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{{Header}}
{{title|title=
Software Recommendations
}}
{{#seo:
|description=Software Recommendations by {{project_name_short}} for Encryption, E-Mail, IRC, Media-Player, Image Viewer, Screenshot Creator, Calculator, Office Suite and more
|image=Software-557615640.jpg
}}
{{release_mininav}}
[[File:Software-557615640.jpg|thumb]]
{{intro|
This wiki page outlines software recommendations by {{project_name_short}} for various tasks, such as encryption, email, IRC, media player, image viewer, screenshot creator, calculator, office suite, and more. It includes a list of pre-installed applications on {{project_name_short}}, recommended software for different user activities, installation instructions, and security advice.
}}
= Warning =
{{PQCrypto}}

= Accessibility =

== On-Screen Keyboard (wvkbd) ==
{{project_name_long}} 18 and above. (Wayland based.) Pre-installed by default.

[https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/wvkbd <code>wvkbd</code> Debian package]

'''Figure:''' ''wvkbd software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:wvkbd-onscreen-keyboard.png]]

= Audio, Image and Video =

== Audio Recorder and Editor ==

[https://www.audacityteam.org/ Audacity homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/audacity Debian package]).
{{Box|text=
To install it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

{{Install_Package|package=
audacity
}}
}}

'''Figure:''' ''Audacity Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Audacity.png|border]]

== Image and PDF Viewer ==
=== Loupe ===
[https://openhub.net/p/gnome-loupe Loupe] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/loupe Debian package])

Installed in {{project_name_short}} 18 by default. Image rendering is handled by [https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/glycin Glycin], which is largely implemented in Rust and does image rendering in a sandbox.

<code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>Graphics</code> &rarr; <code>Image Viewer</code>

'''Figure:''' ''Loupe Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Loupe.png|border]]

=== Web browser PDF rendering ===
{{mbox
| addToClass = ib-for-thumb
| image   = [[File:Ambox_warning_pn.svg.png|40px]]
| text    = Standard desktop PDF viewers, such as xpdf, qpdfview, Okular, etc. are not recommended. PDF rendering is complex and prone to security vulnerabilities similar to web page rendering. Desktop PDF viewers generally do this rendering without sandboxing. Web browsers are recommended for viewing PDFs, as the PDF rendering is sandboxed similar to web page rendering.
}}

No particular recommendations. Any major web browser with an embedded PDF renderer (such as Mozilla's [https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/ PDF.js] or Google's PDFium) should work. Several suitable browsers can be installed using [[Browser-choice]].

'''Figure:''' ''PDF rendering in Firefox ESR in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Firefox-esr-pdf.png|border]]

== Screenshot Creator and Image Editor ==

{{mbox
| image   = [[File:Ambox_notice.png|40px|alt=Qubes info box]]
| text    =
[[{{non_q_project_name_short}}|{{non_q_project_name_short}}]] only! <ref>
{{Non-q-project}}
</ref> <br />
In Qubes, screenshots only work in dom0 (<code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>Screenshot</code>) and this applies to the entire platform, including [[Qubes|{{q_project_name_long}}]].
}}
[https://github.com/lupoDharkael/flameshot Flameshot homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/flameshot Debian package]).
{{Box|text=
To install it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

{{Install_Package|package=
flameshot
}}
}}

'''Figure:''' ''Flameshot Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Flameshot.png|border]]

== Video Editor ==

[https://jliljebl.github.io/flowblade/index.html Flowblade homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/flowblade Debian package]).
{{Box|text=
To install it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

{{Install_Package|package=
flowblade
}}
}}

'''Figure:''' ''Flowblade Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Flowblade.png|border]]

== Video Recorder ==

[https://github.com/ammen99/wf-recorder wf-recorder homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/wf-recorder Debian package]).
{{Box|text=
To install it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

{{Install_Package|package=
wf-recorder
}}
}}

{{Box|text=
wf-recorder is a command-line application. To use it:

'''1.''' Open a terminal. <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

'''2.''' Run:

{{CodeSelect|code=
wf-recorder
}}

'''3.''' Complete whatever actions you wish to record.

'''4.''' Click on the QTerminal window where wf-recorder is running.

'''5.''' Press <code>Ctrl + C</code> to terminate it.

'''6.''' Done.

The recording will be saved in a file named <code>recording.mkv</code> in the current working directory.

}}

'''Figure:''' ''wf-recorder Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Wf-recorder.png|border]]

= Communications =

== E-Mail ==

See [[E-Mail]].

== Instant Messengers ==
{{stub}}

* [https://simplex.chat/ SimpleX]
* [https://docs.cwtch.im/ Cwtch]

Maybe contents from {{whonix_wiki
|wikipage=Chat
|text=Chat
}} could be ported here.

