My ideal Ubuntu: customizing the system to suit my needs.

Customizing Ubuntu for Personal Tasks — Crafting Your Own Comfort Zone In this article, I’ll share my experience tailoring Ubuntu to fit my workflow. These tweaks might save you time and spare you from unnecessary trial and error. All examples were tested on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, though many ideas apply to other versions too.

Ubuntu Pro — Why Not?

Many colleagues were surprised to learn about the free Ubuntu Pro subscription. Here’s why it’s worth considering:

• Extended support: LTS versions receive updates for 10 years instead of 5.
• Enhanced security: Expanded security patches for repositories.
• Critical component protection: Mitigation for vulnerabilities in core packages.

How to Activate Ubuntu Pro

1. Visit the subscription page.

2. 🔍 Follow the steps below: ▼

   

   Click "Get Ubuntu Pro now".

   

   Select "Myself".

   

   Register an account if you don’t have one.

   

   Confirm with "Yes, log me in".

   

   Copy the command under "Command to attach machine:".

3. Run the copied command in your terminal:

   sudo pro attach <your_token>  

While some may view these security perks as abstract, why not take advantage of free Pro features?

Drivers — Ubuntu Handles It All

• One of Ubuntu’s strengths is automatic driver management. After installation, run:

  sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

• Ubuntu will then notify you of driver updates and install them automatically at startup.

• 🔍 Example notification: ▼

  

GNOME Extensions — Bring Your Desktop to Life

Out of the box, GNOME feels bland. But with extensions.gnome.org, it becomes a canvas for creativity. Here’s my setup:

Required Packages

• Install these to manage GNOME extensions:

  sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell gnome-tweaks

• Visit extensions.gnome.org in your browser.

• Enable the browser extension for GNOME integration.

• 🔍 Extensions: ▼

  

Tip : Avoid overloading your system with extensions—they impact performance, and half may go unused.

Desktop Customization

• Open GNOME Tweaks.

• 🔍 Navigate to Appearance: ▼

  

• All user themes are stored in /usr/share/themes/, and icons are stored in /usr/share/icons/ and other corresponding directories. All installed themes and icons will be automatically displayed in GNOME Tweaks.

Zsh + Aliases + SSH Config — Supercharge Your Terminal

Install Zsh and Oh My Zsh

sudo apt install zsh  
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Set Zsh as default

chsh -s $(which zsh)

Aliases for Efficiency

• An alias is a convenient shortcut for frequently used commands that helps speed up work in the terminal. To set up an alias in Zsh, open the configuration file ~/.zshrc and ~/.bashrc in Bash, respectively. Below is my example of alias configuration that may be useful:

• 🔍 Alias example: ▼

  # Shortened command for ls -la
  alias ll='ls -la'
  # Shortened command to clear the terminal
  alias c='clear'
  # Shortened command for apt with sudo
  alias apt='sudo apt-fast'
  # Shortened command for nano
  alias nn='nano'
  # Shortened command to go up one directory
  alias ..='cd ..'
  # Shortened command to exit the terminal
  alias q='exit'
  # Shortened command for updating and upgrading the system
  alias uu='sudo apt-fast update && sudo apt-fast upgrade'
  # Shortened command to view command history
  alias h='history'
  # Shortened command to search for a file
  alias ff='find / -type f -name'
  # Shortened command to search for a directory
  alias fd='find / -type d -name'
  # Shortened command to display the current time
  alias date='date +%H:%M:%S'
  # Time and date format in history
  export HISTTIMEFORMAT='%F %T '
  # Shortened commands for rebooting, shutting down, and halting the system
  alias reboot='sudo /sbin/reboot'
  alias poweroff='sudo /sbin/poweroff'
  alias halt='sudo /sbin/halt'
  alias shutdown='sudo /sbin/shutdown'
  # Confirmation when overwriting files
  alias mv='mv -i'
  alias cp='cp -i'
  alias ln='ln -i'
  # Protection against deleting the root directory and confirmation when deleting more than 3 files
  alias rm='rm -I --preserve-root'
  # Limit on the number of packets sent with ping
  alias ping='ping -c 5'
  # Fast ping without waiting for an interval
  alias fastping='ping -c 100 -s 0.2'
  

Recommended Packages

🔍 Apt-fast — Faster Downloads ▼

• Replace apt with a multithreaded alternative:

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:apt-fast/stable
  sudo apt update && sudo apt install apt-fast

🔍 Terminator — Advanced Terminal ▼

• Flexible screen splitting - You can split the terminal window into multiple panes and work with several sessions simultaneously.
• Advanced interface settings - A variety of options for customizing the appearance and behavior of the terminal.

  sudo apt install terminator

• Below is the method for installing Terminator as the primary terminal:

  sudo update-alternatives --config x-terminal-emulator
  sudo apt-get remove gnome-terminal
  sudo ln -s /usr/bin/terminator /usr/bin/gnome-terminal

🔍 Nemo File Manager ▼

• Workspace separation - Nemo allows you to organize the workspace similarly to Total Commander, making navigation more convenient.

• Copying paths directly from the address bar: This simplifies working with files and folders.

  sudo apt-get upgrade --fix-missing --no-install-recommends nemo

• To make Nemo the default file manager, you can follow these steps:

  xdg-mime default nemo.desktop inode/directory application/x-gnome-saved-search
  gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons false
  gsettings set org.nemo.desktop show-desktop-icons true

🔍 Kate — Lightweight Text IDE ▼

• Syntax highlighting and line numbering;

• Built-in integration with Git.

  sudo apt-get upgrade --fix-missing --no-install-recommends kate

• After installation, you can set Kate as the default text editor by executing:

  xdg-mime default org.kde.kate.desktop text/plain

Other Essentials

• Obsidian: Sync notes with GitHub (see this guide).
• VSCode: Simple yet powerful IDE.
• VirtualBox: For virtualization needs.
• Drawio: Diagramming tool.
• Telegram: Messaging app.
• VLC: Media player.
• PortProton: Run Windows games on Linux.

Ubuntu Community — Solutions Await

• In years of using Ubuntu, I’ve never encountered a problem unsolvable via a quick search. Type "<your_issue> ubuntu" into a search engine, and you’ll likely find an answer.

Final Thoughts

• Ubuntu’s flexibility and ease of customization make it a versatile choice for countless tasks. Whether tweaking the desktop or optimizing workflows, it’s a platform that grows with you.