Looking for Flatpak recommendations that go beyond the usual LibreOffice and GIMP suggestions? Want to know which apps a Linux enthusiast actually uses every single day? Here are my seven must-have Flatpaks that I install on all my Linux systems!

Flatpak is one of the primary ways applications get distributed on Linux these days, and I’ve found that certain apps just work better in this format—fewer dependency issues, cleaner updates, or better sandboxing. Some apps are only available as a Flatpak, in fact, so you have no other choice. So, while I use dozens of apps on my Linux PC, I always install these seven as Flatpaks.

VacuumTube

I use my Linux PC for everything—work, games, movies, and the lot. It sits in my bedroom, doubling as both my workstation and entertainment hub. So, when I’m done writing for the day, I just hop into my bed and switch gears for a cozy home-theater experience right from the same machine. That’s where VacuumTube comes in.

Kando

Speaking of the leanback experience, I’ve always wanted an easy way to control my Linux desktop from my bed—and Kando finally makes that possible. It’s a pie-menu launcher that appears when you trigger a custom shortcut. You can map that shortcut to any programmable mouse button—or even your gamepad—so you can call it up instantly. Once activated, it opens a circular menu you can quickly navigate with your mouse to launch apps, open files or web pages, run Bash scripts, execute terminal commands, or trigger complex keyboard shortcuts.

It also supports creating submenus, letting you neatly organize your favorite shortcuts into a nested hierarchy of apps, web pages, and commands that you can run while relaxing in your bed. It’s incredibly powerful, and while I can’t definitively claim it’s a* better *way to use your PC, I can vouch for how fun it makes using your computer.

Upscayl

Upscayl is the only AI tool I keep on my Linux PC—and for good reason. It’s a free, open-source image upscaler that uses AI models to enhance photos and screenshots, and I’ve found it incredibly reliable. It works by intelligently filling in extra pixels to increase the image resolution, effectively sharpening the picture. The results are genuinely impressive, and since everything runs locally, you don’t need to worry about your images getting uploaded to the cloud. That said, because everything runs locally, performance will depend on your hardware.

I’ve tested Upscayl on two Linux setups—one with a dedicated RTX 3060 GPU and another with a Ryzen 3 2200G processor and no dedicated GPU. The RTX system finishes processing within a couple of minutes (sometimes less), whereas the GPU-less system tends to take over five minutes. Still, the quality of the upscaled images is roughly the same—maybe the RTX setup produces slightly sharper results, but it’s not a massive difference.

Now, if the original image is completely blurry or low-quality, Upscayl won’t perform miracles. If you upload a 240p image, it won’t magically turn it into a crisp FHD wallpaper. In my experience, it’s best for turning clean 1080p images into sharper 2K or 4K ones with a 4× upscale. While the app supports up to 16× upscaling, I don’t find it useful at that level—it tends to introduce some noise.

Super Productivity

Super Productivity is my go-to task manager, and I’ve been using it for nearly half a decade. It’s completely free and open source but goes toe-to-toe with premium alternatives, offering almost everything you’d expect from a productivity app—minus the paywall. You can instantly capture tasks using global shortcuts, organize them into projects, and visualize your work using calendar view, Kanban boards, and even Eisenhower Matrices. It also doubles as a time tracker, complete with Pomodoro sessions, detailed analytics, and break reminders. I especially like the Domina Mode, which reads out custom reminders at set intervals, ensuring I don’t lose focus mid-session.

The app is also cross-platform, working on Windows, macOS, Android, and iPhone. However, it’s a local-only application, so none of your data is uploaded to the cloud or synced between your devices. Thankfully, it’s an easy fix—Super Productivity stores all your tasks in a local file that you can sync across devices using a service like Syncthing (also open source). This lets you easily transfer your entire Super Productivity dashboard from one device to another.

Ignition

Ignition is one of those deceptively simple tools that can completely change how you use your computer. It automatically launches specified apps when you boot your system. This means you have a system ready for work with all your desired apps open as soon as you turn on your PC. I personally have it to always open my calendar, to-do list (Super Productivity), Slack, and Spotify—this setup serves as a gentle reminder that I am here to do work!

Another neat touch is the ability to add a delay to startup apps. So, if launching multiple programs at once causes lag or system hangs, you can stagger their launch times and keep everything running smoothly.

Ignition shows you every single startup entry on your system, including those enabled by your distro. So, if you find something unnecessary, you can easily disable it right from the interface. Sure, you can do all this from the terminal as well, but having a clean graphical interface makes it far more convenient.

Discord

If you’ve spent any time gaming or hanging out online, you probably already know about Discord. It’s a free communication app that combines text, voice, and video chat, and it’s incredibly popular among gamers and online communities.

That said, for me, Discord isn’t just for gaming—it’s where I keep up with the tools and apps I use every day. You see, almost every major indie or open-source project now has a Discord server, and developers usually post updates, feature announcements, and beta invites there long before they appear on the project’s website. So, if you like staying on the bleeding edge, Discord is where you want to be.

Now, Discord is available through most Linux distro repositories, but there’s a catch—it updates constantly, sometimes daily, and it won’t open if you don’t update it! Installing the app from your distro’s repo means updating your entire system every time Discord pushes an update, since partial updates are generally discouraged. The Snap package avoids that, but I’m not a fan of Snaps—they’re slow to launch and heavier on resources. That’s why I use the Flatpak version. It updates independently, runs smoothly, and just works the way I expect it to.

Flatseal

One of the biggest advantages of using Flatpaks is that they’re containerized—each app runs in its own isolated environment, bundled with all its necessary dependencies. This sandboxing makes Flatpaks generally safer since they have limited access to your system by default. That said, not every developer gets the balance right. Some apps have more permissions than they really need, while others are too restricted and don’t work as you want them to. That’s where Flatseal comes in!

Apps marked as potentially unsafe don’t mean they are actually unsafe. It just means you’re expected to look at the permissions and only install the app if you’re fine with allowing those permissions.

Flatseal is a simple graphical utility that lets you view and manage permissions for all your Flatpaks. You can revoke unnecessary privileges or grant specific access when required. For example, I’ve restricted Super Productivity from accessing the internet and limited it to a single folder—where it stores its local data. I’ve also trimmed down Discord’s permissions—blocking its file system access and inter-process communications (so it can’t communicate with other apps)—because it’s a proprietary app and I want tighter control over what it sees!

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There you have it—the seven Flatpak apps I always install on my Linux system. Yes, some of these apps are available from other sources, like Discord being in most distros’ official repositories, but I’ve found their Flatpak versions most stable and reliable for day-to-day use!