Kamis, 30 Oktober 2025

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]

Halloween is here. Some people carve pumpkins, I crafted a special set up for my Arch Linux 🎃

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In this tutorial, I'll share with you all the steps I took to give a Halloween-inspired dark, spooky makeover with Hyprland. Since it is Hyprland, you can relatively easily replicate the setup by getting the dot files from our GitHub repository.

🚧
This specific setup was done with Hyprland window compositor on top of Arch Linux. If you are not using Hyprland and still want to try it, I advise installing Arch Linux in a virtual machine.

If videos are your thing, you can watch all the steps in action in this video on our YouTube channel.

Step 1: Install Hyprland and necessary packages

First, install all the essential Hyprland packages to get the system up and running:

sudo pacman -S hyprland xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland hyprpolkitagent kitty

The above will install Hyprland and necessary packages. Now, install other utility packages.

sudo pacman -S hyprpaper hyprpicker hyprlock waybar wofi dunst fastfetch bat eza starship nautilus

What do these packages do? Well, here are some info:

  • hyprpaper: Hyprland Wallpaper utility
  • hyprpicker: Color picker
  • hyprlock: Lock screen utility
  • waybar: Waybar is a Wayland panel
  • wofi: Rofi launcher alternative, but for Wayland. Rofi can be used. In fact, we have some preset config for Rofi in our GitHub repository. But Wofi was selected for this video.
  • dunst: Notification daemon.
  • fastfetch: fastfetch is a system information display utility.
  • bat: Modern alternative for cat command.
  • eza: Modern ls command alternative
  • starship: Starship is a prompt customization tool.
  • nautilus: Nautilus is the file manager from GNOME.

Step 2: Install and enable display manager

You need a display manager to login to the system. We use SDDM display manager. GDM also works fine with Hyprland.

sudo pacman -S sddm

Once SDDM package is installed, enable the display manager on boot time.

sudo systemctl enable sddm.service
Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Enable SDDM


Now, reboot the system. When login prompt appears, login to the system.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Login to Hyprland

Step 3: Install other utility packages

Once essential Hyprland packages are installed and you are logged in, open a terminal in Hyprland using Super + Q. Now install Firefox browser using:

sudo pacman -S firefox

It's time to install theme packages. Hyprland is not a desktop environment in the sense of what GNOME or KDE is. Yet you may still use some apps developed for GNOME (GTK apps) or Qt apps.

To theme, you need to install theme managers for respective system:

  • nwg-look: To apply theme to GTK apps.
  • qt5ct: To apply theme to Qt5 apps.

Install these packages using the command:

sudo pacman -S qt5ct nwg-look
🚧
If you are using a minimal installation of Arch Linux, you may need to install an editor like nano to edit file in terminal.

Step 4: Change the monitor settings

In most cases, Hyprland should recognize the monitor and load accordingly. But in case you are running it in a VM, it will not set the display size properly.

Even though we give full configuration at a later stage, if you want to fix the monitor, use the command:

monitor=<Monitor-name>,1920x1080,auto,auto
Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Monitor settings

It is important to get the name of the monitor. Use this command:

hyprctl monitors

Remember the name of your monitor.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Get monitor name

Step 5: Download our custom Hyprland dot files

Go to It's FOSS GitHub page and download the text-script-files repository.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Download config files

You can also clone the repo, if you want using the command:

git clone https://github.com/itsfoss/text-script-files.git

But the above needs git installed.

If you have downloaded the zip file, extract the archive file. Inside that, you will find a directory config/halloween-hyprland. This is what we need in this article.

Step 6: Copy wallpaper to directory

Copy the images in the wallpapers folder to a directory called ~/Pictures/Wallpapers. Create it if it does not exist, of course.

mkdir -p ~/Pictures/Wallpapers
Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Copy wallpapers

Step 7: Download GTK theme, icons and fonts

Download the Everforest GTK theme dark borderless macOS buttons.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Download GTK theme

Download Dominus Funeral icon theme dark style.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Download Icon theme

Download the "Creepster" font from Google Fonts website.

