How to Install and Configure Neofetch on Ubuntu Linux

If you frequent Linux communities, subreddits like r/unixporn, or developer forums, you have undoubtedly seen screenshots of terminal windows displaying a vibrant ASCII art logo of a Linux distribution alongside a neatly formatted list of system specifications. This visual system summary is generated by a popular command-line utility called Neofetch.

Neofetch is a fast, highly customisable system information tool written in Bash. It detects your operating system, kernel version, uptime, package count, shell, desktop environment, window manager, theme, CPU, GPU, and RAM usage, presenting it all in an aesthetically pleasing layout.

Whilst its primary use is aesthetic — allowing users to proudly display their system configuration (“ricing”) — it also serves as a genuinely useful diagnostic tool for quickly checking system specs without remembering multiple distinct terminal commands.

Note: As of early 2024, the original Neofetch project is no longer actively maintained by its creator. However, it remains perfectly functional on Ubuntu and remains available in standard repositories.

How to Install Neofetch on Ubuntu

Because Neofetch is widely used, it is included by default in the official Ubuntu software repositories. You do not need to add any third-party PPAs or compile from source.

1. Open your terminal emulator (Ctrl + Alt + T).
2. First, update your package list to ensure you get the latest available version:
   sudo apt update
3. Install the Neofetch package:
   sudo apt install neofetch
4. When prompted, type Y and press Enter to confirm the installation.

The installation takes only a few seconds, as the script is incredibly lightweight.

How to Run Neofetch

Running the tool is as simple as typing its name.

1. In your terminal, type:
   neofetch
2. Press Enter.

Your terminal will instantly output the Ubuntu logo rendered in ASCII text on the left, and your system specifications on the right.

How to Customise the Neofetch Output

While the default output looks great, Neofetch is highly configurable. You can choose exactly which system metrics to display, change the colours, or swap the ASCII logo for a different distribution or a custom image.

All customization is handled via a single configuration file that Neofetch automatically generates the first time you run it.

Locating and Editing the Configuration File

1. Open your terminal.
2. Use a text editor (like Nano) to open the configuration file:
   nano ~/.config/neofetch/config.conf

This file is a heavily commented Bash script. Scrolling through it, you will see a section at the top containing the print_info() function. This function controls exactly what appears on the right side of the Neofetch output.

print_info() {
    info title
    info underline

    info "OS" distro
    info "Host" model
    info "Kernel" kernel
    info "Uptime" uptime
    info "Packages" packages
    info "Shell" shell
    info "Resolution" resolution
    info "DE" de
    info "WM" wm
    info "WM Theme" wm_theme
    info "Theme" theme
    info "Icons" icons
    info "Terminal" term
    info "Terminal Font" term_font
    info "CPU" cpu
    info "GPU" gpu
    info "Memory" memory
}

Enabling or Disabling Information

To hide a specific piece of information (for example, if you do not want your computer’s Host model displayed), simply add a hash symbol (#) at the beginning of that line to comment it out:

# info "Host" model

To display information that is hidden by default (such as local IP address or battery status), look for commented lines further down the file and remove the hash symbol:

info "Local IP" local_ip
info "Battery" battery

Save your changes in Nano by pressing Ctrl + O, then Enter, and exit by pressing Ctrl + X. Run neofetch again to see the changes applied immediately.

How to Change the ASCII Logo

By default, Neofetch detects you are running Ubuntu and displays the Ubuntu logo. However, you can force it to display the logo of any other operating system, which is a common joke in Linux customization communities.

You can test this temporarily using a command-line flag. For example, to display the Arch Linux logo on your Ubuntu system:

neofetch --ascii_distro Arch

To display the Windows logo:

neofetch --ascii_distro Windows

To make this change permanent, open the config file (nano ~/.config/neofetch/config.conf), scroll down to the “Ascii Options” section, locate the ascii_distro="auto" line, and change “auto” to the name of your desired distribution.

How to Run Neofetch Automatically When You Open a Terminal

If you want to see your system specs every time you launch a new terminal window, you can add Neofetch to your Bash configuration file so it executes automatically upon startup.

1. Open your terminal.
2. Open your .bashrc file in a text editor:
   nano ~/.bashrc
3. Use the down arrow key to scroll to the very bottom of the file.
4. On a new, empty line at the end of the document, type:
   neofetch
5. Save the file (Ctrl + O, Enter) and exit (Ctrl + X).

Now, close your terminal completely and open a new one. Neofetch will automatically run and greet you with your system information before dropping you at the command prompt.

Alternatives to Neofetch

Because the original Neofetch project is no longer receiving updates, several modern forks and alternatives have emerged in the Linux community:

• Fastfetch: A drop-in replacement written in C instead of Bash. It looks nearly identical to Neofetch but runs significantly faster and is actively maintained. (Available via PPA or manual installation on Ubuntu).
• Screenfetch: An older, similar Bash script that predates Neofetch but offers slightly less customization.
• Cpufetch: Focuses specifically on displaying detailed CPU architecture information rather than general system specs.

For most Ubuntu users today, the standard Neofetch package remains the easiest and most accessible way to generate a beautiful system summary.