Apps I’d NEVER Install on Linux Mint… So I Tried Them 😳 (Shocking Results)

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]Today I'm doing something a little different on my Linux Mint machine.

[00:00:04]Instead of recommending great open source tools or showing you how stable and smooth everything runs, I picked a list of apps I always say I would never install on Linux Mint. The kind of apps that usually make Linux users roll their eyes and I installed them anyway. Not because I needed them, not because I recommend them, but because I wanted to test what really happens. Are they truly that bad or are we just biased? So, in this experiment, I installed the apps I'd normally avoid on Linux Mint and used them like a regular user. What happened surprised me in some ways and confirmed my fears in others. First, let's talk about why this topic even matters. Linux Mint based on Ubuntu and powered by a polished Cinnamon desktop is known for stability, simplicity, and a traditional desktop experience. It's often recommended for beginners switching from Windows. The whole idea of Mint is comfort, performance, and control. So when you bring in certain proprietary, heavy or Windows first applications, you're basically challenging the philosophy of the system. That's where this experiment begins. The first category I tested was unofficial electronheavy apps. You know the type, apps that wrap a website in a desktop container and call it a native app. Normally on Linux Mint, I prefer lightweight GTK apps that integrate properly with the system theme. But I installed several heavy electron-based tools that are known to consume a lot of RAM. Right after installing them, I opened the system monitor. My idle RAM usage jumped significantly. Each app ran its own Chromium instance. CPU usage spiked when switching tabs. Animations felt slightly less smooth. On a system with 8 GB of RAM, it was usable, but noticeably heavier. On a lower-end machine, this could be painful. But here's the interesting part.

[00:01:52]Functionally, they worked. Notifications came through. Dark mode respected the system theme most of the time. There were no crashes. So, while they weren't efficient, they weren't completely broken either. It made me question whether my hatred was philosophical rather than practical. Still, the resource usage confirmed why I avoid stacking multiple Electron apps on Mint.

[00:02:13]Next, I installed a Windows app using Wine. Now, this is something many Linux Mint users try when they first switch from Windows. There's always that one program they can't let go of. In my case, I picked a random popular Windows utility that doesn't have a native Linux version. I installed Wine, configured it, and ran the installer. At first, it looked promising. The setup wizard launched. The UI rendered properly, but then small issues started appearing.

[00:02:41]Fonts looked slightly off. File paths were confusing. The app launched, but performance wasn't smooth. It worked, but it felt like it didn't belong. After using it for about an hour, I noticed something else. The integration with the system was weak. It didn't follow Mint's theme. File associations weren't clean.

[00:03:00]And uninstalling it left behind some residual Wine configuration files.

[00:03:05]Nothing catastrophic, but messy. It reinforced why I prefer native Linux alternatives. Yes, wine is powerful and for some apps it works amazingly well.

[00:03:15]But for everyday tools, the experience just feels forced. Then I move to a controversial one. Installing a third party software center outside the official repositories. Linux Mint has its own software manager which is clean and curated. But I added an external repository to install a software manager designed for another DRO. Immediately I felt the risk. Adding PPAs or external repositories can introduce dependency conflicts. After installing it, I ran an update. Luckily, nothing broke. But I noticed duplicated entries in my app list. Some packages wanted to upgrade core components to slightly different versions. That's when I stopped. I realized how quickly stability could be compromised. Linux Mint's strength is its stability. When you start mixing repositories carelessly, you chip away at that foundation. The experiment didn't break my system, but it showed how easy it could happen if you don't pay attention. Next, I installed a system cleaner tool that's popular on Windows, but controversial on Linux. On Windows, registry cleaners and system optimizers are common. On Linux Mint, they're mostly unnecessary. Still, I installed one and ran a scan. It flagged unused packages and cache files. Some of it was legitimate, like old package cache, but some recommendations looked aggressive. If I blindly followed everything, I could have removed libraries that other programs depend on.

[00:04:40]That's the difference. Linux already has package management built in. You don't need third party cleanup tools messing with system files unless you truly understand what you're doing. This experiment confirmed that some apps are not just unnecessary on Mint. They can be risky. After that, I installed a closed source VPN client that doesn't have a native Mint version, but offers a generic Linux installer. Installation was surprisingly smooth. The UI looked modern. Connection speeds were stable.

