Neofetch

Neofetch is a CLI utility used to display system information. It was written in Bash, and thus its configuration file is written as a Bash script too. This document was written with org-mode, and my configuration file is tangled from the source blocks you will see below to ~/.config/neofetch/config.conf. This configuration will only contain what I need. For any further information, please refer to the original repository and its documentation.

The print_info functions

The print_info function is the function called by Neofetch in order to print the system information it could fetch. In this function, we’ll choose what to display, and how. This function looks like this:

print_info() {
    # Print information here…
}

Generally, what we will display will be shown through the info function, redefined inside Neofetch (this is not info(1)). This info function accepts one or two arguments. With one argument, such as with info memory, we can get a result that looks like 5136MiB / 15873MiB, while calling it with two arguments will treat the first one as a prefix and the second one as the interesting information; info "Memory" memory will look like Memory: 5136MiB / 15873MiB. Here is what we want to display:

PrefixInformationWhat it does
titleUsername and hostname
line_breakInsert a blank line
colsSystem theme
line_breakInsert a blank line
DistrodistroDistribution name
KernelkernelKernel version
UptimeuptimeMachine uptime
PackagespackagesNumber of installed packages
ShellshellUser’s default shell
WMwmUser’s Window Manager
TerminaltermDefault terminal
CPUcpuCPU information
GPUgpuGPU information
MemorymemoryRAM information

Hence, the function looks like so:

print_info() {
    info title
    info line_break
    info cols
    info line_break
    info "Distro" distro
    info "Kernel" kernel
    info "Uptime" uptime
    info "Packages" packages
    info "Shell" shell
    info "WM" wm
    info "Terminal" term
    info "CPU" cpu
    info "GPU" gpu
    info "Memory" memory
}

Each of these modules can be tuned with the variables presented below.

Information settings

Each of the following variable tunes a function that can be called in print_info described above. It is possible to tune them by modifying this document or the configuration file itself, and they can be overridden by the command line with flags passed to neofetch. I will divide these variables in two main categories: hardware and software-related properties.

Software

OS

  1. Distro

    This variable can shorten the output of the distro function.

    • Default value: "on"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --distro_shorthand
    • Supports: Everything except Windows and Haiku
    • Examples: - on: Arch Linux
      • off: Arch
    distro_shorthand="off"

    It is possible to display when the distro has been installed on the computer.

    1. Distro art or image

      By default, Neofetch will display ASCII art next to our system information representing our distro’s logo. We’ll customize it a bit. First, let’s change the backend value. Note that most of them (except off of course) support shorthands such as --kitty when passed as arguments from the command line. In my case, I will use the Kitty backend since it is the native backend of the terminal emulator I use.

      • Default value: "ascii"
      • Values: - ascii
        • caca
        • catimg
        • chafa
        • jp2a
        • iterm2
        • off
        • pot
        • termpix
        • pixterm
        • tycat
        • w3m
        • kitty
        • ueberzug
        • viu
      • flag: --backend
      image_backend="kitty"

      Now, since I indicated I wanted an image engine, I’ll indicate Neofetch which image to find. Note that auto will pick the best image source for whatever image backend is used. In ASCII mode, distro ASCII art will be used and in an image mode, your wallpaper will be used.

      • Default value: auto
      • Values: - auto
        • ascii
        • wallpaper
        • /path/to/img
        • /path/to/ascii
        • /path/to/dir/
        • command output (neofetch --ascii "$(fortune | cowsay -W 30)")
      • Flag: --source
      image_source="$HOME/org/config/img/leon.png"

      The default image size will probably not be correct since it is half the terminal width and I have an ultrawide monitor, so I’ll need to set it manually.

      • Default value: auto
      • Values: - auto
        • 00px
        • 00%
        • none
      • Flag: --image-size or --size
      image_size="224px"

  2. Kernel

    The variable below can shorten the output ofh the kernel function.

    • Default value: "on"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --kernel_shorthand
    • Supports: Everything except *BSDs (except PacBSD and PC-BSD)
    • Examples: - on: 4.8.9-1-ARCH
      • off: Linux 4.8.9-1-ARCH
    kernel_shorthand="off"

  3. OS Architecture

    This variable can show or hide the OS architecture in the distro output.

    • Default value: "off"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --os_arch
    • Examples: - on: Arch Linux x86_64
      • off: Arch Linux
    os_arch="off"

  4. Packages

    It is possible to show or hide Package Manager names.

    • Default: 'tiny'
    • Values: 'on' / 'tiny' / 'off'
    • Flag: --package_managers
    • Example: - on: '998 (pacman), 8 (flatpak), 4 (snap)'
      • tiny: '908 (pacman, flatpak, snap)'
      • off: '908'
    package_managers="on"

  5. Shell

    1. Shell path

      This allows to show either the path of the user’s shell, or simply its name.

      • Default value: "off"
      • Values: - "on"
        • "off"
      • Flag: --shell_path
      • Examples: - on: /bin/bash
        • off: bash
      shell_path="off"

    2. Shell version

      This allows to show the shell’s version in the output of shell.

      • Default value: "on"
      • Values: - "on"
        • "off"
      • Flag: --shell_version
      • Examples: - on: bash 4.4.5
        • off: bash
      shell_version="off"

Uptime

This variable can shorten the output of the uptime function. on shortens it a bit, while tiny shortens it greatly.

