Popular terminal tool you could use on Windows and WSL is no more, but there are already some great alternatives
Neofetch will no longer be fetching anything as the project has been archived by its developer.
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What you need to know
If you’ve ever browsed the more Linux-y side of Reddit and indulged in a little gazing at folks showing off their beautiful desktop and terminal setups, you’ve likely seen Neofetch. It’s been in plenty of screenshots of my own coverage of theWindows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)here on the site, too.
Alas, poor Neofetch is no more. It’ll still work if you have it, but as reported byIt’s FOSS, the project is no longer in active development and the GitHub repository has been archived. As have other repositories by the same developer, including that for my own personal favorite, pFetch, which was a lighter alternative to Neofetch.
Apparently its developer has taken up farming!
Many have argued for some time that there are better alternatives to Neofetch that are lighter and faster, while still doing the same job. Whichever side of that fence you’re on, there’s no denying the popularity of Neofetch, and it’s always sad to see open source tools discontinued. This one got extra points for working on Windows as well as Linux.
But, where a door closes, another one always opens. Despite being archived, Neofetch could be forked by someone else who wants to have their own crack at it. But while popular, it wasn’t the only tool of its kind, and those alternatives already exist.
For Linux and WSL users, there’sFastfetch, essentially a reproduction of Neofetch written in a different programming language and that’s generally considered more performant than that upon which it’s based.
For those on Windows, I recommend checking out the excellentWinfetch. This is written in PowerShell, and again, is faster than Neofetch. It does the same job, though, with some nice touches like being able to add your own artwork or use your system wallpaper.
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Pour one out though for our fallen friend, and I wish the developer much success and happiness in their future endeavors.
Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you’ll find him steering the site’s coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon atmstdn.social/@richdevine
