What message do you like to automatically print on the terminal when it opens? [Here's mine]
Posted by cleitodokiwi@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 145 comments
For my terminal when it opens up this big fat tux giving me a welcome, it is so cute. I might use those fancy commands to display an image of tux instead of text, but for now, i like it how it looks.
This is not a plugin or something, just a hand crafted ASCCI art echoing on terminal startup. If you didn't know, you can do this very easily on any linux terminal!
I find neofetch or just the arch logo [i use Arch BTW] boring when you can have a massive penguin on your terminal and have the right to display it, because you proudly use linux!
What do you print/use to welcome you to your terminal? Give us some screenshots!
ArcadeToken95@reddit
LesStrater@reddit
owner@debian12(m=menu):\~$
chiefhunnablunts@reddit
fastfetch then some oh-my-zsh prettifier bs. nothing crazy.
MrThrownAway12@reddit
name@hostname ~/directory (git:branch)%ruby_R53@reddit
for login shells i made it say
Start X session? [Y/n]so that i won't have to typeexec startx -- vt1(almost) every time i log in, but for interactive ones it's just the prompt and nothing morearf20__@reddit
How about... the prompt
Annual-Advisor-7916@reddit
I haven't done it yet, but thinking of it, it would make sense to print a few information about the machine you are at. We have quite a few scattered machines and while documented it probably would be convenient to just have a few words what the thing is you are at, especially when you are switching between them.
arf20__@reddit
I have two nodes and over 25 VMs and LXCs, is not that much but I just need to know the hostname to know where I'm at.
Annual-Advisor-7916@reddit
Yeah, that's the case for my private stuff too. I remember exactly what containers I installed on a Raspberry Pi in 2016, but at my job there are lots of obscure VMs running, retrieving files from some API, doing god knows what with them and pushing other files to estranged FTP servers. There are 3rd parties, some servers belong to us, some are just managed by us, some are sitting at a customers site, some in a HA cluster. Most of that stuff existed before my time, it's sometimes a bit hard to keep track.
Yes, I'm aware how bad all of this is, but our business is a bit peculiar and there are lots of 3rd parties involved and never money to make things right.
TheCrustyCurmudgeon@reddit
exactly. I prefer to not interact with my terminal on a personal level...
LetReasonRing@reddit
Yep, i want to get to work, not get a dopamine rush, and I know my system specs, i don't need a dump of tgem every time I open my terminal.
Outrageous_Trade_303@reddit
What about some good ascii porn? No one says no to porn /s
GandhiTheDragon@reddit
Thank you for this laugh in the morning
Darthscary@reddit
Like tequila, I donโt need toys when the shell opens
toyfreddym8@reddit
I just run fastfetch uppon opening
FrostyDiscipline7558@reddit
I have zsh setup to pre-log me into things it can, and pre-setup dynamic shell functions for logging into aws environments.
The following all overwrite the first line as they do their steps:
From here:
echo -ne "\r\033[KHistory and Binds..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KZstyle..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KCompinits/completions..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KMac pbcopy emulation..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KLoading zplug..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KNVM Completion..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KLoading all your zplug modules..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KZplug update..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KAWS Completion..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KAzure Completion..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KLoading FZF Fuzzy Finder..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KFull P10k Load..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KLoading Direnv..."
To here: it's too fast too even see. It slows down to being readable here:
echo -ne "\r\033[KBitwarden..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KBitwarden completion..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KLoading Bitward Session..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KBitwarden Token Good?"
echo -ne "\r\033[KBitwarden Get Password..."
echo -ne "\r\033[KGenerating the following functions for logins to environments: "
Then a new line with the environment names it auto creates shell functions for, so I can see the function names... Then a new line reminding me where to add or remove those environments:
echo "To update dynamically generated login functions, edit your \~/.aws2fa.json file."
echo "Done"
Finally it then prints my p10k 2 line zsh prompt.
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Sick, this is should be the stereotype of how window users see linux users
FrostyDiscipline7558@reddit
โค๏ธ Thank you!
Big_Wrongdoer_5278@reddit
Date, weather, and the three most recent posts from the arch rss newsfeed so I know when manual intervention is required before I update.
Set up as a motd so it loads only once on bootup, otherwise it does slow down opening terminal windows, and reopening it constantly makes both the weather people and the arch people mad and they temp ban you from the service.
https://imgur.com/brUpzY4
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Cool, really pratical
Alice_Alisceon@reddit
I wrote my own cowsay-like script to print more compact messages than the original. It currently prints Theo quotes
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
cool, you are really on the hobby of programing and scripting hu
TheBlackCarlo@reddit
I have a somewhat classic
fortune | cowsay | lolcatscript which draws both cows and fortunes from the defaults and my custom repository for fortunes and cows.cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
SICK, rainbow cows in a fortune massage is pretty cool.
mechatour_@reddit
echo " GREETINGS PROFESSOR ${(U)USER}." echo " SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?"
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
๐๐๐๐๐
Im-NyaA@reddit
So, how can I do this?
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
depends on the shell emulator you use (it should probaly be: fish, zsh or bash), it will probaly appear somewhere in the terminal window. Then just google or chatgpt how to add a welcome massage to x terminal emulator.
In my case i use fish, so i just pasted this text in: /home/moraes/.config/fish/functions/fish_greeting.fish
domsch1988@reddit
I have a little thing to show me useful, but rarely used commands i created
I use them in my Job to automatically fetch files from Servers or Clients into a Temp directory and to "convert" Windows Users SMB Shares into my mount paths. They are a lifesaver when i need them once or twice a month, but i tend to forget the shorthands.
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Sick, really practical one
xXBongSlut420Xx@reddit
i am constantly in my terminal, it would be profoundly annoying if it did anything other than just give me a prompt
speedyundeadhittite@reddit
Just never install the sl package. You'll hate it.
