Linux Mint offers a clean and reliable Windows-like desktop experience—but for some users (like me), it can come off as a bit too clean and minimal. Thankfully, we have desklets, Mint’s equivalent to desktop widgets. Here are five of my personal favorite Linux Mint desklets to make the desktop more aesthetic and productive at the same time.
All these desklets are exclusive to Linux Mint’s flagship Cinnamon edition. Head into System Settings > Desklets to download new desklets, add or remove them from your desktop, and configure their settings. Also, jump into the General Settings tab and select “No Decoration” for your desklets. This will remove the default decoration, which I think looks a bit dated and janky.
Quick Links – Launcher: Add buttons that can do almost anything
I turned my desktop into a launchpad
If I could use only one desklet on my Linux Mint desktop, this would be it. At its core, it’s a simple collection of clickable shortcuts that live on your desktop—but calling it a shortcut launcher undersells its potential. You can configure the links to open a folder, an app, or most impressively, execute a terminal command. This means I can have a button on my desktop that can:
- Open any website (YouTube, Gmail, etc.) directly in the browser
- Open a specific Google Doc or Notion page
- Launch Steam directly into Console mode
- Start “work mode,” which opens the browser and Obsidian in split view mode for research and writing
Essentially, you can write complex bash scripts with multistep logic and pin them on your desktop with a clear name and a fancy icon. The desklet turns your desktop into a personalized launchpad that can do almost anything.
That being said, you can also use it for simpler workloads. For example, you can use the desklet just for launching apps or opening your most-used folders. You can have multiple desklets, group them by category, and theme each one independently. The customization options are also plentiful—you can tweak the columns, rows, icon size, text alignment, font style, colors, and even enable tooltips.
Calendar Desklet: Every desktop needs a calendar
Helps me put my days into perspective
Most of my friends and colleagues question my decision to keep a calendar on my desktop—especially when the date and time are already visible on the panel. While I agree that keeping a calendar widget probably isn’t necessary for most people, I’ve personally found it genuinely useful. Seeing a date like “March 24th” on the panel really doesn’t mean anything to me. However, when I see the full month view, with today highlighted, it immediately puts things into perspective and creates a sense of urgency—which I’ve found useful in balancing my otherwise relaxed demeanor.
Now, coming to the desklet itself—it’s fairly basic. There’s no calendar event integration—it just shows the month, date, and day. However, it does give you a decent set of customization options. You can choose between two layout variations: vertical and horizontal, with the option to change the font style, size, color, and transparency to help it blend in with the overall desktop aesthetic.
TODO Desklet: An always-visible task list
The best anti-slacking tool I’ve found
A to-do list widget is honestly one of the biggest productivity boosts I’ve ever experienced. Yes, you could use a dedicated to-do app, but it doesn’t feel as urgent or convenient. With a widget, I don’t have to worry about my to-do list being pushed to a different virtual desktop or getting minimized (or closed) while managing other windows. It always stays visible with all my tasks across every virtual desktop.
This matters more than it sounds. There’s a rush that comes from finishing a task that can make you forget how much work is still left. But with an ever-present to-do list, the moment you close your windows after completing something, you’re immediately reminded of everything else you still need to do. This has helped me avoid slacking off too early and stay on top of my day.
Now, Mint’s TODO desklet is one of the best to-do list widgets I’ve used on any Linux desktop. It does all the basics: adding tasks, checking them off, and moving completed items to the bottom with a strikethrough. You can mark tasks as important, which adds a highlight that makes them more visible. There’s also a multi-column layout if you’d rather expand it horizontally instead of vertically. My only gripe is the default Windows XP-era blue coloring, but that’s easy to fix. You can head into the settings to customize the background, transparency, text color, font size, and even the checkbox icons.
I ditched my favorite to-do app for a Linux terminal—here’s what surprised me
Switching from TickTick’s polished GUI to a Linux terminal to-do list for a week was equal parts rewarding and frustrating.
Note: A better version of Sticky Notes
For my random thought dumps
A to-do list is great for capturing tasks, but what if you need to jot down something quickly—an idea, a number, a name—anything that doesn’t necessarily need a checkbox attached to it? For that, I like to use sticky notes, or in the context of Linux Mint, the Notes desklet. It carries the same advantages of having a to-do list widget: you don’t need to go through the trouble of opening a notes app and saving a file. It’s ever-present on the screen, and you can write down any idea that pops into your head—all visible right there on the desktop.
Now, what I like about the Notes desklet is that it’s actually tied to a note on your system. So even if you accidentally delete the widget, your note is saved as a TXT file in your home folder. And of course, you can create multiple Notes desklets for storing different thoughts and ideas. The desklet also comes with an impressive selection of theming options. By default, you get a classic sticky note pinned with a magnet, but you can switch to a spiral notebook aesthetic, coffee-stained paper, wall paint, and more. Font size, text style, and background color are all configurable too.
Digital Photo Frame: Show images from a specific folder
It looks decorative—but the use case I found is more practical
The Digital Photo Frame desklet is exactly what it sounds like—a widget that shows images. You can point it to a folder, and it cycles through all the images inside. You can set the size of the frame, define how frequently it cycles through images, and enable a fade transition between them. There’s also an option to display images in sepia or black and white if that fits your desktop vibe better.
Now, if this one feels a bit boring and unimpressive, I get that. I, too, was never a fan of photo widgets, but then I discovered a subtle productivity hack. Instead of using it to show family photos—which is the advertised use case—I have it cycle through a series of images with motivational quotes. Over the years, I’ve found it really useful in reframing my mood every time I sit down at my computer.
An empty desktop is a missed opportunity
A bare desktop is a missed opportunity, especially if you’re using a large display with a lot of screen real estate. Desklets can help put that extra space to better use. Start with the Launcher and the TODO desklet—those two alone will change how you interact with your desktop every day.
8/10
- Operating System
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Kubuntu 24.04 LTS
- CPU
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Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (2.7GHz up to 5.4GHz)
This laptop is purpose-built for developers and professionals who want a Kubuntu Linux-powered portable workstation and gaming platform. It features an Intel processor capable of hitting 5.4GHz and both integrated graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA 5070 Ti GPU for when you need extra power for machine learning or games.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
