My Kubuntu Setup - ThinkPad P14s Gen 5

I switched from Windows + WSL to Kubuntu and never looked back. This is my daily coding machine fast, reliable, and actually works. No more waiting 2 minutes for npm install or dealing with broken file watching. Just pure productivity on Linux.

If you're tired of WSL being slow and buggy, this guide shows you exactly how to set up a proper Linux dev environment that just works.

Table of Contents

• My Setup in Action
• How to Install Kubuntu
• Why I Quit Windows + WSL
• Why Kubuntu is Better
• What I Use
• How to Set Everything Up
  • Quick Install Guide
  • Development Tools
  • Terminal Setup
  • Apps Installation
  • CLI Tools
• Speed Difference
• Helpful Links
• My Advice

My Setup in Action

My daily driver - Kubuntu 25.04 with KDE Plasma

Clean and minimal KDE desktop - fast and responsive

Konsole terminal - where the magic happens

Ram & CPU utlization (better than WSL :D)

KDE System Monitor - tracking CPU, memory, and network usage

How to Install Kubuntu

Download the ISO from kubuntu.org, flash it to a USB with Rufus, boot from USB, and install. Takes 20 minutes. Here's a video guide if you need help.

Try it in live mode first. If you like it, install it. If not, just restart.

Why I Quit Windows + WSL

I used WSL since version 1. Stuck with it for years. Even had a laptop with 32GB RAM and fast CPU. Didn't matter. WSL still sucked.

npm install took 2 minutes. Now it takes 30 seconds. Docker was slow as hell. File watching didn't work half the time. WSL ate 8-10GB of RAM doing nothing. It crashed all the time. Lost my work multiple times. VPNs broke it. File permissions were a mess.

WSL sucks. Period.

Why Kubuntu is Better

Kubuntu is amazing for coding. Everything just works. Boots in 15 seconds. Battery lasts 7 hours instead of 4. Uses only 1GB RAM when idle.

Docker runs native - no VM crap. Hot reload actually works. Git is super fast. No crashes. No permission problems. This is how coding should be.

What I Use

I code in VS Code. Use Docker for containers. nvm for Node versions. pyenv for Python versions. PostgreSQL and Redis for databases.

Terminal is Bash with Oh My Bash (or Zsh with Oh My Zsh). Starship prompt shows git info. tmux for multiple terminals.

Apps: Spotify, Telegram, Discord, VLC, OBS.

How to Set Everything Up

Quick Install Guide

What	Command	Why
System Update	sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade	Get latest packages
Basic Tools	sudo apt install build-essential git curl wget vim htop neofetch	Essential dev tools

Development Tools

Tool	Install Commands	Purpose
Docker	sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose sudo usermod -aG docker $USER sudo systemctl enable docker	Containers
Node.js	curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash Restart terminal nvm install --lts	JavaScript
Python	curl https://pyenv.run | bash Add to shell config pyenv install 3.11.5	Python dev
Java	sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk java -version	Java dev
VS Code	sudo snap install code --classic	Code editor

Terminal Setup

Option	Commands	Result
Bash + Oh My Bash	bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmybash/oh-my-bash/master/tools/install.sh)"	Better Bash
Zsh + Oh My Zsh	sudo apt install zsh chsh -s $(which zsh) sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"	Better Zsh
Starship Prompt	curl -sS https://starship.rs/install.sh | sh Add to .bashrc or .zshrc	Cool prompt

Apps Installation

Type	Command	Apps
Flatpak Setup	sudo apt install flatpak sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo	Enable Flatpak
Media Apps	flatpak install flathub com.spotify.Client flatpak install flathub org.videolan.VLC flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.Studio	Spotify, VLC, OBS
Chat Apps	flatpak install flathub org.telegram.desktop flatpak install flathub com.discordapp.Discord	Telegram, Discord
Work Apps	sudo snap install postman sudo snap install notion-snap-reborn flatpak install flathub md.obsidian.Obsidian	Postman, Notion, Obsidian

CLI Tools

Tool	Install	What it does
Dev Tools	sudo apt install tmux postgresql-client redis-tools httpie jq ripgrep	Terminal tools
LazyDocker	curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jesseduffield/lazydocker/master/scripts/install_update_linux.sh | bash	Docker UI
LazySQL	go install github.com/jorgerojas26/lazysql@latest	Database UI

Speed Difference

What	Windows + WSL	Kubuntu
Boot	45 seconds	15 seconds
npm install	2+ minutes	30 seconds
Docker build	3 minutes	1 minute
RAM (idle)	4.5 GB	1.2 GB
Battery	4 hours	6-7 hours

Helpful Links

• Kubuntu - Official Kubuntu site
• KDE - KDE Plasma desktop
• Linux Journey - Learn Linux basics
• Arch Wiki - Has answers for everything
• Docker Docs - Docker help
• Ask Ubuntu - Get help
• r/linux - Linux community
• TLP - Save battery
• Timeshift - Backup your system

My Advice

If you're thinking about switching from Windows, just do it. Try dual boot first if you're scared. Give it a month. Things will break sometimes. You'll figure it out. Google helps. Arch Wiki has all answers.

Linux is worth it. No more Windows updates. No more bloat. No more WSL problems. Just a fast computer that works.

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Bottom line: WSL = slow and broken. Linux = fast and works.

Ask me anything!

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ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD | Kubuntu 24.04 LTS | Happy coder