How to Install and Use inxi in Linux for Detailed System and Hardware Information

When troubleshooting hardware issues, auditing server specifications, or diagnosing driver conflicts on Linux, gathering detailed hardware data from multiple subsystem commands like lspci, lshw, lsblk, and dmidecode can be slow and disjointed. The inxi utility solves this by aggregating complete system, CPU, graphics, memory, network, and audio telemetry into a readable, clean, and colourised terminal summary.

Written in Perl, inxi is vendor-neutral, highly configurable, and provides granular diagnostic flags ranging from concise single-line overviews to exhaustive component-level hardware breakdowns without requiring complicated shell scripts.

What Is inxi and Why Use It?

Unlike standard core utilities that only interrogate a single kernel subsystem, inxi queries multiple hardware registers, kernel filesystems (such as /sys and /proc), and system daemons simultaneously. It formats this data into structured lines tagged with standard labels such as System, Machine, CPU, Graphics, Network, and Drives.

Key operational advantages include:

• Instant Hardware Auditing: Review processor architecture, microcode revisions, clock speeds, and governor states in seconds.
• Driver and Kernel Diagnostics: Display active GPU drivers (such as Mesa, NVIDIA proprietary, or AMDGPU), display server protocols (X11 or Wayland), and active sound servers (PipeWire or PulseAudio).
• Repository and Sensor Information: Inspect battery health, thermal sensor temperatures, fan speeds, active package repositories, and RAM DIMM slots without disassembling machines.
• Privacy Filters: Automatically filter out sensitive data such as serial numbers, MAC addresses, and local IP addresses when generating logs for public forum support.

How to Install inxi Across Linux Distributions

The inxi tool is available in the official package archives of virtually all major Linux distributions.

Ubuntu, Debian, and Linux Mint

Update your APT cache and install the package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install inxi

Fedora, RHEL, and Rocky Linux

On Red Hat enterprise derivatives, install inxi using DNF (on Enterprise Linux, ensure the EPEL repository is enabled first):

sudo dnf install inxi

Arch Linux and Manjaro

Install directly from the official Pacman repositories:

sudo pacman -S inxi

openSUSE

Install using Zypper:

sudo zypper install inxi

Running Common inxi System Overviews

Depending on the depth of information you need, inxi provides pre-configured verbosity presets and modular inspection flags.

1. Quick Basic Summary

To produce a clean, four-line overview showing your host kernel, desktop environment, CPU model, memory usage, and storage allocation, execute:

inxi -b

2. Standard Hardware Breakdown

For a standard diagnostic overview that details motherboard chipset, processor microarchitecture, GPU vendor, network interfaces, and drive capacities, use:

inxi -F

3. Verbosity Levels (Levels 0 through 8)

You can adjust the reporting depth using the -v flag followed by a numeric level:

• inxi -v 1: Basic system, desktop, and drive partition breakdown.
• inxi -v 4: Adds network interface details, partition mounts, and active sound drivers.
• inxi -v 7: Complete full-system audit, including active memory slots, USB buses, thermal sensors, and Linux software repositories.

inxi -v 7

Targeting Specific Subsystems with Dedicated Flags

When troubleshooting a particular hardware component, running a full system scan can generate unnecessary noise. Use specific component flags to isolate the relevant telemetry:

Command	Inspected Subsystem	Diagnostic Purpose
inxi -C	CPU Information	Shows core counts, clock speeds, microcode revision, and cache topology.
inxi -G	Graphics (GPU)	Displays GPU model, active display server (Wayland/X11), and OpenGL vendor strings.
inxi -A	Audio Subsystem	Lists sound cards, active sound server (PipeWire/PulseAudio), and audio codecs.
inxi -N	Network Hardware	Identifies Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters, chipsets, and kernel driver modules.
inxi -D	Storage Drives	Details hard drive and NVMe models, transport interfaces, and total storage capacities.
inxi -m	Memory (RAM Slots)	Audits individual RAM DIMMs, physical capacities, speeds, and motherboard limits (requires sudo).
inxi -s	Sensors & Fans	Reads CPU/GPU thermal sensors, core voltages, and cooling fan RPM speeds.
inxi -B	Battery Status	Inspects laptop battery condition, chemistry, wear percentage, and charging state.

Example: Auditing Graphics and Display Servers

To verify whether your system is actively using the dedicated GPU or integrated graphics, and confirm whether you are on Wayland or Xorg, run:

inxi -Gxx

Adding the double xx modifier instructs inxi to retrieve extra forensic detail, such as Vulkan driver versions, monitor refresh rates, and display resolutions.

Safe Sharing and Privacy Protection with inxi

When posting system logs on technical forums, GitHub issues, or support channels, sharing raw IP addresses or serial numbers poses security and privacy risks. The inxi tool features built-in anonymisation filters:

inxi -Fz

The -z flag automatically masks your host MAC addresses, public and private IP addresses, device serial numbers, and home directory usernames with placeholders such as <filter>.

To save an anonymised report directly to a plain text file for review or upload:

inxi -Fz > ~/system-spec-report.txt

Elevated Privileges for Complete Hardware Audits

While the majority of inxi queries run cleanly under unprivileged user permissions, certain low-level hardware tables (such as DMI/SMBIOS memory bank records) require root access to read protected memory addresses. When checking RAM slots, run the command with sudo:

sudo inxi -m

This command reveals the manufacturer, form factor, part number, clock frequency, and current allocation of each physical memory slot on your motherboard.