[00:05:09]But then I noticed it was running background services constantly, even when disconnected. Startup time increased slightly. System boot logs showed additional services initializing.

[00:05:20]It wasn't dramatic, but it added overhead. This made me think about transparency. On Linux Mint, I appreciate knowing what's running. With closed source background heavy apps, you lose that visibility. It doesn't mean they're malicious, but it changes the trust dynamic. Then I tried a gaming launcher that's not officially supported on Linux, but can run through compatibility layers. Installation took longer. Dependencies had to be manually installed. Once running, it was usable, but performance in games was inconsistent. Some launched fine, others crashed. Shader compilation stuttered.

[00:05:54]Compared to native Steam with Proton integration, this felt rough. This experiment reminded me that Linux gaming has improved massively, but not all platforms treat Linux equally. When you step outside the supported ecosystem, you accept instability. Now, here's where it got interesting. I installed a popular proprietary browser that many Linux users criticize for privacy reasons. It installed easily viadev package. Performance was excellent. RAM usage was high but manageable. Sync worked flawlessly. Video playback was smooth. Honestly, from a pure performance perspective, it ran better than some open- source alternatives.

[00:06:32]This forced me to confront bias again.

[00:06:34]Technically, it worked great.

[00:06:36]Philosophically, it conflicted with open-source values. So, the question becomes, is my never install list about performance or principles? In this case, it was mostly principles. Next, I tested an Android emulator known to be heavy even on Windows. Installing it on Mint required enabling virtualization and BOS and installing KVM packages. Setup took time. Once running, it consumed huge amounts of RAM and CPU. The fan noise increased. The system felt sluggish while it was active. But surprisingly, the emulator itself ran smoothly. The takeaway, Linux Mint can handle heavy workloads, but you need proper hardware.

[00:07:15]Blaming the app alone isn't fair. Still, for average Mint users on older laptops, this would be a bad experience. Then I intentionally installed a snapheavy environment. Linux Mint doesn't enable Snap by default because of policy differences with Ubuntu. I reenabled Snap support and installed multiple Snap packages. Launch times were noticeably slower compared to native dev packages.

[00:07:40]Disc usage increased due to Snap's bundled dependencies. It worked, but it didn't feel optimized for Mint. Again, not broken, just not aligned with Mint's philosophy. After days of testing, installing, uninstalling, monitoring logs, and checking system resources, my Linux Mint installation was still alive.

[00:08:00]No catastrophic failures, no kernel panics, no complete system corruption.

[00:08:05]That alone says something about Linux's resilience. Even when I tried questionable apps, the system held strong. But I also noticed clutter, extra services, residual config files, slightly slower boot time, more RAM usage at idle. None of it dramatic alone, but together it chipped away at the clean experience I love about Mint.

[00:08:27]So, what did this experiment teach me?

[00:08:29]First, many apps I'd never install are not as terrible as I imagined. They run, they function. For some users, they might even be necessary. Second, philosophy matters. Linux Mint is about simplicity, stability, and control. When you install apps that don't respect that ecosystem, you slowly move away from what makes Mint special. It also showed that Linux isn't fragile. You can experiment, you can test, you can push boundaries. As long as you're careful with repositories and understand what you're installing, the system is remarkably robust. Would I keep these apps installed? No. After finishing this experiment, I removed most of them. Not because they crashed my system, but because they didn't fit my workflow or values. I prefer lightweight native open-source tools that integrate cleanly. But I'm glad I tried them. It's easy to criticize apps you've never tested. It's harder to evaluate them honestly after real world use. This experiment made me more balanced.

[00:09:28]Instead of saying never install this, I'd now say understand what you're trading off. Linux Mint gives you freedom. With that freedom comes responsibility. You can turn it into a bloated Windows-like system if you install everything blindly, or you can keep it lean and efficient by choosing wisely. In the end, the apps I'd never install didn't destroy my system. They just reminded me why I chose Linux Mint in the first place. Stability over hype, efficiency over bloat, transparency over convenience. And that's the real lesson of this experiment.