JPNAS.NET / Digital Resources

Digital Resources – free and open-source tools

A curated collection of free and open-source software, references and links, grouped into sections. The interactive version lets you search across everything.

• 📚 Learning & Documentation

  Free courses, university lectures, manuals and references for learning Linux, programming, web development and databases.

  20 resources

• 🔒 Privacy & Security

  Free and open-source tools for passwords, encryption, and private communication.

  7 resources

• 💿 Operating Systems

  Free and open-source operating systems for desktop, mobile, and privacy, plus virtualization tools to try them safely.

  15 resources

• 🧰 System Utilities

  Free and open-source utilities for managing files, drives, and your computer. Syncthing for syncing folders between devices is in the Self-hosting section, backup and disk tools in Backup & Recovery.

  7 resources

• 📄 Office & Documents

  Free and open-source software for documents, notes, references, e-books, and PDFs.

  9 resources

• 🏛️ Architectural Design

  Free and open-source software for 2D drafting, 3D modeling, BIM, environmental analysis, and architectural visualization.

  9 resources

• 🗺️ GIS & Maps

  Free and open-source maps, GPS tools, and map data for navigation, planning, and outdoor adventures.

  8 resources

• 🏗️ Structural Analysis

  Free and open-source programs for statics, structural analysis and the finite element method (FEM), plus free references. For learning and checking – real structures must be designed by a licensed engineer. FreeCAD with its FEM Workbench and Bonsai for BIM are in the Architectural Design section.

  12 resources

• 🖼️ Image Manipulation

  Free and open-source image manipulation software, upscalers, and processing tools.

  10 resources

• 🔌 Web Connectivity & Deployment

  Free and open-source tools for connecting to web servers, transferring files, and testing APIs.

  5 resources

• 📡 Networking & Diagnostics

  Free and open-source tools to find out what is happening on a network: capture and read packets, scan devices, measure speed, follow the route of a connection and run your own router or firewall. See also my note Computer Networks.

  8 resources

• 🌐 Web Design & Building

  Free and open-source tools for designing and building websites: UI design, code editors, local environments, version control, and static site generators.

  15 resources

• 💻 Programming & Development

  Free and open-source programming languages, compilers, development environments and microcontroller tools. Code editors, Git and Node.js are in the Web Design & Building section, database tools in the Databases section.

  21 resources

• ⚡ Electronics & Circuits

  Free and open-source tools to draw schematics, design circuit boards, simulate circuits and logic gates and look at real signals. Arduino IDE, PlatformIO and ESPHome are in the Programming & Development section. See also my notes Computing with Switches and From Source Code to Silicon.

  9 resources

• 🗄️ Databases

  Free and open-source databases for apps, home servers and data analysis, graphical tools to work with them, and free places to learn SQL. See also my article Constructing a Database.

  19 resources

• 🧮 Math & Engineering Calculation

  Free and open-source programs for numerical and symbolic calculation, plotting and engineering math – from a quick unit conversion to solving systems of equations. JupyterLab is in Programming & Development, structural programs in Structural Analysis.

  9 resources

• ✒️ Writing & Typesetting

  Free tools for technical documents, reports, theses and diagrams – with equations, references and a layout that stays correct over a hundred pages. Zotero and Calibre are in the Office & Documents section.

  8 resources

• 🎬 Video Editing

  Free and open-source software for editing, converting, and recording video.

  8 resources

• 🎧 Audio & Music

  Free and open-source software for recording, editing, composing, and mixing audio.

  6 resources

• 🎮 Animation & Game Development

  Free and open-source software for 2D and 3D animation, game development, and mesh processing.

  6 resources

• 🤖 Local AI

  Run AI models on your own computer – private, offline and without subscriptions. Larger models need a good graphics card or plenty of RAM. The tools are open source; each model you load has its own licence.

  14 resources

• 🏠 Self-hosting & Home Server

  Free and open-source software for running your own services at home – on a NAS, a Raspberry Pi or an old PC. Keep your data at home and reach it safely from anywhere.

  23 resources

• 📊 Home Automation & Monitoring

  Free and open-source tools to connect sensors and smart devices locally, without a cloud, and to collect and draw measurements over time. Home Assistant is in the Self-hosting section, ESPHome in Programming & Development.

  9 resources

• 💾 Backup & Recovery

  Free tools to back up files and whole disks, copy data to the cloud, recover deleted files and check disks and memory before they fail. restic, BorgBackup and Syncthing are in the Self-hosting section. Remember: a backup is only a backup after a test restore.

  9 resources