Other resources:
* https://www.securemessagingapps.com/
* https://www.privacyguides.org/en/real-time-communication/
* https://privacyspreadsheet.com/messaging-apps
* https://eylenburg.github.io/im_comparison.htm
* {{ExtLink
|https://archive.is/20250416085840/https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2025/9/2505715264990543311
}} <ref>
Original and web archived behind paywall:

* https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2025/9/2505715264990543311
* https://web.archive.org/web/20250418145817/https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2025/9/2505715264990543311
</ref>

== IRC Client ==

[[Undocumented]]

== XMPP/Jabber Client ==
{{stub}}

* [https://dino.im/ Dino IM]
* [https://gajim.org/ Gajim]

Maybe contents from {{whonix_wiki
|wikipage=Chat
|text=Chat
}} could be ported here.

= Encryption =
== GnuPG (OpenPGP) ==

GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) can be used to encrypt, decrypt, sign, and verify text. It is an implementation of the OpenPGP standard.

[https://gnupg.org GnuPG] comes pre-installed in {{project_name_short}} ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/gnupg Debian packages]).

Starting.

{{CodeSelect|code=
gpg
}}

Documentation:

* [https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/ GnuPG documentation]
* [[OpenPGP|OpenPGP key distribution strategies]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171017000522/https://gaffer.ptitcanardnoir.org/intrigeri/code/parcimonie/ parcimonie - privacy-friendly helper to refresh a GnuPG keyring] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable project version based on Debian codename}}/parcimonie in Debian])
** <u>Note:</u> Not available Debian Trixie, therefore not available in {{project_name_short}} 18.<ref>https://tracker.debian.org/news/1607399/parcimonie-removed-from-testing/, https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1091033</ref>

'''Figure:''' ''GnuPG Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Gnupg.png|border]]

{{Anchor|KGpg}}
== KGpg ==
[https://apps.kde.org/kgpg/ KGpg homepage]
[https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}/kgpg Debian package for KGpg]

KGpg is a {{gui}} frontend for GnuPG. It can be used to create and manage encryption keys, and sign, encrypt, and decrypt files.

To install KGpg:

{{Install Package|package=
kgpg
}}

Starting.

{{CodeSelect|code=
kgpg
}}

See footnote for why a GPG frontend is not installed by default on {{project_name_short}} 18.<ref>
Previously, GNU Privacy Assistant (GPA) was installed in {{project_name_short}} by default. However, GPA was [https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1089914 removed from Debian Trixie] before release, and is therefore not available in {{project_name_short}} 18.<br />
<br />
KGpg depends on a very large number of KDE libraries, which take up over 120 MB of disk space when installed. For this reason, KGpg is not installed by default.
</ref>

'''Figure:''' ''KGpg Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Kgpg.png|border]]

= Entertainment =

{{Anchor|VLC}}
== Media Player ==

[[File:2000px-VLC_Icon.svg.png|thumb|VLC Media Player Icon|128px]]

The [[File:2000px-VLC_Icon.svg.png|30px|VLC Media Player Icon]] [https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ VLC Media Player] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/vlc Debian package]) is pre-installed in {{project_name_short}}. There are no increased fingerprinting risks because [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1369309 VLC does not run Javascript]. <ref>However, unrestricted access to the large number of codecs, along with the gstreamer and ffmpeg frameworks can expose the system to remote attacks. The risk is greater than with Tor Browser because the latter attempts to restrict codecs to a particular subset. [https://www.videolan.org/vlc/privacy.html No cookies are stored by VLC and no information is collected and sent to third parties]; see the [https://forums.whonix.org/t/vlc-fingerprinting-research/4897/6 Original Whonix forum thread].</ref>

<code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>Multimedia</code> &rarr; <code>VLC Media Player</code>

'''Figure:''' ''VLC Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Vlc.png|border]]

= Miscellaneous =

== Calculator ==

[http://galculator.mnim.org/index.html galculator homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/galculator Debian package]).
{{Box|text=
To install it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

{{Install_Package|package=
galculator
}}
}}

'''Figure:''' ''galculator Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Galculator.png|border]]

== Disk Space Analyzer ==
=== df ===
{{CodeSelect|code=
df -h
}}

=== baobab ===
{{Install Package|package=
baobab
}}

* As user:
** {{CodeSelect|code=
baobab
}}
* With administrative ("root") rights:
** {{CodeSelect|code=
lxsudo baobab
}}

== File Comparison Tools ==
A file comparison tool is also often called a <code>diff viewer</code>.