  • Default value: "on"
  • Values: - "on"
    • "tiny"
    • "off"
  • Flag: --uptime_shorthand
  • Examples: - on: 2 days, 10 hours, 3 mins
    • off: 2 days, 10 hours, 3 minutes
    • tiny: 2d 10h 3m
uptime_shorthand="on"

IP address

It is possible to display the machine’s public IP address with the function ip. The value below allows the user to change the website used to fetch it.

  • Default value: "http://ident.me"
  • Value: "url"
  • Flag: --ip_host
public_ip_host="http://ident.me"

Theming

This section will allow the user to modify what Neofetch can and cannot display about the machine’s theming —by this, I mean its GTK theme, its icons and its default font.

  1. Shorten output

    With this value, it is possible to shorten the output of the computer’s theming.

    • Default value: "off"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --gtk_shorthand
    • Examples: - on: Numix, Adwaita
      • off: Numix [GTK2], Adwaita [GTK3]
    gtk_shorthand="on"

  2. Enable or disable theming display for GTK2

    It is possible to explicitely show or hide the computer’s theming with GTK2 with this variable.

    • Default value: "on"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --gtk2
    • Examples: - on: Numix [GTK2], Adwaita [GTK3]
      • off: Adwaita [GTK3]
    gtk2="off"

  3. Enable or disable theming display for GTK3

    The same variable as above is also available for GTK3.

    • Default value: "on"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --gtk3
    • Examples: - on: Numix [GTK2], Adwaita [GTK3]
      • off: Numix [GTK2]
    gtk3="off"

Hardware

CPU

  1. CPU brand

    With these variables, it is possible to show or hide the brand of a CPU in the cpu output.

    • Default value: "on"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --cpu_brand
    • Examples: - on: Intel i7-6500U
      • off: i7-6500U
    cpu_brand="off"

  2. CPU speed

    With this variable, it is possible to show or hide the speed of the CPU.

    • Default value: "on"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --cpu_speed
    • Examples: - on: Intel i7-6500U (4) @ 3.1GHz
      • off: Intel i7-6500U (4)
    cpu_speed="off"

  3. CPU speed type

    This allows Neofetch to know what type of speed it has to fetch regarding the machine’s CPU. Any file in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq can be used as a value.

    • Default value: "bios_limit"
    • Values: - "scaling_cur_freq"
      • "scaling_min_freq"
      • "scaling_max_freq"
      • "bios_limit"
    • Flag: --speed_type
    • Supports: Linux with cpufreq
    speed_type="bios_limit"

  4. CPU speed shorthand

    This value allows showing sorter CPU speed with fewer digits. This flag is not supported in systems with CPU speed below 1GHz.

    • Default value: "off"
    • Values: - "on"
      • "on"
    • Flag: --speed_shorthand
    • Examples: - on: i7-6500U (4) @ 3.1GHz
      • off: i7-6500U (4) @ 3.100GHz
    speed_shorthand="on"

  5. CPU cores

    With this variable, it is possible to display the number of cores that are available in the CPU.

    • Default value: "logical"
    • Values: - "logical"
      • "physical"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --cpu_cores
    • Supports: physical does not work on BSD.
    • Examples: - logical: Intel i7-6500U (4) @ 3.1GHz (All virtual cores)
      • physical: Intel i7-6500U (2) @ 3.1GHz (All physical cores)
      • off: Intel i7-6500U @ 3.1GHz
    cpu_cores="off"

  6. CPU temperature

    This variable allows the user to hide or show the CPU’s temperature, and if shown, the user can display it in Celsius or Fahrenheit degrees. For FreeBSD and NetBSD-based systems, you’ll need to enable the coretemp kernel module. This only supports newer Intel processors.

    • Default value: "off"
    • Values: - "C"
      • "F"
      • "off"
    • Flag: --cpu_temp
    • Supports: Linux, BSD
    • Examples: - C: Intel i7-6500U (4) @ 3.1GHz [27.2°C]
      • F: Intel i7-6500U (4) @ 3.1GHz [82.0°F]
      • off: Intel i7-6500U (4) @ 3.1GHz
    cpu_temp="off"

GPU

The function responsible for displaying information regarding the GPUs is gpu. It will try to list all available GPUs and display what it knows about them.

  1. GPU brand

    This value allows the user to hide or show the brand of their GPU in the output of gpu.

    • Default value: "on"

    • Values: - "on"

      • "off"

    • Flag: --gpu_brand

    • Supports:

    • Examples: - on: AMD HD 7950

      • off: HD 7950
    gpu_brand="off"

  2. Which GPU to display

    This allows the user to choose which GPU appears in the output of the function gpu.

    • Default value: "all"

    • Values: - "all"

      • "dedicated"
      • "integrated"

    • Flag: --gpu_type

    • Supports: Linux

    • Examples: - all:

      • dedicated: GPU1: AMD HD 7950
      • integrated: GPU1: Intel Integrated Graphics
    gpu_type="all"

Resolution

This will try to list all the connected screens and display their resolution individually. It is possible to display the refresh rate or to hide it.

  • Default value: "off"
  • Values: - "on"
    • "off"
  • Flag: --refresh_rate
  • Supports: Does not work on Windows
  • Examples: - on: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
    • off: 1920x1080
refresh_rate="off"