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Top 23 Shell Linux Projects
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setup-ipsec-vpn
Set up your own IPsec VPN server in just a few minutes, with IPsec/L2TP, Cisco IPsec and IKEv2. Supports Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS/RHEL, Amazon Linux, Alpine and Raspberry Pi. Includes client config and management scripts.
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I installed Termux on my Samsung S24, set up a PRoot Ubuntu 22.04 environment with everything I needed, and moved the whole workflow to my phone. That was it. Now I could walk around campus with just my phone and run everything on the spot.
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openvpn-install
Set up your own OpenVPN server on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, Arch Linux and more (by angristan)
Project mention: Monitoring OpenVPN with Prometheus and Grafana: A Complete Guide | dev.to | 2025-09-26First, ensure your OpenVPN server is configured to write status files. If you don't have OpenVPN set up yet, I recommend using the excellent openvpn-install script:
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lynis
Lynis - Security auditing tool for Linux, macOS, and UNIX-based systems. Assists with compliance testing (HIPAA/ISO27001/PCI DSS) and system hardening. Agentless, and installation optional.
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winapps
Run Windows apps such as Microsoft Office/Adobe in Linux (Ubuntu/Fedora) and GNOME/KDE as if they were a part of the native OS, including Nautilus integration. Hard fork of https://github.com/Fmstrat/winapps/
Project mention: Microsoft's "Fix" for Windows 11: Flowers After the Beating | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-03-24What percentage of MS Office user can, in your estimation, complete the steps as described in this readme?
https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps
I'd estimate <1%
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Project mention: OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-02-06
quickemu [1] is good at running macOS VMs.
1: https://github.com/quickemu-project/quickemu
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distrobox
Use any linux distribution inside your terminal. Enable both backward and forward compatibility with software and freedom to use whatever distribution you’re more comfortable with. Mirror available at: https://gitlab.com/89luca89/distrobox
Docker, Distrobox, Flatpak, and a bit of Homebrew where it makes sense
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Project mention: wireguard-install VS amneziawg-installer - a user suggested alternative | libhunt.com/r/wireguard-install | 2026-04-21
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Gogh
Gogh is a collection of color schemes for various terminal emulators, including Gnome Terminal, Pantheon Terminal, Tilix, and XFCE4 Terminal also compatible with iTerm on macOS.
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Those are awesome features! The one missing for me is bridge networking. Any idea why orbstack doesn’t have that?
https://github.com/orbstack/orbstack/issues/342
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DevOps-Bash-tools
1000+ DevOps Bash Scripts - AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD, APIs, SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Hive, Impala, Kafka, Hadoop, Jenkins, GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, Azure DevOps, TeamCity, Spotify, MP3, LDAP, Code/Build Linting, pkg mgmt for Linux, Mac, Python, Perl, Ruby, NodeJS, Golang, Advanced dotfiles: .bashrc, .vimrc, .gitconfig, .screenrc, tmux..
View the Project on GitHub
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Project mention: MacBook Pro Rival with the Nvidia Powered Surface Laptop Ultra | news.ycombinator.com | 2026-06-01
Running Linux on Surface works. It's not perfect, but it solves the problem. Windows is gone from my Surface Pro X since roughly 2 months after buying it.
https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface
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docker-ipsec-vpn-server
Docker image to run an IPsec VPN server, with IPsec/L2TP, Cisco IPsec and IKEv2. Auto-generates server config and supports VPN client setup on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.
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Project mention: Announcing udwall: A New Tool for Making UFW and Docker Play Nice With Each Other | dev.to | 2025-11-23
Complex Uninstall: Historically, removing the tool was risky. It required manually stripping iptables rules, and doing it wrong could lock you out of your server. > Note: ufw-docker recently added an uninstall command.
NOTE:
The open source projects on this list are ordered by number of github stars.
The number of mentions indicates repo mentiontions in the last 12 Months or
since we started tracking (Dec 2020).
Shell Linux discussion
Shell Linux related posts
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MacBook Pro Rival with the Nvidia Powered Surface Laptop Ultra
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Surface Laptop Ultra: Made for World Makers – Microsoft Devices Blog
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GitHub Already Has More Engagement Than LinkedIn. It Should Do Something About It.
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Hacker's Manual 2025 error at page 29
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Why Hyprland on Fedora Needs Vendored Dependencies (0.55.0 Edition)
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Diskless Linux boot using ZFS, iSCSI and PXE
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GTFOBins
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A note from our sponsor - SaaSHub
www.saashub.com | 15 Jun 2026
Index
What are some of the best open-source Linux projects in Shell? This list will help you:
| # | Project | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | setup-ipsec-vpn | 28,000 |
| 2 | termux-packages | 16,383 |
| 3 | openvpn-install | 15,961 |
| 4 | lynis | 15,762 |
| 5 | winapps | 15,273 |
| 6 | quickemu | 15,193 |
| 7 | macOS-Simple-KVM | 13,901 |
| 8 | distributions | 13,832 |
| 9 | ani-cli | 12,632 |
| 10 | distrobox | 12,587 |
| 11 | reinstall | 12,203 |
| 12 | wireguard-install | 11,049 |
| 13 | Gogh | 10,240 |
| 14 | orbstack | 8,800 |
| 15 | rofi | 8,673 |
| 16 | hyprdots | 8,549 |
| 17 | DevOps-Bash-tools | 8,295 |
| 18 | papirus-icon-theme | 7,868 |
| 19 | airgeddon | 7,785 |
| 20 | LinuxMirrors | 7,563 |
| 21 | linux-surface | 7,378 |
| 22 | docker-ipsec-vpn-server | 7,084 |
| 23 | ufw-docker | 6,612 |
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