How to Install Fastfetch on Ubuntu 24.04 & 22.04

Neofetch’s upstream repo is archived. Fastfetch does the same job—logo plus system stats in the terminal—and still tracks current kernels and GPUs.

On Ubuntu 24.04 and 22.04, plain sudo apt install fastfetch fails because the default archive has no package. Add the Fastfetch-endorsed maintainer PPA so upgrades work like any other apt install, or drop in the upstream .deb from GitHub if you do not want a PPA on the system. A PPA (Personal Package Archive) is an extra apt source on Launchpad—packages there are maintained separately from Ubuntu's official archive.

Quick answer

Why 24.04 and 22.04 need a PPA or .deb

Ubuntu Packages does not list fastfetch for noble (24.04) or jammy (22.04) in the default archive. On a clean 24.04 system, apt-cache policy fastfetch returns no candidate until you add the PPA or install a .deb manually.

              ┌─────────────────────┐
              │  Which Ubuntu LTS?  │
              └──────────┬──────────┘
                         │
            ┌────────────┴────────────┐
            v                         v
   ┌─────────────────┐       ┌─────────────────┐
   │   Ubuntu 26.04  │       │ 24.04 / 22.04   │
   └────────┬────────┘       └────────┬────────┘
            │                         │
            v                         v
   ┌─────────────────┐       ┌─────────────────┐
   │ universe APT    │       │ PPA or GitHub   │
   │ install-fastfetch│      │ .deb from GitHub│
   │ -ubuntu/        │       └─────────────────┘
   └─────────────────┘

Install Fastfetch with the maintainer PPA

The Fastfetch project points 22.04+ users at ppa:zhangsongcui3371/fastfetch when they want current builds through apt. It is a Fastfetch-endorsed maintainer PPA on Launchpad, not an Ubuntu archive component—only add it if you are fine trusting that source.

Pick one install source (PPA or GitHub .deb, not both fighting over the same package name) unless you deliberately remove the previous install first.

Register the maintainer archive:

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

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

Refresh indexes:

sudo apt update

On 24.04, APT should offer a PPA build such as 2.70.0~noble:

apt-cache policy fastfetch

fastfetch:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 2.70.0~noble
  Version table:
     2.70.0~noble 500
        500 https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/zhangsongcui3371/fastfetch/ubuntu noble/main amd64 Packages

On 22.04, expect a jammy-suffixed candidate (for example 2.66.0~jammy) from the same PPA URL with jammy in the suite name.

Why Ubuntu 22.04's PPA build can lag 24.04

Fastfetch 2.67.0 and later moved to C23 and raised the minimum compiler to GCC 13 or Clang 16 (see upstream release notes). Ubuntu 22.04 ships an older default toolchain, so the maintainer PPA can remain on a 2.66.x jammy line while 24.04 receives 2.70.0-class noble builds. On Jammy, use the prebuilt GitHub .deb when you need the newest upstream tag and the PPA candidate is behind.

Install from the PPA:

sudo apt install -y fastfetch

Check the version string:

fastfetch --version

fastfetch 2.70.0 (x86_64)

Run the default card:

fastfetch

After install, the screen looks the same as on any other path: logo on the left, stats on the right. Truncated example from a 24.04 PPA install:

                             ....              ubuntu@server
              .',:clooo:  .:looooo:.           --------
           .;looooooooc  .oooooooooo'          OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS x86_64
        .;looooool:,''.  :ooooooooooc          Kernel: Linux 6.8.0-…-generic
       ;looool;.         'oooooooooo,          Shell: bash 5.2.21
'ooooooooooo.                        loooo.    Memory: … / … GiB

A PPA install and a GitHub .deb both leave you with the same fastfetch command and the same logo-plus-stats layout.

Optional: install the latest Fastfetch from GitHub

Use the official .deb when you want a specific release tag without keeping a PPA, or when you prefer a one-off upstream install.

Check CPU architecture before you download:

dpkg --print-architecture

Pick the .deb whose name matches that line (amd64 or arm64).

Download the latest amd64 asset into /tmp (use fastfetch-linux-aarch64.deb on arm64):

wget -qO /tmp/fastfetch.deb https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/releases/latest/download/fastfetch-linux-amd64.deb

GitHub Releases list SHA-256 checksums for each Linux .deb. Hash the download before you install when the host matters:

sha256sum /tmp/fastfetch.deb

Compare that line with the SHA-256 value shown for fastfetch-linux-amd64.deb on the release page you downloaded.

Read control fields with dpkg-deb -f (more reliable than grepping dpkg-deb -I output):

dpkg-deb -f /tmp/fastfetch.deb Package Version Architecture Depends

Package: fastfetch
Version: 2.70.0
Architecture: amd64
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.35)

Install with dependency resolution from /tmp:

sudo apt install -y /tmp/fastfetch.deb

Confirm the installed build:

fastfetch --version

Customize Fastfetch

List packaged presets:

fastfetch --list-presets

Run the Neofetch-style layout without editing config files:

fastfetch -c neofetch

When you want a permanent custom layout, generate ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc:

fastfetch --gen-config

On tested 2.70.0 PPA builds, --gen-config may open Fastfetch’s interactive config generator in a terminal session. Edit the JSONC file it writes when you are done.

Append one line to your shell rc only when you want the card on every interactive terminal:

grep -q '^fastfetch$' ~/.bashrc 2>/dev/null || echo 'fastfetch' >> ~/.bashrc

Use ~/.zshrc for Zsh. Skip auto-run on production servers and SSH jump boxes.

Update Fastfetch

Refresh indexes first:

sudo apt update

Upgrade when APT reports a newer candidate:

sudo apt install --only-upgrade fastfetch

Uninstall Fastfetch

Purge the package:

sudo apt purge fastfetch

Removing the package does not remove the PPA. Drop the third-party archive when you no longer need it:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:zhangsongcui3371/fastfetch

Refresh indexes:

sudo apt update

Remove user settings:

rm -rf ~/.config/fastfetch

If you appended fastfetch to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc, delete that line so new shells do not call a missing binary after purge.

Troubleshooting

Summary

On 24.04 and 22.04, add ppa:zhangsongcui3371/fastfetch, run sudo apt update, then sudo apt install fastfetch, unless you prefer a one-off GitHub .deb. Check fastfetch --version (for example 2.70.0 from the PPA on 24.04, 2.66.0~jammy on 22.04 when the PPA lags upstream). Run fastfetch or fastfetch -c neofetch.

26.04 can skip the PPA—see Fastfetch on Ubuntu 26.04. If you upgrade an older box to 26.04, remove the PPA when you no longer need it and switch to the universe package if that version is good enough.

References

• Fastfetch on GitHub — source, releases, installation notes
• Fastfetch configuration wiki
• Ubuntu Packages — fastfetch search