Topics: Ubuntu, Linux, Development Environment, Programming, Productivity

Linux development environment setup

Posted Dec. 1, 2025

Preparation (after OS installation)

Install recommended NVIDIA drivers: Open the "Software & Updates" application, navigate to the "Additional Drivers" tab, and select the recommended NVIDIA driver for your GPU. Apply the changes and reboot when prompted. Alternatively, install via terminal:
```
sudo ubuntu-drivers devices
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
sudo reboot
```
Power Management (Powertop): Linux's battery management on laptops tends to be less optimized than other operating systems. Powertop helps optimize power consumption and extend battery life. Install with:
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install powertop -y
sudo systemctl enable tlp
```
GNOME: I use GNOME desktop environment for simplicity. To further customize and optimize it, install GNOME Tweaks by running:
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks -y
```
You can use GNOME Tweaks to adjust various settings such as themes, fonts, and extensions to enhance your desktop experience. Here are some of my favorite GNOME extensions:
- Dash to Dock: Turn the GNOME dash into a nice-looking dock for easier access to applications.
- Caffeine-NG: Prevents your computer from going to sleep or activating the screensaver when certain applications are running.
- Blur my Shell: Adds a blur effect to the GNOME shell elements for a sleek look.
- Vitals: Monitors system resources like CPU, RAM, and network usage directly from the top bar.
If you want even more customization, consider KDE Plasma desktop environment. Personally, I prefer GNOME for its simplicity. I've used KDE before when I was still on Debian, but one thing I noticed is that it takes up more power and resources, and since I use a laptop, I prefer to save battery life with GNOME.
GDM settings: lock screen customization, auto login, etc. Install GDM settings with:
```
sudo apt install gdm3setup -y
```

Basic Rice

Simple GNOME desktop rice using fastfetch. Link to my config: github

Display any image on the terminal using chafa:

ucla-logo() {
    # Generate the logo on the fly
    local LOGO=$(chafa --size 50 --symbols block /home/img/ucla.png)

    # Print it
    echo -e "$LOGO"
}

Change Some Default Behaviors

Change keybinding: on Linux, copy and paste in the terminal is defaulted as Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V. To change it to Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, open the terminal, then go to the burger menu, then Preferences > Shortcuts, and change the Copy and Paste shortcuts. After changing, restart the terminal. Now, Ctrl+Shift+C will be automatically mapped to cancel command (SIGINT), and Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V will work as expected for copy and paste

A quick word about Emacs
Please note that if you change this keybinding, and you're using Emacs, it will interfere with Emacs keybindings in the terminal. For example, Ctrl+C is used for various commands in Emacs. If you want to use Emacs keybindings, you can either keep the default Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V for copy and paste, or you can remap the copy and paste shortcuts to something else that doesn't conflict with Emacs.
Better Bash autocompletion: Install bash-completion for improved command-line experience:
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install bash-completion -y
```
After installation, verify, and then source it:
```
echo $BASH_VERSION
source /etc/bash_completion
```
Next, add the following line to your ~/.bashrc file to enable bash-completion automatically on terminal startup:
```
if [ -f /etc/bash_completion ]; then
    . /etc/bash_completion
fi
```
The next thing I did is to enable a menu-style tab completion by adding the following lines to ~/.inputrc :
```
# Show all matches immediately
set show-all-if-ambiguous on

# Enable menu-style completion
TAB: menu-complete

# Case-insensitive completion
set completion-ignore-case on
set completion-map-case on

# Mark symlinked directories
set mark-symlinked-directories on
```
Finally, reload it with:
```
bind -f ~/.inputrc
```
How this works: let's say you're in a folder called UCLA, with the following folders inside:
```
ls UCLA
CS-111  CS-180  CS-35L  CS-M51A  ECE-102 ECE-115C
```
now, when you press CS + Tab, it will rotate through different options of the CS folders. Then simply press enter to select the desired folder.
Remap certain keys (optional). One of the annoying things about Laptops made in recent years is that they come with the copilot key, which is located where the right Ctrl key should be. To remap it back to Ctrl, first install keyd to tell which keycode corresponds to the copilot key:
```
sudo apt install keyd -y
sudo systemctl enable keyd
sudo systemctl start keyd
```
After installation, remember to verify with
```
whereis keyd
systemctl status keyd
```
Next, monitor which keycode corresponds to the copilot key by running:
```
sudo keyd monitor # or sudo keyd.rvaiya monitor
```
Add the following to /etc/keyd/default.conf :
```
[ids]
*