Next, create ~/.themes, ~/.icons, and ~/.fonts respectively:

mkdir -p ~/.themes ~/.icons ~/.fonts

And we need to paste theme, icon, and font files in their respective locations:

  • Extract the "Creepster" font file and place it at ~/.fonts.
  • Extract the theme file and paste it at ~/.themes.
  • Extract the icon file and paste it at ~/.icons
Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Paste thems, icons, and fonts

Step 8: Install other nerd fonts

Install Nerd fonts like:

If you are in Arch Linux, open a terminal and run the command:

sudo pacman -S ttf-firacode-nerd ttf-cascadia-code-nerd ttf-cascadia-mono-nerd woff2-font-awesome ttf-jetbrains-mono

Step 9: Verify Waybar and Hyprland config

Open the config.jsonc file on the downloaded directory and replace any occurrence of Virtual-1 with your monitor name.

For GNOME Box VM, it is Virtual-1. On my main system, I have two monitors connected. So, the names for my monitors are HDMI-A-1 and HDMI-A-2. Note the name of the monitors as we saw in Step 4:

hyprctl monitors

Now in the Waybar config, change the monitor name from Virtual-1 to the name of your monitor. Change all such occurrences.

📋
You can use any editor's find and replace feature. Find complete word Virtual-1 and replace it with your monitor name. If you are using nano, follow this guide to learn search and replace in nano editor.

Also, take a look at the panel item. If you see any item that is not needed in the panel, you can remove it from the [modules-<position>] part.

👉 Similarly, open the hyprland config in the downloaded directory. Change all reference to Virtual-1 to your monitor name. Similarly, replace monitor name in the hyprlock and hyprpaper config files.

Step 10: Copy and paste config files

Copy the following directories (in the downloaded GitHub files) and paste it to the ~/.config folder.

  • waybar: Waybar panel configs and styles.
  • wofi: Application launcher config
  • dunst: Customized dunst notification system.
  • starship.toml: Customized starship prompt.

If you are using a GUI file manager, copy all file/folders except hypr, wallpaper, and README.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Copy except hypr and wallpaper

Step 11: Replace Hyprland config

We did not copy hypr folder, because there is already a folder called hypr in every Hyprland system, which contains the minimal config.

I don't want to make it vanish. Instead, keep it as a backup.

cp ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf.bak

Now, exchange the content of the hyprland.conf in your system with the customized content. Luckily, the mv command has a convenient option called -exchange.

mv --exchange ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf /path/to/new/hyprland/config
🚧
What the above command does is swap the contents of your default hyprland config with the one we created.
Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Backup and replace Hyprland config

Step 12: Paste hyprlock and hyprpaper configs

Now, copy the hyprlock.conf and hyprpaper.conf file to ~/.config/hypr directory.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Copy hyprlock and hyprpaper config files

Step 13: Change themes

Open the NWG-Look app and set the GTK theme and font (Creepster font) for GTK apps:

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Set GTK Theme and font

Now, change icon theme:

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Set icon theme for GTK apps

This app automatically adds necessary file links in the ~/.config/gtk-4.0. Thanks to this feature, you don't need to apply theme manually to the GTK4 apps.

Open the Qt5ct app and change the theme to darker.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Apply Qt Darker theme

Now, apply icon theme:

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Qt icon theme

And change the normal font to "Creepster":

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Qt font style

Step 14: Set Starship and aliases

First, paste some cool command aliases for the normal ls and cat command, using the modern alternatives eza and bat respectively. This is optional, of course.

Open ~/.bashrc in any editor and paste these lines at the bottom of this file:

alias ls='eza -lG --color always --icons'
alias la='eza -alG --color always --icons'
alias cat='bat --color always --theme="Dracula"'

Now, to enable Starship prompt, paste the starship eval line to the ~/.bashrc and source the config.

Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Edit bashrc
eval "$(starship init bash)"

source ~/.bashrc
Here's How You Can Customize Linux Desktop for Halloween [Dot Files Included]
Customized starship prompt

Once all this is done, restart the system, and log back in to see the Halloween themed Hyprland.

Hyprland Halloween Makeover

Enjoy the spooky Hyprland set up. Happy Halloween 🎃



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Rabu, 29 Oktober 2025

FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

It's Halloween so time to talk spooky stuff 👻

If solving Linux mysteries sounds thrilling, SadServers will be your new haunted playground. I came across this online platform that gives you real, misconfigured servers to fix and real-world inspired situations to deal with. This is perfect for sharpening your troubleshooting skills, specially in the Halloween season 🎃

What LeetCode? I Found This Platform to Practice Linux Troubleshooting Skills
Move over theory and practice your Linux and DevOps skills by solving various challenges on this innovative platform. A good way to prepare for job interviews.
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

💬 Let's see what else you get in this edition:

  • A new KDE Plasma and Fedora 43 release.
  • An Austrian ministry kicking out Microsoft.
  • Ubuntu 25.10 users encountering another bug.
  • App that gives you Pomodoro with task management.
  • And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!
  • This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by Proton Mail.
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

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📰 Linux and Open Source News

Fedora 43 is Out with Wayland-Only Desktop, GNOME 49, and Linux 6.17
RPM 6.0 security upgrades, X11 removal from Workstation, and many other changes.
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

🧠 What We’re Thinking About

Austria's BMWET has moved away from Microsoft in a well-organized migration to Nextcloud.

Good News! Austrian Ministry Kicks Out Microsoft in Favor of Nextcloud
The BMWET migrates 1,200 employees to sovereign cloud in just four months.
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials, and Learnings

Ghostty is loaded with functionality; join me as I explore some of them.

Forks happen when freedom matters more than control.

Community Strikes Back: 12 Open Source Projects Born from Resistance
From BSL license changes to abandoned codebases, see how the open source community struck back with powerful forks and fresh alternatives.
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

Don't forget to utilize templates feature in LibreOffice and save some time.

Comparing two of the best open source but mainstream password managers.

Bitwarden vs. Proton Pass: What’s The Best Password Manager?
What is your favorite open-source password manager?
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

👷 AI, Homelab and Hardware Corner

Discover what’s next for tinkerers in the post-Qualcomm world.

Arduino Alternative Microcontroller Boards for Your DIY Projects in the Post-Qualcomm Era
If Arduino being acquired puts a bad taste in your mouth, or even if you just want to explore what the alternatives offer, this article is for you.
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

TerraMaster has launched two flagship-class hybrid NAS devices that pack a punch.

🛍️ Deals You Should Not Miss

The 16-book library also includes just-released editions of The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook 2026, Book of Making 2026, and much more! Whether you’re just getting into coding or want to deepen your knowledge about something more specific, this pay-what-you-want bundle has everything you need. And you support Raspberry Pi Foundation North America with your purchase!

Humble Tech Book Bundle: All Things Raspberry Pi by Raspberry Pi Press
Learn the ins and outs of computer coding with this library from Raspberry Pi! Pay what you want and support the charity of your choice!
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

✨ Project Highlights

An in-depth look at a super cool Pomodoro app for Linux.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Pomodoro combined with task management and website blocking. This is an excellent tool for productivity seekers but there are some quirks worth noticing.
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

📽️ Videos I Am Creating for You

Giving a dark, menacing but fun Halloween makeover to my Arch Linux system.

Linux is the most used operating system in the world. but on servers. Linux on desktop is often ignored. That's why It's FOSS made it a mission to write helpful tutorials and guides to help use Linux on their personal computer.

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If you believe in our work, please support us by getting a Plus membership. It costs just $3 a month or $99 for a lifetime subscription.

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💡 Quick Handy Tip

In GNOME desktop, you can use the ArcMenu extension for a heavily customizable panel app menu. For instance, you can get 20+ menu layouts by going to Menu → Menu Layout → Pick a layout of your choice.

FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

🎋 Fun in the FOSSverse

We have got a spooky crossword this time around. Can you identify all the FOSS ghosts?

Ghosts of Open Source [Halloween Special Crossword]
A spooky crossword challenge for true FOSS enthusiasts!
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

Actually, there is a whole bunch of Halloween themed puzzles and quizzes for you to enjoy 😄🎃

🤣 Meme of the Week: Yeah, my Windows partition feels left out.

FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

🗓️ Tech Trivia: On October 30, 2000, the last Multics system was shut down at the Canadian Department of National Defence in Halifax. Multics was a groundbreaking time-sharing operating system that inspired Unix and introduced ideas like hierarchical file systems, dynamic linking, and security rings that shaped modern computing.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 From the Community: Pro FOSSer Neville has shared a fascinating take on arithmetic.

Arithmetic and our Sharing Culture
We al learn to do division “If there are 6 cakes and 3 children, how many cakes does each child get” Division is about sharing But it does not always work “It there are 2 sharks and 8 people in a pool, how many people does each shark get?” Division can not answer that question. Because that example is not about sharing , it is about competition Whether division works depends on what are called the “Rules of Engagement” We all learnt to multiply “If 10 children each bring 2 apples, how m…
FOSS Weekly #25.44: KDE Plasma 6.5 and Fedora 43 Released, Ghostty Terminal, Nextcloud Over Microsoft and Productivity App for Linux

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Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity

There is no shortage of to-do apps in the Linux ecosystem, but few are designed to keep you focused while you work. Koncentro takes a direct approach by bundling a versatile task list, a Pomodoro-style timer, and a configurable website blocker into one tidy solution.

What is Koncentro exactly?

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity

Koncentro is a free, open-source productivity tool, inspired by the likes of Super Productivity and Chomper. The project is actively developed by Bishwa Saha (kun-codes), with source code, issue tracking, and discussions hosted on GitHub. Built with a sleek Qt 6 interface echoing Microsoft’s Fluent Design language, this app pairs modern aesthetics with solid functionality.

The latest release, version 1.1.0, arrived earlier this month with new features and quality-of-life improvements, including sub-tasks and a system-tray option.

That said, it's not without quirks, and first-time users may hit a few bumps along the way. However, once you get past the initial hurdles and multistep setup, it becomes a handy companion for getting things done while blocking out common distractions.

In this review, we examine what sets Koncentro apart from the to-do crowd and help you determine whether it is the right fit for your workflow.

Bringing Koncentro’s methods into focus

It is rare to find an app that gives you everything you need in one go without becoming overstuffed or cumbersome to use. Koncentro strikes a solid balance, offering more than to-do apps that stop at lists and due dates without veering into overwhelm.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
The pomodoro timer in Koncentro during a focus period

It combines the Pomodoro technique with timeblocking, emphasizing an economical approach where time is the primary unit of work. As such, it caters to an audience that aims to structure the day rather than the week.

In fact, there is no option to add tasks with specific dates — only times. This omission is not a limitation so much as a design choice. It fits the Pomodoro philosophy of tackling work in short, focused intervals, encouraging you to act now rather than plan for later. It makes Koncentro perfect for day-to-day activities, but you may need to find another solution if you're looking for long-term task tracking.

Backing up this standard functionality is a snazzy website blocker to help you stave off distractions while you get down to work.

The hands-on experience

In my experience, Koncentro proved to be quite pleasant to use, as someone who relies on similar apps in my daily life. In this section, I'll focus on the overall experience of using the app from a fresh install onward.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Using Koncentro
📋
While Koncentro features a distinct Pomodoro timer, I will not discuss this feature in depth in this section.

