Linux users have more text editors, IDEs, and command-line tools than a programmer can shake a stick at. If you're looking for a good programming text editor, we recommend Kate. It's super easy to get started with, but is quite powerful and has lots of great plugins to beef it up.

Note: Moreso than other categories, this is an area in which everyone has different needs, and it's hard to pick a "best". We wanted to focus on text editors rather than full IDEs and command line tools here, but we'll discuss all your options in the competition section below.

Kate

Platform: Linux
Price: Free
Download Page

• Syntax highlighting support for more than 180 languages with bracket matching (to make sure you don't forget to close anything)
• Code folding/collapsing
• On-the-fly spell checking
• Show multiple documents at once with window splitting
• Session support
• Bookmarking system with scroll bar marks
• Code autocompletion with argument hints
• Vi input mode (for your vim junkies out there)
• Search & replace for multiple opened files or files on the disk
• Version control
• Extensible through plugins and scripting

Kate hits the sweet spot in terms of features (high), learning curve (low), and price (free). You can use it as a simple text editor with syntax highlighting or, between all its features and plugins, make it do almost anything a full IDE could do. It's the perfect editor for those just getting into the world of programming, as you'll quickly discover all the awesome features an advanced editor has to offer without feeling overwhelmed and confused.

The biggest downside with Kate is that, as a KDE application, it's not going to integrate well with a GNOME system. It's also going to seriously eat away at your system resources if it isn't running in its native KDE environment, but we'd argue it's well worth it—editors like gedit just don't match up in terms of programming features. That said, if you're a bit more experienced, you may also find a full IDE to be more up your alley, in which case you can try one of the alternatives below.

There are more programming tools for Linux that we could possibly name here, but here are some of the most popular.

Eclipse is, unlike Kate, a full integrated development environment, which means it can do things like compile code. If you need something beyond a "programming text editor", Eclipse is one of the most popular IDEs, and probably a good place to start. It has a steeper learning curve, so you may need to do a little reading before you get started.

Vim is undoubtedly one of the most popular editors, with a very fervent fanbase—and with good reason. While it easily has the steepest learning curve of the editors presented here, it also has the potential to make you insanely fast. Vim is a command-line editor that's completely keyboard-based, and once you learn your way around, it's blazing fast—plus you can use it in any OS, on any desktop environment, and it won't take up a lot of system resources. If you really want to get serious about editing your code, you should take a look at Vim. You can also find it in GUI flavors if you don't want to do all your editing in the command line.

Emacs is similar to Vim in the sense that it's very shortcut based. It's also available as a command-line editor, though you can grab GUI versions as well. Emacs' biggest strength is its large library of extensions that can do just about anything, from browsing the filesystem to reading RSS feeds. It's learning curve is steep, but not quite as steep as Vim's. That said, it's also not quite as fast either—you may want to try both and see which you like better.

Lastly, if all you need is some very basic syntax highlighting and simple coding features, the trusty gedit is a good text editor to use. It's incredibly simple to use, comes with most GNOME-based distros, and even has some handy plugins to beef it up. It's not nearly as powerful as the other editors mentioned here, but it'll get the job done in a pinch if all you're editing is a quick config file or other piece of code.

Like we said before, there are a ton of editors out there, and we've barely scratched the surface here. Many of you likely have your own favorites, so if we didn't mention yours, be sure to share it with us in the comments below.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

FTP is a great way to transfer files to the cloud, and you have some pretty good choices of FTP clients on Linux. However, our favorite is the powerful, cross-platform FilezZilla.

FileZilla

Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux
Price: Free
Download Page

• A highly configurable interface that supports drag-and-drop for easy file transfer
• Supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SFTP protocols
• Supports resume and transfer of large files over 4GB
• Tabs for opening multiple connections
• Simple bookmarking system for oft-used servers
• Configurable transfer speed limits
• Advanced search feature with filename filtering
• Directory comparison and sync
• A network configuration wizard
• Remote file editing
• Many more advanced features

FileZilla has just about any configuration option you can imagine. If you have to use FTP a lot, FileZilla will let you transfer your files in any way you see fit, as well as search through large servers to find just the file you're looking for. If you know what you're doing, you can even tweak a lot of the more advanced options to optimize the speed of your transfers. At the same time, it's pretty simple to use, at least for how powerful it is. It can be a bit intimidating at first to new users, but with a few clicks of the mouse, one can pare down the interface to something more manageable. If you need more than just the occasional file upload or download, FileZilla is a winner.