[main]
leftshift+leftmeta+f23 = rightcontrol # this varies, adjust accordingly to your system
```
Then, reload with
```
sudo keyd reload # or sudo keyd.rvaiya reload
```

DevOps and Text Editors

VSCode: My primary code editor. Simply use the Software Center to install it via snap. If you dislike snap, install with:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install wget gpg -y
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /usr/share/keyrings/
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg] \
https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" \
> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'
sudo apt install apt-transport-https -y
sudo apt update && sudo apt install code -y

Settings: on Linux, again, copy and paste is defaulted as Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V. To change it back to Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, go to Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts, and paste the following JSON:

[
  {
      "key": "ctrl+c",
      "command": "workbench.action.terminal.copySelection",
      "when": "terminalFocus && terminalProcessSupported && terminalTextSelected"
  },
  {
      "key": "ctrl+v",
      "command": "workbench.action.terminal.paste",
      "when": "terminalFocus && terminalProcessSupported"
  },
  {
      "key": "ctrl+shift+c",
      "command": "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",
      "args": { "text": "\u0003" },
      "when": "terminalFocus"
  }
]

A quick note about Snap

Snap is one of the most common criticisms of Ubuntu, mostly because of perceived performance issues. I am not a big fan of it either. That said, it is worth remembering that you don't have to use Snap at all if it does not fit your needs. Like many things in Linux, it comes down to preference and the flexibility to choose what works best for you.

Neovim: Terminal-based text editor. Install with:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install neovim -y

Git: Version control system. Install with:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install git -y

Docker: Containerization platform. Follow the official installation guide:

# update and remove old versions
sudo apt update
sudo apt remove docker.io docker-doc docker-compose docker-compose-v2 podman-docker containerd runc

# install dependencies
sudo apt install ca-certificates curl gnupg

# add Docker's official GPG key
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

# add Docker apt repository
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# install Docker Engine
sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# verify installation
sudo systemctl status docker
sudo docker run hello-world

C and C++ Development Environment

Essentials: Core development tools including build-essential, gdb, g++-multilib, and related packages. Install with:
```
sudo apt install build-essential lldb ninja-build clang gdb g++-multilib -y
```
CMake and CMake GUI: Build system generator with GUI support for easier project configuration. Install with:
```
sudo apt install cmake cmake-qt-gui -y
```
Package Managers:
- Vcpkg: Microsoft's C++ package manager. Install with:
```
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg
./vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh
export VCPKG_ROOT=~/vcpkg
export PATH=$VCPKG_ROOT:$PATH
```
  Add the export lines to your .bashrc file to make them permanent.
- Conan: Alternative C++ package manager. Install with:
```
pip install conan
```
GPU Programming:
- CUDA Toolkit: GPU programming framework. Follow the installation instructions on the NVIDIA website. After installation, add these lines to your .bashrc:
```
# CUDA Toolkit paths
export PATH=/usr/local/cuda-13.1/bin:$PATH
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/cuda-13.1/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
```
  Replace "13.1" with your installed version. Update the environment:
```
source ~/.bashrc
```
  to update the environment variables. Verify the installation by running:
```
nvcc --version
```
- cuDNN: Deep learning library. Follow the instructions on the NVIDIA cuDNN website.
Profiling:
- Valgrind: Memory debugging, leak detection, and profiling tool. Install with:
```
sudo apt install valgrind -y
```
- Perf: Performance analysis tool. Install with:
```
sudo apt install linux-tools-common linux-tools-$(uname -r) -y
```
Common Libraries:
- Boost: Comprehensive C++ library collection. Install with:
```
sudo apt install libboost-all-dev -y
```
- Eigen: C++ template library for linear algebra. Install with:
```
sudo apt install libeigen3-dev -y
```
- OpenMPI: Parallel programming framework. Install with:
```
sudo apt install libopenmpi-dev openmpi-bin -y
```
- FFTW: Discrete Fourier transform library. Install with:
```
sudo apt install libfftw3-dev -y
```

Python and Anaconda

Python: Most Linux distributions include Python by default. Check your version:
```
python3 --version
```
To prevent pip from installing packages globally (which helps keep your system clean), create a pip configuration file:
```
mkdir -p ~/.config/pip
echo "[global]" > ~/.config/pip/pip.conf
echo "user = true" >> ~/.config/pip/pip.conf
```
Anaconda: Python development and package management platform. Download the installer from the Anaconda website and follow the installation instructions. Verify installation:
```
source ~/.bashrc
conda --version
```
Managing your Anaconda environments:
