Master Ubuntu 20.04: Essential Setup, Optimization, and Must‑Have Tools

Introduction

The author shares a personal Ubuntu 20.04 installation manual, collected from using Ubuntu 16.04 onward, aiming to make the system more convenient and efficient.

Root User Password

Open a terminal and run sudo passwd root.

Enter the current user password, then the new root password twice.

Password‑less sudo

To avoid entering a password for every sudo command, edit the sudoers file: sudo visudo Replace the line %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL with %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL Save and exit; subsequent sudo calls will not prompt for a password.

Install apt‑fast

apt‑fast is a shell‑script wrapper for apt‑get and aptitude that uses aria2c for parallel downloads, dramatically reducing package download time.

Installation commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:apt-fast/stable</code>
<code>sudo apt-get update</code>
<code>sudo apt-get -y install apt-fast

After installation, replace apt-get with apt-fast in your commands.

Change Software Sources

Open the “Software Updater”, stop the automatic check, then go to Settings → Ubuntu Software → Download from → Other Server, and click “Select Best Server” to let the system choose a faster mirror.

Update Packages

sudo apt update</code>
<code>sudo apt upgrade

Install Google Chrome

Download the Chrome .deb package and install it with:

sudo dpkg -i chrome_package.deb

Chinese Input Method

Since Sogou Input is not yet supported on Ubuntu 20.04, use the built‑in IBUS intelligent pinyin method: Settings → Region & Language → Input Sources → “+” → Chinese → Intelligent Pinyin.

Install uTools

uTools is a minimal, plugin‑based, cross‑platform desktop utility. Download the installer from the provided link.

Install proxychains4

Install: sudo apt install proxychains4 Edit configuration: sudo vim /etc/proxychains4.conf Use by prefixing commands, e.g., proxychains4 curl ip.gs.

Install Zsh, Vim, and Git

sudo apt install zsh vim git

Install oh‑my‑zsh

After installing Zsh, run:

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

If using the “agnoster” theme, also install Powerline fonts:

sudo apt install fonts-powerline

Vim Configuration (spf13‑vim)

curl http://j.mp/spf13-vim3 -L -o - | sh

Git Log Alias

Fix Chinese garbled output: git config --global core.quotepath false Beautify git log with:

git config --global alias.lg "log --color --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr) %C(bold blue)<%an>%Creset' --abbrev-commit"

Run git lg to see the enhanced log.

Install aria2

sudo apt-get install aria2

Configuration reference: fsaimon/aria2.conf on GitHub.

Gnome Shell Extensions

Install the “GNOME Shell integration” Chrome extension, then install the host connector: sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell Visit the GNOME Extensions website to enable extensions such as “Dash to Dock”, “User Themes”, “Coverflow Alt‑Tab”, “TopIcons Plus”, etc.

Alias Shortcuts

Define shortcuts in ~/.zshrc: alias ${alias_name}="${command}" Example: alias tohexo="cd ~/Documents/Coding/Web/Hexo" Activate with source ~/.zshrc.

Create Soft Links

Link an executable to /usr/bin so it can be run from anywhere:

sudo ln -s ${file_path}/${file_name} /usr/bin/${new_command}

Replace ${file_path}, ${file_name}, and ${new_command} accordingly.

Add Desktop Entry for Applications

For apps without a .desktop file (e.g., VNote), create one in ~/.local/share/applications/:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Version=1.0
Name=VNote
GenericName=Markdown Note
Comment=Note‑taking application for pleasant Markdown
Icon=/opt/vnote/vnote.png
Terminal=false
Exec=/opt/vnote/AppRun %F
MimeType=text/markdown;
Categories=Qt;Utility;TextEditor;Office;
StartupNotify=false
StartupWMClass=vnote

Restart the session if necessary.

Additional Useful Software

The guide also lists installation commands for a variety of useful tools, including:

Motrix (download manager):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:motrix/stable && sudo apt update && sudo apt install motrix

Flameshot (screenshot tool): sudo apt-get install flameshot Peek (screen recorder):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peek-developers/stable && sudo apt update && sudo apt install peek

VLC, XMind ZEN, WPS Office, BaiduPCS‑Go, Typora, VNote, Telegram, WeChat/Tim via deepin‑wine, Sublime Text, OpenJDK‑8, Maven, Docker (use docker.io on 20.04), MySQL client and server (Docker example), Remmina (remote desktop), etc.

Conclusion

The article compiles a comprehensive set of Ubuntu 20.04 post‑installation optimizations, command‑line tweaks, and a curated software collection to streamline daily development and productivity.