Install Fastfetch and ZimaOS Login Preset

benhaube · October 17, 2026, 3:18pm

Install Fastfetch and ZimaOS Login Preset

For a long time now I have had a custom Fastfetch preset that shows relevant system information when I start a new shell on my Linux PCs or log into my servers over SSH. This tutorial will show you how to install Fastfetch on ZimaOS and activate my custom login preset so it shows every time you log in or start a new SSH session.

Note: This is not like other tutorials that use a Docker container to run Fastfetch in your web browser. We will be installing the native Linux binary into your /opt/bin directory.

Download and Install Fastfetch

On another PC, download the latest release from the Fastfetch GitHub repo for your ZimaOS system’s architecture:

# Set the `FF_VERSION` variable for the latest release
FF_VERSION=2.70.0  # Check the latest version on the releases page

# For x86_64
wget https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/releases/download/$FF_VERSION/fastfetch-linux-amd64.tar.gz 

# For arm64
wget https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/releases/download/$FF_VERSION/fastfetch-linux-aarch64.tar.gz

Transfer the downloaded tarball to the /tmp directory on your server:

# For x86_64
scp fastfetch-linux-amd64.tar.gz admin@server-ip:/tmp

# For arm64
scp fastfetch-linux-aarch64.tar.gz admin@server-ip:/tmp

Log into your ZimaOS server via SSH as the admin user, and enter the /tmp directory.
```
cd /tmp
```

Unpack the archive:

# For x86_64
tar -xvf fastfetch-linux-amd64.tar.gz

# For arm64
tar -xvf fastfetch-linux-aarch64.tar.gz

Copy the contents to the /opt directory:

# For x86_64
sudo cp -r fastfetch-linux-amd64/usr /opt

# For arm64
sudo cp -r fastfetch-linux-aarch64/usr /opt

Make sure the /opt/bin directory is listed as a binary path on your system (it should be):
```
echo $PATH | tr ":" "\n"
```

If you do not see /opt/bin in the output, then add the following line to your ~/.bashrc file:

# Open `.bashrc` in `nano` text editor
sudo nano /DATA/.bashrc

# Add this line
export PATH=/opt/bin:$PATH

# Use `Ctrl+O` to save and `Ctrl+X` to exit `nano`

Run the fastfetch command to make sure it is working.

Note: You can use these same steps to update Fastfetch when new versions are released. I plan on writing a script to automate this process in the future to make it easier to install and update Fastfetch. I will update this tutorial if/when I get it completed.

Download and Activate Login Preset

Still in the /tmp directory, clone my GitHub repo:

git clone https://github.com/benhaube/fastfetch-login-preset.git

Copy the login-zimaos.jsonc preset file into the /opt/share/fastfetch/presets directory

sudo cp fastfetch-login-preset/login-zimaos/login-zimaos.jsonc /opt/share/fastfetch/presets

Create the /opt/share/fasfetch/logos directory and copy the zimaos.txt ASCII logo file into it

sudo mkdir /opt/share/fastfetch/logos
sudo cp fastfetch-login-preset/login-zimaos/zimaos.txt /opt/share/fastfetch/logos

Run the command fastfetch -c login-zimaos to test the new preset.

Add that same command to the bottom of your .bashrc file to print the preset on every login:

# Open `.bashrc` in `nano` text editor
sudo nano /DATA/.bashrc

# Add this command at the bottom of the file
fastfetch -c login-zimaos

# Use `Ctrl+O` to save and `Ctrl+X` to exit `nano`
# Reload Bash
source /DATA/.bashrc

Congratulations! Now you will see a custom Fastfetch preset showing relevant system information every time you log into your ZimaOS server.

Tip: To use the version with the large ASCII logo, replace the file names in the copy commands with login-zima-large.jsonc and zimaos-large.txt. You can also copy both versions if you want to have an option.