Like we said, FileZilla can be a bit intimidating for beginners, especially if you have to root around the preferences. If you only need basic FTP functions, you'd probably be happier with something simpler like gftp, or one of the FTP-enabled desktop file browsers. Also, FileZilla's interface, while configurable, isn't exactly the prettiest (okay, it's ugly as sin), and seems unnecessarily cluttered. It's not a huge issue, but again, if you don't need its advanced features, there's no reason to trudge through its interface when you have other choices.

If FileZilla isn't for you, the next client I'd actually recommend aren't standalone FTP clients at all—but desktop file managers, like Nautilus for GNOME and Konqueror for KDE. Both have some pretty solid FTP features built-in, and provide desktop integration that make dealing with FTP super easy. You deal with them almost exactly like you would with any other file on your computer; you can view them with your default programs, copy them anywhere, and so on. If you aren't a super heavy FTP user, this is a pretty awesome way to get those few files transferred.

If you want a dedicated FTP client but FileZilla is just a bit too much, you might like gtfp. It hasn't really had an update since 2008, but it works, and it's very, very simple to use. I still think the desktop integration of Nautilus and Konqueror makes them better for most users, but if you aren't using either of them as your file browser (say, on a low-powered LXDE system), gftp will get the job done.

FireFTP is actually not a separate program, but instead, a Firefox extension. It isn't quite as powerful as the others, but if you just want simple file uploading and downloading through the FTP protocol, it's a really convenient way to do it. Plus, it doesn't require installing another program onto your machine, which is pretty nice.

And, since we know some of you are crazy about the command line, you might also check out LFTP. It has a pretty long list of advanced features, so if you're in a situation where you don't have a GUI to work with—or if you just really really like the command line—it'll certainly do a good job.

There are other FTP clients out there, but chances are you'll be more than happy with one of the above. If you've got a favorite on the list (or even one that's not on the list), let us know why you love it in the comments.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

While most Linux veterans would tell you the command line is all you need to archive a bunch of files, we're fond of PeaZip for its feature-filled, easy-to-use (if sometimes glitchy) interface.

PeaZip

Platform: Windows/Linux
Price: Free
Download Page

• Supports packing of 7z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, *PAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ, TAR, UPX, WIM, XZ, ZIP, and unpacking of over 130 different archive types.
• Includes its very own security-oriented PEA format
• AES-256 encryptoin support for 7z, ZIP, and PEA formats
• Integration with GNOME and KDE desktops (though integrating it with GNOME takes a bit of manual work)
• Command-line version also available

PeaZip aims to be an advanced archive manager that's also easy to use, and it does this extremely well. Not only does it support a ton of different file formats and security features (like encryption and integrity checks), but it has a very straightforward GUI that even beginners should find self-explanatory. Its interface is also very configurable, and if you head into the preferences, you have a lot of choices in how you want to use the program.

PeaZip's interface, while beginner-friendly, isn't exactly pretty. In an effort to make an interface that is desktop independent, they've made an interface that looks a bit out of place on every desktop. You also may find tiny graphical glitches throughout the program—nothing serious that hinders your usage of the program, but just looks a little weird. The graphical progress bar is also notorious for being inaccurate (even moreso than normal progress bars), so if you need accurate, up-to-date information on how a file compression is coming along, PeaZip isn't for you (or at least, the GUI isn't—it's command line progress bar is more accurate). Lastly, its desktop integration on GNOME requires moving a few files around before it works correctly, which is a tad annoying (and not something one should expect a beginner to do).

Most of the other graphical archive tools for Linux are fairly similar. You have File Roller, the default archive utility on GNOME; Ark, the default archive utility on KDE; and Xarchiver, a simple, desktop-independent archive utility. All of them are fairly basic, support the most popular file types, and support the creation of archives, though none really support advanced features like encryption. Still, for many people, they're more than sufficient, and their integration with the desktop (especially in the case of Ark) are great, not to mention they won't look as out of place as PeaZip. If you don't need the advanced features PeaZip offers, you can probably just stick with your desktop environment's default.

If you want advanced features but don't like PeaZip's GUI, your next step is hitting the command line. p7zip is one of our favorites, being based off the powerful 7-Zip for Windows, though you could always just use the powerful, built-in tar command as well.

Got another archive utility, whether GUI or command line, that you really like? Let us know about it in the comments.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

Linux is rife with awesome file browsers, so if you don't like the one that came with your distro, you have a lot of choices. Our favorite is the insanely feature-filled Krusader for KDE.

