How to Install Fastfetch on Ubuntu

Fastfetch is the terminal system-info tool most Ubuntu users reach for after Neofetch stopped receiving updates. It prints your distro ASCII logo, kernel, desktop environment, CPU, GPU, memory, and disk usage in one glance—useful for screenshots, forum posts, and checking that a VM or cloud instance booted the way you expect.

This guide shows how to install Fastfetch on Ubuntu the way I actually use it: apt from universe when you want a supported package, the official GitHub .deb when you need the newest upstream release, and a portable tarball when you cannot use apt. You will also see how Ubuntu wires neofetch to fastfetch, how to try the Neofetch preset, and where to put a config file so you are not retyping flags every session.

Tested on: Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin); kernel 6.14.0-37-generic.

Quick command summary

What is Fastfetch—and why replace Neofetch?

Fastfetch is a C-based system information tool modeled after Neofetch, Screenfetch, and similar “fetch” scripts. It is actively maintained, noticeably faster on large module lists, and understands modern stacks (Wayland sessions, current GPU drivers, JSON config) better than frozen Neofetch builds.

Community threads—including r/Ubuntu discussion of fastfetch—converge on the same advice: install fastfetch, and keep Neofetch only if an old script hard-codes the command name.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS, 24.10, or newer (25.04 tested here) on amd64 for the commands below.
• sudo for system-wide installs.
• universe enabled in apt sources (required for apt install fastfetch on supported releases).
• A terminal emulator (GNOME Terminal, Terminator, Kitty, Alacritty, Tilix, etc.). Persistent SSH sessions pair well with GNU Screen or tmux if you demo fetch output on remote hosts.
• Optional: a Nerd Font if logo glyphs render as tofu—Fastfetch falls back to plain text for missing symbols.

Check your release if you are unsure:

. /etc/os-release && echo "$PRETTY_NAME"

See also check Ubuntu version.

Step 1: Install Fastfetch from apt (recommended)

On Ubuntu 24.10 and newer, fastfetch is a first-class universe package. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS also carries fastfetch in universe on current point releases—run apt-cache policy fastfetch to confirm. 22.04 LTS may need the GitHub tarball or maintainer PPA when the archive candidate is missing or too old (PengWin Tech documents the tarball path for releases before apt packaging was common).

Refresh indexes and inspect the candidate before installing:

sudo apt update
apt-cache policy fastfetch

On Ubuntu 25.04 you should see something like:

fastfetch:
 Installed: (none)
 Candidate: 2.38.0+dfsg-1ubuntu1
 Version table:
 2.38.0+dfsg-1ubuntu1 500
 500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu plucky/universe amd64 Packages

Install with apt:

sudo apt install -y fastfetch

apt pulls in libyyjson0 as a dependency and may register a Neofetch compatibility alternative:

Setting up fastfetch (2.38.0+dfsg-1ubuntu1) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/fastfetch/neofetch-wrapper to provide /usr/bin/neofetch (neofetch) in auto mode

Verify:

fastfetch --version
which fastfetch

fastfetch 2.38.0-debug (x86_64)
/usr/bin/fastfetch

Run the default info card:

fastfetch

You get an ASCII logo (Ubuntu on my VM), then labeled rows for OS, Host, Kernel, Uptime, Packages, Shell, DE, CPU, GPU, Memory, and more—the exact set depends on hardware and desktop session.

What happens to the neofetch command?

On this install path, /usr/bin/neofetch may point at a wrapper:

neofetch --version

WARNING: neofetch is deprecated, running fastfetch instead
If you find missing functionality, please report a bug by running `ubuntu-bug fastfetch` ...
fastfetch 2.38.0-debug (x86_64)

That is intentional: old dotfiles and tutorials that still call neofetch keep working while you migrate scripts to fastfetch explicitly.

Step 2: Install the latest release from GitHub (.deb)

Ubuntu’s archive trades absolute freshness for security maintenance. When you need upstream features (new modules, bug fixes), use the official .deb from GitHub Releases—the standard manual install path.

Download the current amd64 package (example tag 2.65.1 at time of writing):

cd /tmp
wget -qO fastfetch.deb https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/releases/latest/download/fastfetch-linux-amd64.deb
dpkg-deb -I fastfetch.deb | grep -E '^(Package|Version|Depends)'

Package: fastfetch
Version: 2.65.1
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.35)

Install with apt so dependencies resolve cleanly:

sudo apt install -y ./fastfetch.deb
fastfetch --version

fastfetch 2.65.1 (x86_64)

You need wget or cURL to download the release artifact.

