftenbatcat - sublime text -> GUI editor — manual install; not in the Lazy installer
- glances -> Lots of system info in one glance; cross-platform — Lazy installer uses
pip3 install --user glances(requires Python/pip already present) - 🌟 htop -> Supercharged
topclone — personal favorite - btop -> Fast TUI process/resource monitor (source thread)
- bottom -> Cross-platform process monitor inspired by btop — command is
btm - system informer -> Windows-only successor to Process Hacker — listed for cross-platform awareness; not in the Lazy installer
- croc -> Securely send files between machines (cross-platform; schollz/croc)
- network-manager -> apt package that provides
nmtui(terminal NetworkManager UI) - hping3 -> Advanced ping/packet crafting — install via apt as
hping3(upstream repo isantirez/hping) - nmap -> Network scanner → related: ncrack — ncrack is not auto-installed
- bmon -> TUI network bandwidth monitor
- mtr -> Traceroute + ping (apt package is often
mtr-tiny; commandmtr) - gping -> Ping with a live latency graph
- doggo -> Modern
digalternative (DoH/DoT/DoQ); actively maintained successor to ogham/dog - neoss -> User-friendly
ssalternative with a TUI - zabbix -> Full monitoring stack — not in the Lazy installer (much heavier than a CLI utility)
- systemctl -> Built-in systemd service manager (
systemctl status,systemctl list-units, …) — not installed by the script (already on systemd hosts); former wrapperchkserviceis effectively unmaintained - ncdu -> Terminal disk/folder space viewer
- dust -> Friendlier
duwith bar charts (source thread) - duf -> Friendlier
dfwith graphs - lynis -> Linux security auditing by CISOfy (GitHub)
- apt-show-versions -> Show package versions / upgrades (
apt-show-versions -u) - nala -> Friendlier apt frontend (source thread)
- fd -> Friendlier
find(sharkdp/fd); Debian/Ubuntu apt packagefd-find, command oftenfdfind - fish -> Friendly interactive shell
- starship -> Cross-shell customizable prompt (source thread)
- zoxide -> Smarter
cdthat learns your habits (source thread) - atuin -> Shell history search/sync across machines
- tig -> TUI git client
- lazygit -> Simple TUI for git
- delta -> Syntax-highlighting pager for git diffs
- miller -> awk/sed-like tool for CSV/JSON/etc. — command is
mlr - most -> Pager with more features than less/more
- tldr -> Simplified practical man pages (source thread) — Lazy installer uses
pip3 install --user tldr - lazydocker -> TUI for Docker
- json-tui -> Terminal JSON viewer with table view
- jc -> Convert common command output to JSON
- visidata -> Interactive viewer for CSV and other tabular data — Lazy installer uses
pip3 install --user visidata - eg -> Useful command examples at the CLI (similar niche to tldr)
- procs -> Modern
psreplacement - sd -> Simpler
sed-like find/replace - ripgrep -> Fast recursive search — command is
rg(source thread) - ripgrep-all -> ripgrep across PDFs, office docs, and other rich formats — command is
rga - fzf -> Fuzzy finder for files, history, and pipelines
- fastfetch -> Fast system-info display (neofetch-style) (source thread)
- pandoc -> Universal document converter (source thread)
- hyperfine -> Command-line benchmarking
- just -> Command runner / lightweight
makealternative
- 07/14/26 - Tagged v5.0.1: forensic README accuracy pass;
--serveronly skips real GUI apps (xplris TUI again) - 07/14/26 - Forensic README accuracy pass: fix misleading install claims, jc example, Debian command aliases, glances/tabby/systemctl notes; exclude only real GUI apps from
--server - 07/14/26 - Tagged v5.0.0: secure eget/croc installs; README 2026 freshness;
dog→doggo - 07/14/26 - Security: removed curl|sh/bash for eget/croc; GitHub release downloads with ELF checks, croc SHA-256 verification, post-install probes, longer timeouts
- 07/14/26 - README freshness: 2026 edition; fixed moved/dead links; clarified README-only tools; synced repos (
lsd-rs/lsd,micro-editor/micro) - 12/02/25 - Added server/minimal mode (
--server) and dry-run (--dry-run/-n) - 12/02/25 - Renamed to Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py; dataclasses/type hints; platform-independent test suite
- 12/02/25 - Replaced unavailable chkservice; added lazygit, delta, atuin, gping, hyperfine, just
- 09/06/25 - README formatting/link improvements; ripgrep-all description
- 03/18/25 - 2025 alternatives update: eza, neovim, tldr, zoxide, starship, dust, nala, fastfetch
- 11/19/23 - Readme consistency/readability
- 01/29/23 - Major installer improvements; added eget
- 11/05/22 - Tool names became links
Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py installs the tool definitions in that script (currently ~60 entries): checks PATH, installs missing tools via apt/pip/snap/eget (and a verified GitHub install for croc), and skips anything already present.
It does not install README reference-only items (vimrc configs, Sublime Text, System Informer, Zabbix, ncrack).
Requires: Debian-family OS (apt-get), sudo, curl, and network access. You will be prompted once for consent, then for sudo as needed.
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StewAlexander-com/Linux-Tools/main/Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py && chmod +x Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py && python3 Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.pycurl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StewAlexander-com/Linux-Tools/v5.0.1/Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py && chmod +x Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py && python3 Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py# Latest main
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StewAlexander-com/Linux-Tools/main/Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py
# Or pin: curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StewAlexander-com/Linux-Tools/v5.0.1/Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py
chmod +x Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py
python3 Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py- Default: Install CLI + desktop GUI tools defined in the script
--server: Skip desktop GUI apps only (geany,wireshark,code/VS Code,guake,tabby). TUI tools such asxplr/htop/nnnstill install--dry-run/-n: Preview actions; make no changes--help: Show all options
Examples:
python3 Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py --server # headless-friendly set
python3 Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py --dry-run # preview
python3 Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py --server --dry-run # preview server setSecurity note: The installer does not use
curl | shorcurl | bashfor eget or croc. It downloads GitHub release artifacts, applies binary sanity checks, verifies croc’s published SHA-256 checksums, and runs simple post-install probes for those binaries.
test_lazy_linux_tool_installer.py is a mocked unit-test suite for Lazy-Linux-Tool-Installer.py (no real package installs).
From the Linux-Tools directory:
python3 -m unittest test_lazy_linux_tool_installer
python3 -m unittest test_lazy_linux_tool_installer -v
python3 -m unittest test_lazy_linux_tool_installer.TestSystemChecker -vCurrent Status: ✅ All tests passing
Ran 46 tests in 0.008s
OK
- SystemChecker — Debian-like detection, command availability, root check, curl/sudo requirements
- Installer — command runner/timeouts, apt/pip/eget/snap paths, curl|sh regression guard
- ToolManager — tool definitions, categories, install routing
- User consent — retries and KeyboardInterrupt handling
- Main — system-check failure and consent decline paths (argv-safe under
unittest)
Tests mock subprocess/filesystem side effects so they can run on Linux, macOS, or Windows without installing packages. They are not end-to-end install tests on a live Debian host.
jc+json-tui(pretty JSON table view):
sudo lsof -i | jc --lsof -p | json-tui- Interactive file picking with ripgrep + fzf:
rg --files | fzf- Faster navigation + richer prompts:
zoxidewithstarship(each needs its own shell init hook; see their docs).