The file browser category is a bit different for Linux than it is for other systems. While every distro and desktop environment has a "default" file browser, using the term "alternative file browsers" is difficult. Really, you just have a lot of file browsers to choose from, and everyone can end up with a different "default". Our favorite is Krusader, which is truly "alternative" in the sense that very few distros use it as their default, but what's best for you can vary so much by what you need and what desktop environment you use, that we highly recommend looking through the Competition section below and deciding for yourself. That said, if it's raw power you want, Krusader is your man. Here's why.

Krusader

Platform: Linux
Price: Free
Download Page

• Tabbed, two-pane "Commander" interface (Like Total Commander for Windows)
• An insane amount of customizable keyboard shortcuts
• An internal file viewer and editor for quick previews and edits
• Extensive support for archives and mounted file systems
• Transfer files with FTP and SFTP
• Synchronize two directories with one another
• Compare the contents of two files against one another
• Powerful batch renaming
• A built-in terminal emulator that opens in your current folder
• Very powerful search features
• Lots, lots more

• 

  Krusader excels...everywhere. This file browser has more features than you can shake a stick at, with a great two-pane interface to house them all. You have everything you could want here: tabbed browsing, support for tons of different archive types, file previews and even a small file editor. When it comes to advanced features, you can compare files, synchronize folders, batch rename a ton of files, and even upload to an FTP server. Head into the settings and, like other KDE apps, you'll find settings galore, including a list of customizable keyboard shortcuts as long as my arm. If you're having trouble finding a file browser with enough features, Krusader is the most likely to make you happy.

  

  Krusader's interface contains everything you could need...and then some. At times, it can feel really cluttered. You can customize the toolbar at the top to your needs, which helps a little, but it's just an unfortunate fact of life that with many features comes many buttons. As such, it can be pretty intimidating to beginners, not to mention annoying for those that just want something a bit simpler. Of course, if you want something simple, you have a lot of other choices (listed below)—for what it is, Krusader is pretty damn great.

  In addition, Krusader's biggest downside is that it's built for the KDE desktop environment. If you use KDE, this isn't a problem—in fact, it's really awesome, since it integrates with KDE so well. If you're using something else, though, not only will it require KDE dependencies galore and take up more resources, it will have trouble with a lot of its integration features, like the built-in terminal. You could probably get most of it working with your desktop environment of choice, but it would take a little bit more work, and it'll definitely look a bit out of place.

  

  Our second favorite is another KDE app: Dolphin, the default file browser on most KDE distros. If you're looking for slightly less feature-filled, but much more usable file browser, Dolphin is a good place to go. Like Krusader, Dolphin has a very configurable interface with lots of features, though it's a tad more "traditional" than Krusader (though you can still configure it to have the basic two-pane interface). You won't find some of its crazier features, like a built-in terminal, but it's a very solid file manager nonetheless. If Krusader is a bit overkill, Dolphin is certainly your next best choice, especially if you use KDE.

  For non-KDE users, you still have quite a few choices—just not many that are quite as feature-packed. Nautilus is the default file manager in many GNOME distributions, and while it gets a lot of flak, we've always found it to be a more then adequate file manager. Its interface is simple, but it isn't feature starved: you can choose from a few different views, open folders in new tabs, attach notes and emblems to your files and folders, connect to FTP, WebDAV, and SSH servers, and lots more. It also integrates very nicely with the GNOME desktop and its apps, like Dropbox. If you don't love Nautilus, you might try the simpler Nautilus Elementary.

  Thunar and PCManFM are the defaults for XFCE and LXDE, respectively, and thus are very simple and fast. Thunar is a tad more configurable than PCManFM, but PCManFM is a bit more beginner-friendly, especially out of the box. Both are great choices if you're looking for something lightweight, simple, and easy to use, without all the extra bloat and clutter.

  GNOME users looking for a Krusader-like interface can try GNOME Commander, though it's possibly even uglier than running a KDE app in GNOME. Midnight Commander is another popular, but unorthodox choice, putting that two-pane file browser inside a terminal. It's graphical, but you navigate it completely with keyboard shortcuts. And, lastly, if you want something that has a great balance between advanced, feature-filled file browsing and speed, the descriptively-named 4Pane is a good four pane file browser for just any desktop environment.

  And that's all just scratching the surface. If you have a favorite we didn't mention, or just want to share which one is your favorite and why, head to the comments below.