=== meld ===
{{Install Package|
package=meld
}}

Usage example:

{{CodeSelect|code=
meld file1 file2
}}

=== kdiff3 ===
{{Install Package|
package=kdiff3
}}

Usage example:

{{CodeSelect|code=
kdiff3 file1 file2
}}

=== diff ===
<code>diff</code> is a pre-installed {{Cli}} diff viewer.

Usage example:

{{CodeSelect|code=
diff file1 file2
}}

== File Manager ==

[[File:Papirus-icon-file-manager.svg|thumb|File browser icon from Papirus icon theme (shown by PCManFM-Qt)|128px]]

PCManFM-Qt is pre-installed. To launch it:

=== PCManFM-Qt as User ===
* '''A)''' From start menu: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>Accessories</code> &rarr; <code>PCManFM-Qt File Manager</code>
* '''B)''' From command line: {{CodeSelect|code=
pcmanfm-qt
}}

'''Figure:''' ''PCManFM-Qt Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Pcmanfm-qt.png|border]]

=== PCManFM-Qt with Administrator Rights ===

{{mbox
| type    = notice
| image   = [[File:Ambox_notice.png|40px|alt=Info]]
| text    = This procedure will not allow you to directly edit or view the contents of files that are inaccessible to the current user account. It only allows file management operations (move, copy, create folder, etc.) in areas of the system your user usually would not have access to.

As a workaround, you may copy a file to a location your user account does have access to, change the copy's permissions to allow you to edit it, then copy it back into place once you are finished making edits.
}}

'''1.''' Ensure <code>gvfs-backends</code> is installed.

{{Install_Package|
package=gvfs-backends
}}

'''2.''' Launch PCManFM-Qt normally as described in [[#PCManFM-Qt as User]].

'''3.''' Click <code>Tools</code> &rarr; <code>Open Tab in Admin Mode</code>.

'''4.''' Provide your password if prompted.

'''5.''' Done.

PCManFM-Qt can now be used to perform file management tasks on files owned by root.

== Task Manager ==
There many choices. Task managers are [[unspecific]] to {{project_name_short}}. These should be researched as per [[Self Support First Policy]].

=== qps ===
[https://github.com/lxqt/qps qps] is the default task manager for the LXQt desktop. qps is pre-installed in {{project_name_short}}.

Run.

{{CodeSelect|code=
qps
}}

=== taskmanager command line utilities ===
Popular taskmanager command line utilities include:

* <code>top</code>
* <code>htop</code>
* <code>ps</code>
* <code>pstree</code>
* <code>pgrep</code>

=== task killing command line utilities ===
Task killing can also be done on the command line.

* <code>kill</code>
* <code>killall</code>

=== plasma-systemmonitor ===

{{Install Package|
package=plasma-systemmonitor
}}

Run.

{{CodeSelect|code=
plasma-systemmonitor
}}

=== iotop - simple top-like I/O monitor ===
{{Quotation
|quote=
iotop does for I/O usage what top(1) does for CPU usage. It watches I/O usage information output by the Linux kernel and displays a table of current I/O usage by processes on the system. It is handy for answering the question "Why is the disk churning so much?".
|context=[https://packages.debian.org/iotop Debian iotop package]
}}

{{Install Package|
package=iotop
}}

Run.

{{CodeSelect|code=
sudo iotop -a
}}

== Terminal ==
[[File:Utilities-terminal.png|thumb|<code>qterminal</code> icon|128px]]

[https://github.com/lxqt/qterminal QTerminal homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/qterminal Debian package]).
QTerminal is pre-installed in {{project_name_short}}.

To start it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

'''Figure:''' ''QTerminal in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Qterminal.png|border|600px]]
=== Unsafe Paste Warning Popup ===
Note: Not enabled in QTerminal by default yet. Was enabled in Xfce-Terminal by default. Will be enabled in QTerminal soon.

This is a demonstration of the <code>Paste multiline text</code> warning feature of the QTerminal Emulator. Other graphical terminal emulators might have similar features.

'''Figure:''' ''<code>Paste multiline text</code> warning feature''

[[File:warning-terminal.png|border]]

{{box|text=
First a text editor is opened, then several arbitrary lines of text written, copied to clipboard and pasted into the terminal emulator.

'''1.''' Open a text editor.

{{Open File|filename=
some-file-name
}}

'''2.''' Write several lines of text.

Should be long lines. Should be multiple lines. The text is not important. Can be anything.

For example:

{{CodeSelect|code=
111111111111111111111111
222222222222222222222222
}}

'''3.''' Copy to clipboard.

Select all of the lines of text and right click, copy to clipboard.

'''4.''' Open a terminal.

{{Open a product ws terminal}}

'''5.''' Paste the text into the terminal.

