Inxiis a powerful and remarkable command line-system information script designed for both console andIRC(Internet Relay Chat). It can be employed to instantly deduce user system configuration and hardware information, and also functions as a debugging, and forum technical support tool.
It displays handy information concerning system hardware (hard disk, sound cards, graphic card, network cards, CPU, RAM, and more), together with system information about drivers, Xorg, desktop environment, kernel, GCC version(s), processes, uptime, memory, and a wide array of other useful information.
However, it’s output slightly differs between the command line and IRC, with a few default filters and color options applicable to IRC usage. The supported IRC clients include: BitchX, Gaim/Pidgin, ircII, Irssi, Konversation, Kopete, KSirc, KVIrc, Weechat, and Xchat plus any others that are capable of showing either built in or external Inxi output.
### How to Install Inxi in Linux System
Inixis available in most mainstream Linux distribution repositories, and runs on BSDs as well.
Before we start using it, we can run the command that follows to check all application dependencies plus recommends, and various directories, and display what package(s) we need to install to add support for a given feature.
```
$ inxi --recommends
```
Inxi Checking
```
inxi will now begin checking for the programs it needs to operate. First a check of the main languages and tools
inxi uses. Python is only for debugging data collection.
Below are some basicInxioptions we can use to collect machine plus system information.
#### Show Linux System Information
When run without any flags,Inxiwill produce output to do with system CPU, kernel, uptime, memory size, hard disk size, number of processes, client used and inxi version:
The next command will enable us view complete list of hard disk partitions in relation to size, used and available space, filesystem as well as filesystem type on each partition with the`-p`flag:
By default, it can help us determine the[top 5 processes consuming CPU or memory][1]. The`-t`option used together with`c`(CPU) and/or`m`(memory) options lists the top 5 most active processes eating up CPU and/or memory as shown below:
```
----------------- Linux CPU Usage -----------------
$ inxi -t c
Processes: CPU: % used - top 5 active
1: cpu: 53.7% command: plugin-container pid: 3066
2: cpu: 20.0% command: java pid: 1527
3: cpu: 19.7% command: firefox pid: 3018
4: cpu: 4.6% command: Xorg pid: 2114
5: cpu: 3.0% command: cinnamon pid: 2835
```
```
----------------- Linux Memoery Usage -----------------
$ inxi -t m
Processes: Memory: MB / % used - Used/Total: 3212.5/7879.9MB - top 5 active
We can use`cm`number (number can be 1-20) to specify a number other than 5, the command below will show us the[top 10 most active processes][2]eating up CPU and memory.
```
$ inxi -t cm10
Processes: CPU: % used - top 10 active
1: cpu: 53.4% command: plugin-container pid: 3066
2: cpu: 19.8% command: java pid: 1527
3: cpu: 19.5% command: firefox pid: 3018
4: cpu: 4.5% command: Xorg pid: 2114
5: cpu: 3.0% command: cinnamon pid: 2835
6: cpu: 2.8% command: chrome pid: 7405
7: cpu: 1.1% command: pulseaudio pid: 2733
8: cpu: 1.0% command: soffice.bin pid: 7799
9: cpu: 0.9% command: chrome pid: 5763
10: cpu: 0.5% command: chrome pid: 6179
Memory: MB / % used - Used/Total: 3163.1/7879.9MB - top 10 active
We can keep track of the[hardware installed/configured sensors][3]output by using the-soption:
```
$ inxi -s
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 53.0C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
```
#### Find Weather Report in Linux
We can also view whether info (though API used is unreliable) for the current location with the`-w`or`-W``<different_location>`to set a different location.
```
$ inxi -w
Weather: Conditions: 93 F (34 C) - smoke Time: February 20, 1:38 PM IST
$ inxi -W Mumbai,India
Weather: Conditions: 93 F (34 C) - smoke Time: February 20, 1:38 PM IST
$ inxi -W Nairobi,Kenya
Weather: Conditions: 70 F (21 C) - Mostly Cloudy Time: February 20, 11:08 AM EAT
```
#### Find All Linux Repsitory Information
We can additionally view a distro repository data with the`-r`flag:
```
$ inxi -r
Repos: Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dawidd0811-neofetch-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/dawidd0811/neofetch/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/dawidd0811/neofetch/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dhor-myway-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/dhor/myway/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/dhor/myway/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com sarah main upstream import backport
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ xenial partner
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/qbittorrent-team-qbittorrent-stable-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/qbittorrent-team/qbittorrent-stable/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/slgobinath-safeeyes-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/slgobinath/safeeyes/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/slgobinath/safeeyes/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/snwh-pulp-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/snwh/pulp/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/snwh/pulp/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/twodopeshaggy-jarun-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/twodopeshaggy/jarun/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/twodopeshaggy/jarun/ubuntu xenial main
Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-mozilla-security-ppa-xenial.list
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa/ubuntu xenial main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa/ubuntu xenial main
```
To view it’s current installed version, a quick help, and open the man page for a full list of options and detailed usage info plus lots more, type:
```
$ inxi -v #show version
$ inxi -h #quick help
$ man inxi #open man page
```
For more information, visit official GitHub Repository:[https://github.com/smxi/inxi][4]
That’s all for now! In this article, we reviewed Inxi, a full featured and remarkable command line tool for collecting machine hardware and system info. This is one of the best CLI based[hardware/system information collection tools][5]for Linux, I have ever used.
To share your thoughts about it, use the comment form below. Lastly, in case you know of other, such useful tools as Inxi out there, you can inform us and we will be delighted to review them as well.
Aaron Kili is a Linux and F.O.S.S enthusiast, an upcoming Linux SysAdmin, web developer, and currently a content creator for TecMint who loves working with computers and strongly believes in sharing knowledge.
