Extensions

Official extensions for xfetch live in this repository. Extensions are standalone binaries that hook into the xfetch lifecycle — they can modify the configuration before rendering, change layouts, randomize themes, and more.

Unlike plugins (which provide info lines or animate logos), extensions operate at the config level: they receive the full resolved configuration via stdin and return a modified version via stdout. This allows them to alter layouts, modules, colors, icons, logos, or even load an entirely different config file.

Install an Extension

Copy the binary to the extensions directory:

cp xfetch-extension-<name> ~/.config/xfetch/extensions/

Then add it to your xfetch config:

{
  "config_providers": [
    {
      "extension": "<name>",
      "args": { ... }
    }
  ]
}

Extensions run in declaration order, after the theme merge.

Available Extensions

Extension	Description
layout-override	Overrides the layout and/or modules at load time.
config-roulette	Picks a random (or daily) config from a list of paths — shows a different look every time.

Developing Locally

This repository is a Cargo workspace. Build every extension together:

cargo build --release

Extension implementations are grouped under extensions/<name>, keeping the root clean as the ecosystem grows.

The shared wire protocol used by the core and extensions is maintained in xfetch-cli/api.

Installed Binary Directory

• Linux/macOS: ~/.config/xfetch/extensions/
• Windows: %APPDATA%/xfetch/extensions/

Authoring Extensions

Each extension is a binary named xfetch-extension-<name> (or xfetch-extension-<name>.exe on Windows).

The protocol uses stdin/stdout JSON:

Request

{
  "version": 1,
  "kind": "config_provider",
  "config": { ... },
  "args": { ... }
}

Response

{
  "config": { ... }
}

The extension receives the fully resolved xfetch configuration (after applying defaults, config file, and theme), modifies the fields it cares about, and returns the entire config object. Unchanged fields are preserved.

Errors should be printed to stderr and the process should exit with a non-zero status.