4 Essential Open‑Source Services to Run on Your Linux Server

Samba

Samba is a free software suite that implements the SMB/CIFS protocol, allowing UNIX‑like systems to interoperate with Microsoft Windows for file sharing. In KDE Plasma you can enable sharing by right‑clicking a folder, opening Properties, selecting the Sharing tab, and checking “Share with Samba (Microsoft Windows)”. Once configured, the shared folder becomes accessible to any device on the same Wi‑Fi network via its IP address or hostname.

Project site: http://samba.org/

Snapdrop

Snapdrop is an open‑source web service that enables instant file transfer between devices on the same local network using WebRTC for peer‑to‑peer communication. It runs entirely in the browser, does not store data on a server, and works on both computers and mobile devices (except IE and Safari). After opening the Snapdrop page on two devices, they discover each other and can exchange files or chat messages directly, with all data staying local.

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

VLC

VLC is a free, open‑source, cross‑platform multimedia player and framework that supports virtually every audio/video format, DVDs, audio CDs, VCDs, and a wide range of streaming protocols. By connecting a large media drive to a computer, VLC can serve media files over HTTP, allowing playback on TVs, game consoles, or phones without needing a dedicated streaming service.

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

PulseAudio

PulseAudio provides advanced audio handling on Linux, including automatic discovery of network audio streams. It lets you play podcasts or conference recordings on a workstation and listen on a mobile device via the network. To enable network audio, install the paprefs package, open PulseAudio Preferences, enable "Make discoverable" for local sound devices, and allow network access without authentication.

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