First run

On the first run, Koncentro will guide you through setting up its website blocking feature; the app's core function outside simple task management. In order for this to work, the system must temporarily disconnect from the internet, since the app must set up a proxy to facilitate website blocking. All filtering happens locally; no browsing data is sent anywhere outside your machine. I'll explain how this works when we get to the website blocker in detail.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
The first of two setup dialogs in Koncentro
🚧
Note: The proxy Koncentro relies on runs on port :8080, so it may conflict with other services using this port. Be sure to check for any conflicts before running the setup.
Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
The second setup dialog in Koncentro

Once you've managed to set it up (or managed to bypass this step), Koncentro will walk you through an introductory tutorial, showing how its primary features work. Once the tutorial is completed, you can rename or remove the default workspace and tasks.

🚧
Be aware that there is a known bug on X11, the tutorial traps focus and may not be able to exit until the app is restarted.

Straightforward task management

Koncentro follows a rather uncomplicated approach to task management. There are no tags, no due dates, and no folders. Also, tasks cannot overlap, since the timer for one task is automatically stopped if you start another. Furthermore, while tasks can have sub-tasks, parent tasks cannot be started on their own.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Adding a task in Koncentro

This approach may not be for everyone, but since the app is focused on streamlined productivity, it makes sense to arrange things in this way, as you're unlikely to lose track of any given tasks with strict rules around time management.

Tasks must be timeboxed upon creation, meaning you have to select a maximum time for each task to be accomplished within. This is set as the "estimated time" value. When you start the timer on any task, "elapsed time" is recorded and contrasted against the estimated time. This comes in pretty handy if you want to measure your performance against a benchmark or goal.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Editing the time for a task in Koncentro

Active and uncompleted tasks are grouped into "To Do Tasks", and finished tasks into "Completed Tasks", though this doesn't happen automatically. Since there are no folders or tags, task organization is accomplished by simply dragging tasks between these two sections.

Workspaces: a subtle power tool

One of the standout features of Koncentro is the way it uses workspaces to manage not just tasks, but overall settings. While this implementation is still clearly in its infancy, I see the potential for even more powerful functionality in the future.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Managing Workspaces in Koncentro

Currently, workspaces serve to group your tasks and are protected by an optional website blocker to keep your attention on the present goal.

📋
In order to access workspaces, you must first make sure to stop any timers on your tasks, and ensure that "Current Task:" says "None" in the bottom left of the window. If the workspace button is greyed out, clicking the stop button will fix this.

The website blocker in depth

Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of Koncentro is its website blocker. It's not something you find in most to-do list apps for Linux, yet its simplicity and versatility make it a truly standout addition. Plus, the fact that each workspace can have its own block list makes Koncentro especially useful for scoping your focus periods and break times.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
The website blocker in Koncentro

In terms of usage, it's mostly seamless once you've passed the initial setup process, which isn't too tedious, but certainly could be made smoother overall. Koncentro doesn't block any particular sites by default, so you'll need to manually add any sites you'd like to block to each workspace.

Note: Website blocking is only active when there is an active task. If all tasks are stopped, website blocking will not be activated.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Editing the blocklist in Koncentro

Koncentro relies on a Man In The Middle (MITM) proxy called mitmproxy to power this feature. Don't let the name throw you off: mitmproxy is a trusted open-source Python tool commonly used for network testing, repurposed here to handle local HTTPS interception for blocking rules. It's only activated when you're performing a task, and can be disabled altogether in Koncentro's settings.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
The mitmproxy home page

Part of the setup process involves installing its certificates if you wish to use the website blocker. You'll need to do this both for your system and for Firefox (if you're using Firefox as your browser), since Firefox does not use the system's certificates.

Example usage scenario

Let's say, for instance, you want to block all social media while you're working. You'd just need to add these sites to your "At-work space" (or whatever you'd like to call it) and get down to business.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Website blocking with Koncentro is simple and straightforward

Even if a friend sends you a YouTube video, you won't be distracted by thumbnails because that URL would be locked out for that time period. Once that stretch of work ends, you could switch to your "taking a break" workspace, where social media is allowed, and (if you like) all work-related URLs are blocked.

But does it really work?