'''6.''' The warning popup will appear.

<code>Paste multiline text</code> warning:

[[File:warning-terminal.png|border]]

'''7.''' Done.

The demonstration of the <code>Paste multiline text</code> warning feature has been completed.
}}

If the user does not understand the contents of the pasted text, the user should abort. Otherwise, the user might be compromised by running commands not understood by the user.

Related security risk: [[Unicode|Invisible Malicious Unicode]]

= Text Editor =
== Open File as Regular User ==
<code>featherpad</code> is installed by default.

Replace <code>/path/to/file</code> with the actual file name.

{{CodeSelect|code=
featherpad /path/to/file
}}

== Open File with Root Rights ==
Prefer <code>sudoedit</code> for better security. <ref>
https://forums.whonix.org/t/use-sudoedit-in-whonix-documentation-and-whonix-software/7599
</ref>

When using <code>sudoedit</code>:

* If the file does not exist, it will be created.
* If the file does exist, it will be edited.
* Featherpad (or the chosen text editor) must be closed before running the <code>sudoedit</code> command.

'''1.''' Open <code>/path/to/file</code> with root rights.

<u>Note:</u> Replace <code>/path/to/file</code> with the actual file name.

{{CodeSelect|code=
sudoedit /path/to/file
}}

To use a different editor, replace <code>featherpad</code> with the name of the editor you wish to use.

{{CodeSelect|code=
SUDO_EDITOR=featherpad sudoedit /path/to/file
}}

'''2.''' Edit the file.

'''3.''' Save.

<u>Notes:</u>

* Simply close the editor and press save.
* Do not use "save as" -- this is unnecessary and will not work.

'''4.''' Done.

= Work on Sensitive Documents =

== Office Suite ==

[https://www.libreoffice.org/ LibreOffice homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/libreoffice Debian package]) <ref>See also: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibreOffice LibreOffice in Wikipedia].</ref> is recommended. It is a fully-featured office productivity suite that provides a near drop-in replacement for Microsoft <sup>(R)</sup> Office. A word processor is included, along with spreadsheet and presentation applications.
{{Box|text=
To install it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

{{Install_Package|package=
libreoffice
}}

To launch these applications: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>Office</code>
}}

'''Figure:''' ''LibreOffice Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Libreoffice.png|border]]

== Printing and Scanning ==

See [[Printing and Scanning]].

== Publishing ==

[https://www.scribus.net/ Scribus homepage] ([https://packages.debian.org/{{Stable_project_version_based_on_Debian_codename}}/scribus Debian package]) is an open source desktop page layout application accessible from the desktop menu (<code>Applications</code> → <code>Graphics</code>). It can be used for many tasks; from booklets design to newspapers, magazines, newsletters and posters to technical documentation.

Scribus has sophisticated page layout features like precision placing and rotating of text and/or images on a page, manual kerning of type, bezier curves polygons, precision placement of objects, layering with RGB and CMYK custom colors. The Scribus document file format is XML-based. Unlike proprietary binary file formats, even damaged documents can be recovered with a simple text editor.
{{Box|text=
To install it: <code>Start menu</code> &rarr; <code>System Tools</code> &rarr; <code>QTerminal</code>

{{Install_Package|package=
scribus
}}
}}

'''Figure:''' ''Scribus Software in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Scribus.png|border]]

== scurl-download: SSL Command Line Downloader ==

To securely download files or webpages from the Internet on the command line, [[Secure_Downloads#Downloads_with_scurl_-_SSL_Command_Line_Downloader|scurl]] is pre-installed in {{project_name_short}}. scurl-download should be preferred over wget, since the former enforces strong encryption and is less buggy. See also [[Secure Downloads]].

To invoke scurl-download to download a file, use the following syntax and replace the example URL with the file's location.

{{CodeSelect|code=
scurl-download https://dist.torproject.org/torbrowser/15.0.3/tor-browser-linux-x86_64-15.0.3.tar.xz
}}

This will download <code>tor-browser-linux-x86_64-15.0.3.tar.xz</code> to the current working directory.

Refer to the [[Secure_Downloads#Downloads_with_scurl_-_SSL_Command_Line_Downloader|scurl]] entry for further examples and a complete description of this tool.

'''Figure:''' ''scurl-download Command in {{project_name_short}}''

[[File:Scurltorbrowser.png|border]]

= Java =
{{Install Package
|package=default-jre
}}

= Additional Software =

If the recommendations in this section are unsatisfactory, additional applications can be easily installed in a few steps; see [[Install Software]].

= Footnotes =
{{reflist|close=1}}

= License =
{{License_Amnesia|{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}

{{Footer}}

[[Category:Documentation]]