Configure a Fresh Ubuntu VM for Development: Tools, Sources, and Essentials

1. Open the Terminal

After a fresh Ubuntu installation the Terminal may not be pinned. Locate it via the nine‑dot icon on the dock or by searching “terminal”, then drag the icon to the dock to keep it accessible.

2. Install VMware Tools

VMware Tools provides clipboard sharing, mouse integration and other conveniences between the host and the guest.

From the VM menu select Install VMware Tools and confirm any prompts.

Mount point appears under /media/…/VMware Tools. Copy the archive to the current directory:

Extract the archive:

Enter the extracted directory and run the installer:

Optionally remove the archive after installation.

Reboot the VM so that features such as clipboard sharing become active:

3. Switch APT sources to a domestic mirror

Default Ubuntu mirrors are located overseas and can be slow. Replacing them with a Chinese mirror (e.g., Tsinghua) that matches the Ubuntu release improves download speed.

Backup the current source list:

Open the mirror page (e.g., https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/help/ubuntu/) and copy the entries that correspond to your Ubuntu version (e.g., 18.04).

Edit /etc/apt/sources.list with root privileges and replace each http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu line with the mirror URL, for example:

Update the package index:

Upgrade existing packages (optional but recommended):

4. Install common development tools

After the system is up‑to‑date, install a minimal set of tools that are frequently required for software development.

vim – full‑featured editor (replaces the minimal vi): sudo apt-get install vim git – distributed version control, and optionally Subversion:

sudo apt-get install git
sudo apt-get install subversion

gcc and g++ – GNU C and C++ compilers:

sudo apt-get install gcc
sudo apt-get install g++

These commands install the latest versions available from the configured mirror. After completing the steps the Ubuntu VM is ready for typical development tasks.