Step 3: Install a portable binary (tarball)

When you lack root on a shared machine—or you want a single file in /usr/local/bin—extract the prebuilt tarball from GitHub:

cd /tmp
wget -qO fastfetch.tar.gz https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/releases/latest/download/fastfetch-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xf fastfetch.tar.gz --strip-components=3 -C /usr/local/bin fastfetch-linux-amd64/usr/bin/fastfetch
fastfetch --version

fastfetch 2.65.1 (x86_64)

The archive layout is fastfetch-linux-amd64/usr/bin/fastfetch—three path segments stripped with --strip-components=3 land the binary directly in /usr/local/bin. Use sudo on /usr/local/bin when you are not root.

Remove the tarball when you are done:

rm -f /tmp/fastfetch.tar.gz

Step 4: Install from the maintainer PPA (optional, older LTS)

On Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS, universe may ship an older fastfetch—or none at all depending on enablement. The upstream maintainer publishes ppa:zhangsongcui3371/fastfetch for Ubuntu users who want current releases without manual .deb downloads:

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:zhangsongcui3371/fastfetch
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y fastfetch

If add-apt-repository is missing on a minimal image, install software-properties-common first—see add-apt-repository command not found.

Treat third-party PPAs like any external archive: pin or remove the PPA when you return to pure archive packages, and prefer apt install ./fastfetch.deb from GitHub if you want one-off latest upstream without adding a repository.

Customize Fastfetch after install

Default output is verbose—fine for learning the tool, heavy for narrow terminal screenshots. Fastfetch is built around modules (OS, CPU, GPU, …), presets, and a JSONC config file.

Generate a config file

fastfetch --gen-config

Creates ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc with a starter module list (title, separator, os, host, kernel, packages, shell, display, de, wm, cpu, gpu, memory, disk, and others). Edit the file in any JSON-aware editor; upstream publishes a JSON schema for completions.

Try built-in presets

List names:

fastfetch --list-presets

Common entries include neofetch.jsonc, screenfetch.jsonc, paleofetch.jsonc, and examples under examples/.

Neofetch-style output without editing files yet:

fastfetch -c neofetch.jsonc

Persist a preset as your default config

Generate a config file, then replace it with a preset you like:

fastfetch --gen-config
cp /usr/share/fastfetch/presets/neofetch.jsonc ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc
fastfetch

Presets ship under /usr/share/fastfetch/presets/—neofetch.jsonc, screenfetch.jsonc, paleofetch.jsonc, and examples/ for inspiration. Edit ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc in any JSON-aware editor; upstream publishes a JSON schema for autocomplete in VS Code.

To preview every module before you trim the list:

fastfetch -c all.jsonc

That output is long—use it once to see what is available, then switch to a shorter preset or custom modules array.

Pick modules from the command line

List modules:

fastfetch --list-modules

Show only what you care about (names are case-sensitive):

fastfetch -s OS:Kernel:Shell:Memory:Disk

Add the Separator module if you want blank lines between sections in custom layouts.

Logos and colors

fastfetch --list-logos
fastfetch -l ubuntu
fastfetch --logo-color-1 red --logo-color-2 yellow

For screenshot-ready dots, install a Nerd Font in your terminal profile—missing glyphs are usually a font issue, not a fastfetch bug.

Run Fastfetch when a terminal opens (optional)

Add to ~/.bashrc only when you want the card on every interactive shell:

grep -q 'fastfetch' ~/.bashrc || echo 'fastfetch' >> ~/.bashrc

Use a lighter preset if full output scrolls off screen:

echo 'fastfetch -c neofetch.jsonc' >> ~/.bashrc

For zsh, append the same line to ~/.zshrc. Skip auto-run on production servers—combine with htop or btop when you need live metrics instead of a static snapshot.

Uninstall Fastfetch

APT or .deb via apt:

sudo apt purge -y fastfetch
sudo apt autoremove -y

Manual /usr/local/bin binary:

sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/fastfetch

Config only (keeps package):

rm -rf ~/.config/fastfetch

Purging the package removes the neofetch alternative on Ubuntu releases that registered it—install a standalone neofetch package only if you truly need the unmaintained script (not recommended).

Troubleshooting

References

• Fastfetch on GitHub — source, releases, JSON schema
• r/Ubuntu: fastfetch discussion
• PengWin Tech: Fastfetch install on Ubuntu 24.04
• CrownCloud wiki: Fastfetch quick install
• On-site: must-have Ubuntu apps, Terminator terminal, apt command, check Ubuntu version, wget command, curl cheat sheet

Summary

The straightforward way to install Fastfetch on Ubuntu on current releases is sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y fastfetch from universe, then confirm with fastfetch --version and fastfetch. Ubuntu may alias neofetch to a fastfetch wrapper—migrate scripts to fastfetch when you can.

When apt’s version lags what you need, install fastfetch-linux-amd64.deb from GitHub Releases or drop the tarball binary into /usr/local/bin. Tune output with fastfetch --gen-config, presets like neofetch.jsonc, and module flags—so your terminal info card matches how you actually use the machine, not a one-size screenshot from 2018.