diff --git a/shell/tasks/shell.yml b/shell/tasks/shell.yml
index 4c27aab4151cdc419a090408c8a1ae1d99ea33ba..603d49bc2bad18bc661a56287cef6babf72fac98 100644
--- a/shell/tasks/shell.yml
+++ b/shell/tasks/shell.yml
@@ -56,6 +56,17 @@
     - packages
     - shell
 
+- name: ensure installation of modern additional software
+  apt:
+    name:
+      - ripgrep
+      - fd-find
+    state: present
+  when: debian_version == "buster"
+  tags:
+    - packages
+    - shell
+
 - name: ensure we have an up-to-date version of grml-zsh-config
   get_url:
     url: https://www.archlinux.org/packages/extra/any/grml-zsh-config/download/