The biggest Windows habit to unlearn is hunting the internet for setup files. Linux Lite already carries your daily software, and its Lite Software tool installs the famous names in one click. Here is the map — including the apps that honestly will not come with you.
Ask a new Linux user their biggest fear and it is rarely the desktop — it is software. Will the browser work, will documents open, where does Zoom come from? The answers on Lite are calmer than expected — most of it is preinstalled, the rest is one curated click away, and the small group that truly cannot move is better named honestly than discovered painfully.
👆 Example of the Lite Software list — popular apps, one click each, no hunting for setup files.
Before installing anything, look at what Lite already gave you. Firefox browses the web, LibreOffice opens and edits Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, VLC plays essentially every audio and video format, and Thunderbird handles email. For a large share of home and office users, the honest truth is that day one needs nothing extra. Spend a day with the built-ins before assuming you need the Windows names.
When you do want a specific app — Chrome because your passwords live there, Zoom for office calls, Spotify for music — open Lite Software first. It is a curated one-click installer for the most-requested programs, each prepared to install correctly on Lite.
Removing an app later is the same screen in reverse. This is also the safe way — these packages are tested for Lite, unlike random setup files from download sites.
For the thousands of other Linux programs, use the Software Manager — search, read the description, install. Nearly everything there is free and open source. Some companies — Google, Microsoft for Teams or VS Code — publish a .deb file on their own official site; downloading that file and double-clicking it installs through the package tool. Two rules keep you safe — only take .deb files from the software maker's own website, and never run terminal commands copied from a random forum post just to install an app.
Some software has no Linux version and no equal substitute, and pretending otherwise wastes your evening. Microsoft Office desktop apps do not install on Linux — LibreOffice covers most documents, and Office on the web covers most of the rest, but heavy Excel macros and some formatting will not survive. Adobe Photoshop and Premiere do not run — GIMP and Kdenlive are capable, but they are different tools with a learning curve. Many Windows-only office programs — specific accounting or device software — are the same story. If one of these is your daily bread, that PC should dual boot or stay on Windows. That is not a defeat; it is choosing the right tool per machine.
Watch the complete Linux Lite setup and the bundled software tour in the video.
▶️ Watch Full VideoYes. LibreOffice opens .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files and saves back into those formats, so you can exchange files with Windows users. Simple and medium documents survive the round trip cleanly. Very complex documents — heavy Excel macros, unusual fonts, intricate layouts — can shift slightly, so check important files after the first open.
Chrome installs in one click from Lite Software, and Chromium — its open source sibling — is in the Software Manager. Your Google account sync works the same as on Windows. Firefox is simply the preinstalled default, not a restriction.
In order of reliability — use the web version if the maker offers one, switch to a Linux alternative if the work allows it, or keep that one job on a Windows PC or dual boot. Wine is a fourth option that works well for some programs and badly for others; treat it as an experiment, not a plan.