4 Essential Open‑Source Services to Run on Linux

1. Samba

Samba is free software that enables UNIX‑like operating systems to communicate with Microsoft Windows using the SMB/CIFS network protocol, allowing seamless file sharing across platforms on the same local network.

On KDE Plasma, right‑click any folder, choose Properties, go to the Sharing tab, and enable "Share with Samba (Microsoft Windows)" to expose a read‑only directory to other network users.

Project address: http://samba.org/

2. Snapdrop

Snapdrop is an open‑source, browser‑based service that uses WebRTC for peer‑to‑peer file transfer; no data is stored on a server, and it works on both desktop and mobile browsers (except IE and Safari).

When two or more clients connect to the Snapdrop page on the same network, they discover each other automatically and can exchange files and chat messages directly, with fast transfer speeds and all data staying local.

Project address: https://github.com/RobinLinus/snapdrop

3. VLC

VLC is a free, open‑source, cross‑platform multimedia player and framework capable of playing most media files, DVDs, audio CDs, VCDs, and a wide range of streaming protocols.

By connecting a large media drive to a computer, VLC can stream personal video or audio files over the network, allowing playback on any device that can receive HTTP streams, such as TVs, game consoles, or phones.

Project address: https://www.videolan.org/index.html

4. PulseAudio

PulseAudio provides flexible audio handling on Linux, including automatic discovery of network audio streams, making it easy to play podcasts or conference recordings on a workstation and listen on a phone.

To enable network audio, install the paprefs package, open PulseAudio Preferences, enable "Make discoverable sound devices available over the network", and optionally allow RTP streaming without authentication.

Project address: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/PulseAudio/