fastfetch — A Fast, Modern System Information Tool Replacing neofetch

What it is

fastfetch is a command-line tool that displays system information (OS, kernel, CPU, GPU, memory, disk, uptime) alongside a distro or OS logo in the terminal. Written in C, it is the successor to the popular neofetch tool and runs in milliseconds rather than seconds. fastfetch supports rich customization via JSONC configuration files.

fastfetch is designed for terminal enthusiasts, Linux users, and anyone who wants a quick, beautiful system overview in their terminal.

How it saves time or tokens

neofetch was written in bash and could take several seconds to gather system information on some configurations. fastfetch is written in C and gathers the same information in under 100 milliseconds. The JSONC configuration format provides precise control over which modules to display, their order, formatting, and colors, all without editing bash scripts.

How to use

1. Install fastfetch:

# macOS
brew install fastfetch

# Ubuntu 24.04+
sudo apt install fastfetch

# Arch
sudo pacman -S fastfetch

# Windows
winget install Fastfetch-cli.Fastfetch

1. Run it:

fastfetch

1. Customize with a JSONC config:

fastfetch --gen-config
# Edit ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc

Example

A custom configuration showing minimal system info:

// ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc
{
  "modules": [
    "title",
    "separator",
    "os",
    "host",
    "kernel",
    "uptime",
    "cpu",
    "gpu",
    "memory",
    "disk",
    "shell",
    "terminal",
    "separator",
    "colors"
  ],
  "logo": {
    "type": "auto"
  }
}

Run fastfetch and see your system info formatted with your OS logo and the configured modules.

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Common pitfalls

• Expecting neofetch configuration to work with fastfetch. fastfetch uses JSONC config files, not bash scripts. You need to recreate your customizations in the new format.
• Not running fastfetch --gen-config to create the default config file first. Without the config file, you cannot customize the output. The generated default is a good starting point.
• Installing on older Ubuntu versions without the official PPA. Ubuntu versions before 24.04 do not have fastfetch in the default repositories. Use the official PPA or build from source.
• Starting with an overly complex configuration instead of defaults. Begin with the minimal setup, verify it works, then customize incrementally. This approach catches configuration errors early and keeps troubleshooting straightforward.

For teams evaluating this tool, the time saved on initial setup alone justifies the adoption. The well-documented API and active community mean most common questions have already been answered, reducing the learning curve and the number of tokens spent explaining basic usage to AI assistants.