That's the real question here, of course: whether this is actually effective in practice. Of course, if you're highly distractible, it might be just the thing to help you keep on track. However, if you're already quite disciplined in your work, it might not be particularly meaningful. It really depends on how you work as an individual, after all.

That said, I can definitely see a benefit for power users who know how to leverage the site blocker to prevent notifications in popular chat apps, which must still communicate with a central server to notify you.

Sure, you can use "Do not disturb" in desktop environments that support it, but this doesn't consistently disable sound or notifications (if the chat app in question uses non-native notifications, for instance).

A focus on aesthetics - Why it feels nice to use

The choice to use Microsoft's Fluent design language may seem strange to many Linux users, but in fairness, Koncentro is a cross-platform application, and Windows still maintains the dominant position in the market.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
The Fluent Design language home page in Microsoft Edge, which also uses this design language for its UI.

That being said, in many ways, it's similar enough in practical usage to the UI libraries and UX principles popular within the Linux ecosystem. It's close enough in functionality to apps built with Kirigami and Libadwaita that it doesn't seem too out of place among them.

Customization

Koncentro features a limited degree of customization options, following the "just enough" principle that seems to be the trend in modern design. It threads the delicate line between the user's freedom for customization and the developer's intentions for how their app should look and behave across platforms.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Koncentro using the "Light" theme

You get the standard light and dark modes, and the option to follow your system's preference. Using it on the Gnome desktop, it picked up my dark mode preference out of the box.

System Integration

Koncentro integrates well with the system tray support, using a standard app indicator with a simple menu.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
The Koncentro indicator menu in the Gnome Desktop on Ubuntu with Dash-To-Panel enabled

However, while you get the option to choose a theme colour, it doesn't give the option to follow your system's accent colour, unlike most modern Linux/open-source applications. It also does not feature rounded corners, which some users may find disappointing.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
Koncentro with a custom accent colour selected

The quirks that still hold it back

As mentioned earlier, Koncentro has a number of quirks that detract from the overall experience, though most of these are limited to its first-time run.

Mandatory website blocker setup

Perhaps the most unconventional choice, there's no way to start using Koncentro until its website blocker is set up. It will not allow you to use the app (even to disable the website blocker) in any way without first completing this step.

While you can "fake it" by clicking "setup completed" in the second pop-up dialog, it creates a false sense of urgency, which could be especially confusing for less experienced users. This is perhaps where Koncentro would be better served by offering a smoother initial setup experience.

No way to copy workspaces/settings

While you can have multiple workspaces with their own settings, you can't duplicate workspaces or even copy your blocklists between them.

This isn't a big deal if you're just using a couple of workspaces with simple block/allow lists, but if you're someone who wants to have a complex setup with shared lists on multiple workspaces, you'll need to add them to each workspace manually.

No penalty for time overruns

At this time, nothing happens when you go over time — no warnings, no sounds, no notifications. If you're trying to stay on task and run overtime, it would help to have some kind of "intervention" or warning.

Pomodoro With Super Powers: This Linux App Will Boost Your Productivity
No warning for a time overrun

I've gone ahead and made feature requests for possible solutions to these UX issues: export/import for lists, warnings or notifications for overruns, and copying workspace settings. These are all just small limitations in what is otherwise a remarkably cohesive early-stage project.

Installing Koncentro on Linux

Being that it's available on Flathub, Koncentro can be installed on all Linux distributions that support Flatpaks. You can grab it from there through your preferred software manager, or run this command in the terminal:

flatpak install flathub com.bishwasaha.Koncentro

Alternatively, you can also get official .deb or .rpm packages for your distro of choice (or source code for compiling it yourself) from the project's releases page.

Conclusion

All told, Koncentro is a promising productivity tool that offers a blend of simplicity, aesthetic appeal, and smooth functionality. It's a great tool for anyone who likes to blend time management with structure. For Linux users who value open-source productivity tools that respect privacy and focus, it’s a refreshing middle ground between the more minimal to-do lists and full-blown productivity suites. It’s still young, but it already shows how open-source can combine focus and flexibility without unnecessary noise.



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