Getting Started with xfetch

xfetch is a cross-platform system information fetching tool written in Rust. It displays details about your operating system, hardware, software, and network in a customizable terminal output with ASCII art or images.

Quick Install

Linux and macOS

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xfetch-cli/xfetch/main/install.sh | bash

This installs xfetch to ~/.local/bin/, generates a first configuration at ~/.config/xfetch/config.jsonc with xfetch --gen-config, and optionally adds the binary directory to your PATH.

To customize the installation path:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xfetch-cli/xfetch/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --prefix ~/myapps

Flags:

Flag	Description
--local	Use the local repository instead of cloning
--prefix <dir>	Installation prefix (default: ~/.local)
--bin-dir <dir>	Binary directory (default: ~/.local/bin)
--config-dir <dir>	Configuration directory (default: ~/.config/xfetch)
--no-modify-path	Do not add bin directory to PATH in shell rc
--yes	Automatic yes to all prompts
--skip-config	Skip copying default configuration
--no-cargo-install	Use a pre-built binary instead of building with Cargo
--install-deps	Install missing system dependencies automatically

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xfetch-cli/xfetch/main/install.ps1 | iex

Manual Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/xfetch-cli/xfetch.git
cd xfetch
cargo build --release
cp target/release/xfetch ~/.local/bin/

Arch Linux (AUR)

xfetch is available in the AUR as xfetch-git. Build and install with makepkg or your preferred AUR helper:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/xfetch-git.git
cd xfetch-git
makepkg -si

Package Managers

xfetch is available through Homebrew:

brew tap xfetch-cli/tap
brew install xfetch

From crates.io:

cargo install xfetch-cli

From the repository PKGBUILD:

git clone https://github.com/xfetch-cli/xfetch.git
cd xfetch
makepkg -si

First Run

After installation, simply run:

xfetch

You should see system information displayed alongside an ASCII logo, resembling this structure:

__  __                               OS: Arch Linux x86_64
  \ \/ /                             Kernel: 6.6.87.2-arch1-1
   \  /                              Uptime: 2 hours, 15 mins
   /  \                              Packages: 657 (pacman)
  /_/\_\                             WM: Hyprland
 /____/linux                         Shell: zsh
---------BEGIN PUBLIC KEY----------   CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7400 @ 3.00GHz (4)
...                                  GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
----------END PUBLIC KEY-----------   Memory: 3.10 GiB / 7.74 GiB (40%)
                                     Disk: 120.5 GiB / 256 GiB (47%) - ext4
                                     Battery: 85% [Charging]

Command-Line Interface

Global Flags

Flag	Description
-c, --config <PATH>	Path to a custom configuration file (JSONC format)
--gen-config	Generate a default configuration file at the standard config path
--layout <name>	Layout to use with --gen-config (default: section)
--logo <id>	Logo id (e.g. arch, windows-11) to use with --gen-config (requires network access to the logos catalog)
--clean-cache	Clear the cache database
--benchmark	Print timing information for parallel probes
--daemon	Start the animated daemon
--daemon-stop	Stop the daemon
--no-daemon-live	Disable the live stats daemon even if enabled in config
--daemon-live-stop	Stop the running live stats daemon
--daemon-live-reload	Force hot reload in the live stats daemon

Plugin Subcommands

xfetch plugin install <name>      Install a plugin (local path or from repository)
xfetch plugin list                List all installed plugins
xfetch plugin remove <name>       Remove an installed plugin

Extension Subcommands

xfetch extension install <name>   Install an extension (local path or from repository)
xfetch extension list             List all installed extensions
xfetch extension remove <name>    Remove an installed extension

Theme Subcommands

xfetch theme list                 List installed themes
xfetch theme set <name>           Activate a theme (sets the "theme" field in config.jsonc)
xfetch theme remove <name>        Remove a theme file
xfetch theme export <name>        Export the current visual config as a theme file

Effects Subcommands

xfetch effects install <name>     Install an intro effect
xfetch effects list               List installed effects
xfetch effects remove <name>      Remove an effect

Usage Examples

# Run with default configuration
xfetch

# Run with a custom configuration
xfetch --config ~/.config/xfetch/my-config.jsonc

# Generate a default configuration
xfetch --gen-config

# Run in benchmark mode
xfetch --benchmark

# Clear cached data
xfetch --clean-cache

# Install a plugin
xfetch plugin install animate-logo

# List installed plugins
xfetch plugin list

# Remove a plugin
xfetch plugin remove docker

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
XFETCH_PLUGIN_REPO	Override the default plugin git repository URL
XFETCH_PLUGIN_DEV_DIR	Override the plugin development directory search path
XFETCH_LOGOS_URL	Override the logos catalog URL (used by --logo with --gen-config)
XFETCH_EFFECT_REPO	Override the effects git repository URL
CARGO_NET_GIT_FETCH_WITH_CLI	Use git CLI for fetching (set automatically during plugin install)

Uninstallation

Quick Uninstall

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xfetch-cli/xfetch/main/uninstall.sh | bash

Manual Uninstall

rm ~/.local/bin/xfetch
rm -rf ~/.config/xfetch

Then remove any PATH modifications from your shell rc file if the installer added them.