Linux has never lacked applications that display system information, but perhaps the most comprehensive tool is neofetch [1], a Bash script that displays the current information about hardware, operating systems, and desktop settings. The information is presented by default in a somewhat haphazard order, which can be compensated for by a high degree of customization. Little wonder, then, that in recent years neofetch has found its way into most distributions. Not only is it a useful summary of system information, supporting a wide array of hardware and software, but, as its GitHub page notes, its visually appealing output is also useful in screenshots of your system.

For many, the output of the bare command may be enough (Figure 1). On the left of Figure 1 is an ASCII rendition of the installed distribution's logo. On the right are 15 system statistics. Which statistics are shown, the details of each statistic, and the general layout are all customizable either from the command line or from .config/neofetch/config.conf in the user's home directory (Figure 2). At the bottom, a line of colored blocks does nothing except to mark the end of the display.

Display Options

Neofetch has dozens of options, most of which are self-explanatory. They cover a bewildering array of statistics, covering every aspect of a system (Table 1). After each option, you can specify whether its display is off or on. Alternatively, you can use --disable OPTION to turn options off in a space-separated list. In addition, some options have multiple settings. Some stats display on separate lines, while others simply add a few characters to a default line.

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