---
title: "Must-Have Software and Tweaks After a Full Linux Reinstall"
description: "The tweaking saga\nReinstalled Ubuntu 18.04 more times than I can count these past few days @@"
author: "kidneyweakx"
published: 2019-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-06-02T17:17:51.480Z
lang: en
tags: ["程式筆記", "Linux"]
canonical: https://kidneyweakx.com/blog/19log-0326-linux-note?lang=en
alternate_zh_tw: https://kidneyweakx.com/blog/19log-0326-linux-note.md
alternate_ja: https://kidneyweakx.com/blog/19log-0326-linux-note.md?lang=ja
---

# Must-Have Software and Tweaks After a Full Linux Reinstall

### The tweaking saga

> **Reinstalled Ubuntu 18.04 more times than I can count these past few days @@**

1. The first time was a newbie test run. Then, because `Libreoffice` was a bit laggy rendering documents sent over from `windows`, I went back and installed `windows` again, only to find it wasn't any better.
2. The second time, I regretted it the instant `windows` finished installing. So I reinstalled `Ubuntu` and found it was actually perfectly fine for daily use.
3. Then everything was healthy right up until I installed `bumblebee`. The moment it finished, the whole driver stack broke, so I had to reinstall in a hurry

### Setup

> Below I'll go through what I install and how I set it up, one by one

**Bold means I personally consider it a must-install**

1. (**Prettify the terminal**) `zsh + oh my zsh` ([I followed this guide](https://segmentfault.com/a/1190000015283092))
2. (**hime**) 詞音 phonetic input method ([a very detailed introduction and setup guide](https://blog.goodjack.tw/2013/08/linux-phonetic-setting.html)), which makes my input method feel close to the one on `windows`
3. (**Night mode**) `redshift` script ([the script I adapted from here](https://blog.csdn.net/dr_unknown/article/details/53766921))
4. **On at boot**: `numlock`, which is super important if you use the keyboard a lot ([a really handy article](https://blog.csdn.net/artourins/article/details/86411786))
5. `gnome tweak` for adjusting dpi and that kind of stuff, plus some themes
6. (Google Drive sync) `rclone rclone browser`; having a GUI makes it way more convenient
7. (**Power management**) `tlp powertop`, a godsend for saving battery
8. (coding) `eclipse & android-studio Java`, the two must-have tools for development. They're right there in the software center, super convenient. Add `vscode `on top and you've got a perfect score.
9. I have to say this: don't shoot yourself in the foot by installing `bumblebee`. It's convenient, but after removing it you get a ton of `apt-get` problems
10. Fixing the `apt-get` problems required force-removing things with `dpkg`, kind of a pain @@
11. `/etc/fstab` setup: the first time, it kept failing to boot. Pairing it with
    `ln -s` works great
12. Switch the Ubuntu home folders to English directory names; Chinese ones are super weird

```bash
export LANG=en_US 
xdg-user-dirs-gtk-update
```