- Prevent Auto-Activation: If you don't want the (base) environment to start every time you open a terminal, run:
```
conda config --set auto_activate_base false
```
- Create a New Environment: To create a new environment with a specific Python version, run:
```
conda create -n myenv python=3.10
```
- Activate an Environment: To activate an environment, run:
```
conda activate myenv
```
- Deactivate an Environment: To deactivate the current environment, run:
```
conda deactivate
```
Note: The global pip restriction mentioned earlier can interfere with pip usage inside Anaconda environments. To temporarily override it, prefix your pip commands with:
```
PIP_REQUIRE_VIRTUALENV=false
```

JavaScript and Web

Node.js and npm: JavaScript runtime and package manager. Install with:
```
sudo apt install nodejs npm -y
```
Yarn: Alternative JavaScript package manager. Install with:
```
npm install -g yarn
```

Cwebp: WebP image conversion tool. Install with:

sudo apt install webp -y

Now, you can convert images to WebP format using the cwebp command. For example:

# Convert PNG to WebP
cwebp input.png -o output.webp

# Batch convert all PNGs
for file in *.png; do cwebp "$file" -o "${file%.png}.webp"; done

Rust and Cargo

Rust and Cargo: Systems programming language with built-in package manager. Install with:
```
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
```

rustc --version
cargo --version

Engineering Softwares

MATLAB: Numerical computing environment. Download from MathWorks and follow their installation instructions. To add MATLAB to your application menu, create ~/.local/share/applications/matlab.desktop with this content:
```
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=MATLAB
Comment=MATLAB Numerical Computing Environment
Exec=/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024a/bin/matlab -desktop
Icon=/usr/local/MATLAB/R2024a/bin/glnxa64/cef_resources/matlab_icon.png
Terminal=false
Categories=Development;Science;Engineering;
```
Then, refresh the application menu by running:
```
update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/
```
Note that in some cases, Linux might not let you update or install new packages due to MATLAB installation not having access to root. If that's the case, then you need to give yourself ownership of the MATLAB install:
```
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /usr/local/MATLAB/R2025b
```
then ensure write permission
```
chmod -R u+rw /usr/local/MATLAB/R2025b
```
KiCAD: PCB design software. Install with:
```
sudo apt install kicad -y
```

LTspice: Circuit simulation tool. LTSpice is mainly a Windows application, but it can be run on Linux using Wine. Follow instruction on how to install wine on Ubuntu on their official website. Next, download and install LTspice (64 bit) using Wine:

cd ~/Downloads
wget https://LTspice.analog.com/download/latest/LTspice64.msi
wine msiexec /i LTspice64.msi

Next, simply start and run the application with

wine ~/.wine/drive_c/users/$USER/AppData/Local/Programs/ADI/LTspice/LTspice.exe

You can also create a desktop shortcut for easier access. First, create the launcher file. Run this command to create a new .desktop file:

nano ~/.local/share/applications/ltspice.desktop

Then, add the following content to the file:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=LTspice
Comment=Analog Devices LTspice Circuit Simulator
Exec=wine /home/don-le/.wine/drive_c/users/don-le/AppData/Local/Programs/ADI/LTspice/LTspice.exe
Icon=application-x-ms-dos-executable
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Education;Electronics;Engineering;

Finally, make it executable

chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/ltspice.desktop

Audacity: Audio editing software. Install with:
```
sudo apt install audacity -y
```
Master PDF Editor: PDF editing software. Installation steps:
- First, download the installer from the Master PDF Editor website.
- Next, open the terminal and navigate to the directory where the installer was downloaded, then install it via apt.
```
cd ~/Downloads
sudo apt install ./master-pdf-editor*.deb
```
- Then, run the installer with: ./master-pdf-editor-*.run
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Other Useful Softwares

Firefox

Spotify:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
curl -sS https://download.spotify.com/debian/pubkey_0D811D58.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/spotify-archive.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/spotify-archive.gpg] http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install spotify-client -y

VLC Media Player: Versatile media player. Install with:
```
sudo apt install vlc
```
ksnip: Equivalent of Window's snipping tool, a screenshot tool with annotation features. Install with:
```
sudo apt install ksnip -y
```
Telegram: Messaging app. Install with:
```
sudo apt install telegram-desktop -y
```

Final Words

Try not to worry too much about what other people say. Choose what works best for you, but take some time to research before settling on a distro. Some people prefer Arch's rolling release, while I value the stability and long-term support that Ubuntu provides. The best way to learn is by exploring different options and discovering what fits your workflow and preferences. Linux is built around choice and customization, so experiment freely and shape it into something that feels right for you.

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