How to Install Fastfetch on Ubuntu 26.04

Run fastfetch when you want a Neofetch-style summary in the terminal: ASCII logo on the left, OS, kernel, GPU, and memory on the right. Neofetch’s upstream repo is archived; Fastfetch is what most people install on new setups now.

On Ubuntu 26.04 the package is in universe, so sudo apt install fastfetch is enough for a distro-managed install. Universe is an Ubuntu archive component for community-maintained packages. Desktop images usually enable it; some minimal cloud images do not.

Quick answer

Fastfetch on Ubuntu 26.04 vs 24.04 / 22.04

Search Ubuntu Packages for fastfetch and you will see resolute (26.04) listed; noble and jammy still have no archive package.

Universe package version vs upstream Fastfetch

Ubuntu 26.04 ships Fastfetch in universe (for example 2.57.1+dfsg-1ubuntu1 on packages.ubuntu.com). Upstream moves faster—for example 2.70.0 on GitHub Releases—and Fastfetch's install notes recommend current releases because older builds are not supported upstream.

Use universe when you want Ubuntu to own updates through apt upgrade and the pinned version is fine. Use the Fastfetch-endorsed maintainer PPA or a GitHub .deb from the 24.04 & 22.04 guide when you need a newer upstream build on 26.04 as well.

Pick one package source at a time (universe, PPA, or .deb). Switching between them without cleaning up the old install makes apt-cache policy fastfetch and command -v fastfetch harder to read.

Fastfetch vs Neofetch on Ubuntu

Installing fastfetch from universe does not always give you a neofetch command on PATH. Call fastfetch in scripts and dotfiles.

Install Fastfetch from universe on Ubuntu 26.04

Fastfetch lives in universe. If APT cannot see the package, enable the component, then refresh indexes with apt:

sudo add-apt-repository universe

Refresh package indexes after you enable universe:

sudo apt update

See what APT will install before you commit:

apt-cache policy fastfetch

fastfetch:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 2.57.1+dfsg-1ubuntu1
  Version table:
     2.57.1+dfsg-1ubuntu1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu resolute/universe amd64 Packages

Install the universe package:

sudo apt install -y fastfetch

Confirm the version string:

fastfetch --version

fastfetch 2.57.1 (x86_64)

See which path the shell resolves:

command -v fastfetch

/usr/bin/fastfetch

Run the default info card:

fastfetch

You should see the Ubuntu logo on the left and a stack of labels on the right. Hostname, kernel, and hardware lines will not match the sample; you are checking that the card prints instead of an error:

                             ....              ubuntu@server
              .',:clooo:  .:looooo:.           --------
           .;looooooooc  .oooooooooo'          OS: Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute Raccoon) x86_64
        .;looooool:,''.  :ooooooooooc          Host: Virtual Machine
       ;looool;.         'oooooooooo,          Kernel: Linux 7.0.0-38-generic
      ;clool'             .cooooooc.  ,,       Uptime: 8 hours, 40 mins
         ...                ......  .:oo,      Packages: 2349 (dpkg)
  .;clol:,.                        .loooo'     Shell: bash 5.3.9
 :ooooooooo,                        'ooool     CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 5 135U (2) @ 2.69 GHz
'ooooooooooo.                        loooo.    GPU: VirtualBox Graphics Adapter
'ooooooooool                         coooo.    Memory: 5.55 GiB / 7.25 GiB (76%)

Customize Fastfetch

The default layout is busy. Fastfetch resolves preset names from its data paths—you do not need to copy files out of /usr/share just to try Neofetch-style spacing.

List presets that ship with your package:

fastfetch --list-presets

neofetch.jsonc
screenfetch.jsonc
all.jsonc
ci.jsonc

The neofetch preset name resolves to the packaged neofetch.jsonc file—you can pass either form, but -c neofetch matches current upstream docs.

Run the Neofetch-style preset:

fastfetch -c neofetch

When you want your own layout permanently, generate a user config file:

fastfetch --gen-config

On the tested 2.57.1 universe build, --gen-config writes ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc directly. Newer PPA or GitHub builds (for example 2.70.0) may open Fastfetch’s interactive config generator instead—edit the resulting JSONC 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 on Ubuntu 26.04

Universe updates arrive through APT like any other package:

sudo apt update

Upgrade when APT reports a newer candidate:

sudo apt install --only-upgrade fastfetch

Uninstall Fastfetch

List what is installed:

dpkg -l fastfetch

Purge the package:

sudo apt purge fastfetch

Remove optional 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.

See how to remove software on Ubuntu for broader purge habits.

Troubleshooting

Summary

On Ubuntu 26.04, turn on universe if apt cannot find the package, then sudo apt install fastfetch. fastfetch --version should match the universe build (for example 2.57.1 on the tested host). That path is easy to maintain, but it can lag upstream; use the PPA or GitHub .deb from the sibling guide when you need a current Fastfetch release.

Run fastfetch for the default card, or fastfetch -c neofetch for Neofetch-style spacing. 24.04 and 22.04 still need the maintainer PPA or a GitHub .deb—see Fastfetch on Ubuntu 24.04 & 22.04.

References

• Fastfetch on GitHub — source, releases, installation notes
• Fastfetch configuration wiki
• Ubuntu Packages — fastfetch (resolute)