The Open Source Software I'm using in 2025

I have done an annual video about the open source software I use on a regular basis for the past several years, and in keeping with that tradition this is my current / updated list. I undoubtedly have some that I've missed, but I hope this list and the associated links will inspire you to find and try some new software you didn't know about, or have been curious about.

Timestamps

00:00 Beginning
00:40 Thank you to my patrons over at Patreon
01:40 Linux on the Desktop and Server
04:45 Homepage
06:05 Proxmox
08:30 Technitium DNS Server
09:50 Netbird VPN
12:10 OpenWRT
14:25 Beszel
15:50 Minarca Backup
17:20 LXConsole
18:35 RxResumes
19:17 Immicch
20:00 Wazuh (SIEM)
21:10 Uptime-Kuma
22:30 Get My
24:35 Invoice Ninja
25:15 NGinX Proxy Manager
27:05 Home Assistant
31:05 Authentik
33:40 Guacamole RDP SSH VNC
34:40 Nextcloud
41:40 Metabase
43:15 FluffyChat for Matrix
44:10 Evolution Email
44:35 FreeCAD
46:15 LibreOffice
49:30 Veloren
53:00 GIMP
53:15 RustDesk
54:50 Ghostwriter
55:25 VSCodium
56:55 OBS (Open Broadcast Studio)

LInks

Linux on the Desktop and Server

An open source, freely available, full-featured operating system for any computer (seriously, any computer). They have x86, x86_64/amd64, aarch64, armv7, and so many other variants available.

https://www.linux.org/

Homepage

A dashboard to help you quickly access your homelab and self-hosted services, as well as to get a quick glance at stats for those services through their available APIs.

https://youtu.be/3Ux7zfCCM1A?si=hkxncm9EYLrA2Kvd
https://gethomepage.dev/

Proxmox

A virtual machine and container orchestration platform (think VMWare, ESXI, and so on), but free and open source.

https://youtu.be/38G0ghc5RfM?si=q6HdflXATseS2LMa
https://www.proxmox.com/en/

Technitium DNS Server

A self hosted DNS server with a ton of features for controlling the DNS for all your domains.

https://youtu.be/QWvVVheYCes?si=_fRPWGKkOItOpm7W
https://technitium.com/

Netbird VPN

A powerful Wireguard orchestration platform to create a robust network of machines and devices across the internet as though they were all on one local network.

https://youtu.be/_-vfSgqmOUI?si=1ANs3PLztRgkSkB0
https://youtu.be/Vi2UqOFqDGU?si=oS7jxmPVJwJrDiLd
https://youtu.be/ro7hbqLyv9M?si=IkxSYOJ9-83CXA33
https://youtu.be/FHiku2Lt3x8?si=HfDLzj2Q96YMJNgS
https://netbird.io/

OpenWRT

Powerful router firmware that can be installed on tons of off the shelf hardware, x86 machines, and even raspberry PI type single board computers.

https://youtu.be/4zmo8RafBFg?si=cfRnGOW_ytNSDoau
https://youtu.be/WMiSH7xsL6w?si=H67LFR8_OP-BIFzW
https://openwrt.org/

Beszel

An easy to setup, powerful system monitoring server.

https://youtu.be/xzI_uMaIND8?si=JskJs02XdqoeaAwd
https://beszel.dev/

Minarca Backup

An amazingly powerful and robust server-client backup system.

https://youtu.be/JuM5AbrJgZQ?si=lIDIc0kOmq6tVhBG
https://minarca.org/en_CA

LXConsole

Graphical web user interface for orchestrating your servers running Incus containers and KVM virtual machines.

https://youtu.be/xGh_k4bUaUQ?si=Pqf9gIUePYzovN_-
https://github.com/PenningLabs/lxconsole

RxResumes

A robust, easy to use, easy to setup Resume builder.

https://rxresu.me/

Immicch

Google Photos, Apple Photos, replacement. Self hosted, open source, and powerful features like face recognition, location grouping, timelines, memories, and so much more.

https://youtu.be/0TX9cMQlOdY?si=EeNRN3LgcMrGJeQr
https://immich.app/

Wazuh (SIEM)

Endpoint intrusion and detection software, but also so much more. It can be setup to remove applications added to various protected locations, it can scan endpoints for viruses, and send out alerts of devices with issues such as security alerts, virus alerts, malware issues, and so much more.

https://youtu.be/dwr-4CXtOso?si=1dAMXX3fR7XEs-_k
https://wazuh.com/

Uptime-Kuma

Service status uptime, monitoring, and alerting tool.

https://youtu.be/ausjbvJrjFI?si=WnWVbmDloZhdnhME
https://uptime.kuma.pet/

Get My

A simple application for getting stuff done. Lists, to-do's, menus, and more.

https://youtu.be/hbGNTzU24hI?si=uFXLSpi0_d55AN-o
https://getmydocs.opensourceisawesome.com/

Invoice Ninja

A powerful, open source invoicing, payment, expense tracking, estimation, and quoting system.

https://youtu.be/Uv11VPP4XP4?si=sLdlcWeJ7tjZDQU6
https://invoiceninja.com/

NGinX Proxy Manager

A reverse proxy to help direct traffic properly to all your self-hosted services.

https://youtu.be/RBVcnxTiIL0?si=NA4Z2h0aTAsdFluT
https://youtu.be/UfCkwlPIozw?si=ZMFADgx4P-u7gbuB
https://youtu.be/cjJVmAI1Do4?si=ibr-UADuKO05c5tL
https://nginxproxymanager.com/

Home Assistant

Open source home automation under your control on your terms.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjLkaXQ35321UKMrpRp81_w2Hc_tcnshj
https://www.home-assistant.io/

Authentik

Self hosted, open source Single Sign On identity and authentication service.

https://youtu.be/KlDJ4K45M_o?si=vFt-LYxGuLD6ckDD
https://goauthentik.io/

Guacamole RDP SSH VNC

Web portal for Remote Desktop access through RDP, VNC, and even terminal shell access as needed. User and machine groups, roles, and permissions galore.

https://youtu.be/DGw6P5Lkj-U?si=mhcw2v4xQqIdiCkI
https://youtu.be/WIyAGuMbjmY?si=U99W6wuZYgRIM04z
https://guacamole.apache.org/