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I left Windows for Ubuntu. Here’s everything I configured and what I learned

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I left Windows for Ubuntu. Here’s everything I configured and what I learned

I recently decided to leave Windows and switch to Ubuntu for my development environment.

Not because Windows is bad, but because I wanted:

  • more control
  • a cleaner dev workflow
  • and to really understand what’s happening under the hood

This article is not a tutorial from someone who knows everything.

It’s a real dev journey: things I discovered while doing, tools I didn’t even know existed before, and why Ubuntu honestly surprised me (in a good way).

What I configured after installing Ubuntu

Installing and configuring Git

First thing first: Git.

Install Git 

sudo apt install git
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Configure global variables 

git config --global user.name "your_name"
git config --global user.email "your_email"

# Check configuration
git config --global --list
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At this point, Git is ready.

Java setup with SDKMAN (my first discovery)

Before Ubuntu, I had no idea that something like SDKMAN existed.

What SDKMAN allows you to do :

  • Install multiple JDK versions (8, 11, 17, 21…)

  • Switch versions globally or per project

  • Choose different distributions (Temurin, Zulu, Oracle, GraalVM…)

Install SDKMAN 

curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash
source "$HOME/.sdkman/bin/sdkman-init.sh"
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Check installation

sdk version
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List available Java versions 

sdk list java
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Install Java 21 (example) 

sdk install java 21.0.9-tem
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Switch Java version

For current session :

sdk use java 21.0.9-tem
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Set as default :

sdk default java 21.0.9-tem
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Verify :

java -version
#Or
javac -version
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Mind blow moment :

I didn't know switching Java versions could be this clean and simple.

Node.js with NVM (another discovery)

Same story here.
I here about NVM before... but never really used it properly.

What is NVM?

NVM = Node Version Manager

It allows you to :

  • Install multiple Node.js versions
  • Switch between them per project
  • Avoid breaking old projects

Why it matters (real case)

  • Angular 20 ->requires Node ≥ 20
  • Older projects ->Node 18 or 16

Without NVM:

  • uninstall / reinstall Node

  • risk breaking projects

With NVM :

nvm use 18
#or
nvm use 20
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  • No conflict
  • No sudo
  • No system break

Install NVM 

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
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Close and reopen terminal, then :

nvm --version
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Install Node 20 

nvm install 20
nvm use 20
nvm alias default 20
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Verify :

node -v
npm -v
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PostgreSQL server + client

Install PostgreSQL 

sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql-18 postgresql-client-18 postgresql-contrib
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Check service 

sudo systemctl status postgresql
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Change postgres password 

sudo -u postgres psql
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Inside PostgreSQL:

ALTER USER postgres WITH PASSWORD 'your_new_password';
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PgAdmin 4

Installed directly via Ubuntu App Center.
Simple. Clean. No headache.

Postman via Snap 

sudo snap install postman
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Launch:

postman
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Login all my collections synced automatically.

SSH Keys (BIG learning moment)

Before Ubuntu, I used to clone repos using HTTPS URLs.

Then I tried to clone my own repository, and GitHub asked for authorization.

That’s when I discovered SSH keys.

Create SSH key 

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_github_email"
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Start SSH agent and add key 

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
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Copy public key 

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
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Add key to GitHub

  • GitHub -> Settings

  • SSH and GPG keys

  • New SSH key

  • Paste key

  • Save

Test connection 

ssh -T git@github.com
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If you see:

Hi username! You've successfully authenticated...

SSH works.

Now I clone repositories without any access issues.

IDEs and account sync

  • IntelliJ IDEA -> App Center

  • VS Code -> App Center

  • GitHub account sync -> plugins, settings, themes restored automatically.

Final thoughts

What really surprised me is how simple everything feels on Ubuntu.

With:

  • a few commands

  • clear tools

  • no weird installers

Things that used to take a lot of time on Windows were done in minutes.

And most importantly:

I understood what I was installing.

This transition didn’t just change my OS
it changed how I see my dev environment.

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