8 Free Linux Apps That Make Tricky Tasks Surprisingly Easy - No Command Line Required

Jack Wallen / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• You don't person to usage nan bid statement successful Linux.
• With nan thief of these free GUIs, Linux becomes overmuch easier.
• These devices tin beryllium easy installed.

Linux is becoming much and much celebrated astir nan world. Part of nan logic for that is nan end of Windows 10. At nan aforesaid time, Linux has travel a agelong measurement since its early days of only targeting developers, admins, aliases machine subject majors.

This improvement has made it imaginable to ne'er touch nan bid statement (which is thing that I firmly judge is possible).

Also: 7 astir Windows-like Linux distros - if you're fresh to ditch Microsoft

For those who uncertainty nan veracity of my claim, fto maine present you (and those caller to Linux) to GUI apps that return nan spot of command-line tools.

All of these apps are free to instal and use.

1. Grsync

If you've ever wanted to backmost up your Linux computer, you whitethorn person been told to look up rsync. Rsync is simply a command-line sync instrumentality that is often utilized for backups. Although rsync is reasonably straightforward to use, to nan uninitiated, it tin beryllium a spot daunting. Fortunately, there's Grsync, a user-friendly GUI that makes Rsync overmuch easier. That's not to opportunity that Grsync makes rsync easy capable for anyone without having a basal knowing of rsync. 

For example, you request to understand nan quality betwixt root vs. destination, support preserving, etc. For example, successful nan Source and Destination conception of nan GUI, you request to cognize that nan root is what you want to backmost up and nan destination is wherever you want to location nan backup. 

You besides request to understand nan format of distant destinations that are successful nan SCP format, specified arsenic jack@192.168.1.25:/home/jack/Documents/. Another point to support successful mind is that if you don't adhd a trailing /, Grsync will create a sub-document to location nan files. 

Grsync makes moving pinch rsync a breeze.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

2. File Manager

There are respective commands your file manager tin return attraction of, specified arsenic ls, mkdir, mv, cp, tar, and touch. For example, you unfastened your record head and it will show you nan contents of nan existent directory (ls). 

You tin right-click a record and prime Copy (cp), resistance and driblet a record from 1 location to different (mv), right-click a record aliases files and prime Compress (tar), aliases create a caller record by right-clicking an quiet abstraction successful nan record head and selecting Create File (touch).

The COSMIC File Manager is very personification friends and fast.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

3. Disks

The Disks app takes complete immoderate much challenging commands, specified arsenic fsck, mount, parted, chown, and dd. This app is simply a useful GUI that besides prevents you from having to edit nan fstab configuration record (for mounting drives astatine boot), which is simply a immense plus. 

Also: How to instal Arch Linux without losing your mind

Just remember, nan bid Disks switch is very powerful, truthful make judge you cognize precisely nan disk you are moving with; otherwise, you could upwind up formatting your superior thrust lodging nan OS. Disks is installed connected each GNOME-based distributions and respective non-GNOME-based distributions (such arsenic Pop!_OS).

Disks makes moving pinch drives overmuch easier.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

4. Stacer

Stacer is simply a awesome instrumentality that tin thief cleanable up your OS (rm) and show resources (ps). You tin besides negociate startup applications, hunt for files, extremity processes (kill and killall), uninstall applications (apt, yum, pacman, etc), and negociate repositories (nano, add-apt-repository). Stacer has an easy-to-use GUI and a tab for each feature. This should beryllium considered a must-use for anyone superior astir dumping nan bid line.

I do wish Stacer had a ray theme, aliases would travel strategy themes.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

5. Meld

If you've ever had to comparison nan contents of 2 files, you've astir apt utilized diff, which isn't precisely nan astir user-friendly bid recovered successful Linux. Thankfully, location are devices for illustration Meld that thief make comparing files overmuch easier. Meld tin besides merge files. Keep successful mind that Meld doesn't activity pinch binary files (such arsenic .odt aliases .docx), truthful you'll request to person specified documents into .txt format. 

Using this GUI is overmuch easier than nan diff command.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

6. Edit, Kate, aliases COSMIC Text

At immoderate point, you're going to request a basal matter editor. The logic is that you mightiness not want to person to edit a configuration record aliases different matter record wrong nan nano, vi, aliases emacs editors. Instead, usage nan likes of GNOME Edit, Kate, aliases COSMIC Text. The 1 caveat to utilizing basal matter editors is that you mightiness person problem editing configuration files that require sudo (or root) privileges. Each of these apps offers different features, but they each get nan occupation of creating and editing level matter files done.

COSMIC Text is 1 of nan fastest matter editors I've used.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

7. GNOME Software/KDE Discover/COSMIC Shop

If you dislike nan thought of utilizing nan apt, dnf, pacman, zypper, snap, aliases flatpak commands to instal software, you tin ever move to your distribution's GUI beforehand end, specified arsenic GNOME Software, KDE Discover, aliases COSMIC Shop. There's besides nan old-school Synapitic GUI, but I would urge 1 of nan different 3 first. 

Also: As a Linux poweruser, I person to item this distro for its caller desktop environment

Keep successful mind that GNOME Software is for GNOME and GNOME-based desktop environments, KDE Discover is for KDE Plasma, and COSMIC Shop is for nan caller COSMIC desktop environment. Although galore find installing from nan bid statement easy, galore would alternatively spell pinch a point-and-click GUI, alternatively than memorize each of those commands (and their options).

COSMIC Store is truthful overmuch faster than nan erstwhile COSMIC Shop app.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

8. PuTTY

Finally, there's PuTTY, which takes attraction of nan ssh command. The PuTTY GUI mightiness look a spot retired of date, but it's still powerful and useful. One of nan champion things astir PuTTY is that it allows you to prevention hosts, truthful connecting to a distant instrumentality is conscionable a matter of selecting nan big successful question. PuTTY does person a flimsy learning curve, but for those who are caller to Linux, it's still easier than utilizing nan bid line.

The PuTTY GUI could usage immoderate attention.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

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