Samiassa@reddit
Personally I have fastfetch and a Cowsay pipe with the whether in my city, the city my college is in that I commute to, and a dadjoke. It also randomizes the cowsay ascii. I do the same thing on pretty much all my machines, Iโve even got it on macOS.
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Sick, you have all the info you need, really pratical.
bmxxtc@reddit
i like using this ASCII drawing in terminal and it gives random color everytime:
:(){ :|:& };:
P.S. you need fast processor for it
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Sick, maybe i'l give it a try /s
FryBoyter@reddit
For years, Linux has had an nproc limit so that fork bombs no longer overload the entire system.
lonelyroom-eklaghor@reddit
Maybe play the song "Around the World" by Daft Punk? (I know, a trick answer, but still)
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Like playing a song when the terminal opens up? Might be possible, with some music plugin, but i dk
ripndipp@reddit
WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Sick, some "motivational" words to start up the terminal LOL
Ok_Run_421@reddit
Holy 1984 reference!
Lord_Of_Millipedes@reddit
I had a little script that pipes fortune into cowsay with a small chance to instead say
(( $(date + %Y) + 1 )) will be the year of linux desktopbut only if i hadn't a shell already spawned (so only the first to open) but i got tired of it and commented it outcleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
LOL, you should uncomment it, its sick
BrianEK1@reddit
I like having fortune | cowsay. Gives me a little laugh sometimes and it's not too in the way or garish. Also doesn't take very long to run so when I need a terminal to do something quickly it doesn't take ages to open.
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Cool, this is apparently a pretty standard combination, however i am not sure if i would have the discipline to read the message every time the terminal opens lol.
Redgohst92@reddit
All these โhardcoreโ โhackersโ hating in here is hilarious. Remember when you used to get excited to make something like this run? Now itโs โIโm not a skript kitty I just get to workโ. I feel sorry for these kinds of people.
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Agree, this is something so cool that you can do on linux, when i moved to linux, this was one of the first things i learned and did, because it is a simple thing that you will see almost everyday, and i was/am so proud because of it.
I don't see the point on so many people just hating on it or just saying "The prompt" instead of sharing actually cool things.
Riponai_Gaming@reddit
Eh, youre over thinking it, some people just hate clutter on their terminal. Its not a big thing, just different tastes
SEI_JAKU@reddit
Viewing it as "clutter" and legitimizing it like this is the entire problem.
Riponai_Gaming@reddit
Care to elaborate? The art doesn't serve any purpose so its clutter
SEI_JAKU@reddit
There's nothing to elaborate on, and you're already doing a pretty good job of that for me anyway. You're doubling down on this while accusing others of "overthinking it".
speedyundeadhittite@reddit
Not when I open a connection, but when I disconnect from my servers, they all tell me "See you Space Cowboy!" in colour.
ratliker62@reddit
I don't have anything, but this is really cute OP. I might look into doing something like this of my own.
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
If you want to, i posted the ASCII art in another comment asking for it on this post.
Disastrous-Focus1958@reddit
Can you share the ascii tux pls?
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
Sure, it is a modified version of this to fix some weird holes in the art:
Here's the entire config file from the fish terminal (i tried just pasting it here, but for some reason reddit doesn't support the little dots the penguin is made of, so i will just paste it on docs, sorry, also, the spacing might be a little of when you echo this in the terminal, but remember to include the
-eto theecho):https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EBJ7FgO2NeWJlitNN9SXnUsW9IXN0lNvZSRuOX6_QvQ/edit?usp=sharing
If you are using another terminal emulator than fish, you will need to past just the ASCII art part elsewhere according to your terminal emulator, GL.
The /e[Nm after the text box and in the end, is to make the penguin blue, and you can change the number to change the color so, if you change (the
\e[36min the start ) to these numbers, it will change the colors:DvD_42@reddit
I have one for each ssh server and my own in my bash, it always has Welcome back <3 | 10:30 PM - sun
And on the servers: Welcome back: uptime 20 days
aJKVVnPE0xKhjNk@reddit
I have a Bender .cow file that gives me a random Bender quote from a text file that has every Bender line from Futurama before the Hulu reboot. I haven't added any of the "new" quotes yet.
johsny@reddit
Where can I get this? Iโd like to add it to my fortunes db.
DvD_42@reddit
What's in that bank of yours? Could you share?
HAL9000thebot@reddit
not the guy you asked nor sure what you mean, but i found this bender cow file for you and i made little script to build some quotes from (hardcoded) random sources, you should be able to easily extend and / or adapt to other source without much problem, here:
i only tested that it downloads and builds a file in a format that looks like what fortune wants, i don't know if it works.
wc counts 807 lines, so there should be 269 quotes.
johsny@reddit
Wow, thank you!!
loonite@reddit
It's the default, and it feels like home.
Neither-Ad-8914@reddit
ROBCO INDUSTRIES UNIFIED OPERATING SYSTEM COPYRIGHT 2075-2077 ROBCO INDUSTRIES
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
LOL, why would you need a fancy distro when you have imagination
JotaRata@reddit
Hello, Smithers. You're quite good at turning me on!
cleitodokiwi@reddit (OP)
LOL, how tf do redditors know every single random meme video/clip on YT?
BombTheDodongos@reddit
I used to prank one of the developers I worked with by remoting in and adding weird shit to his .bash_profile. Once I added exactly this, an ASCII image of Mr. Burns with the text โHello Josh, youโre quite good at turning me onโ.
irregularjosh@reddit
๐
JotaRata@reddit
Blessed
delafuente23@reddit
Ngl, Neofetch makes me feel kinda hackery, so that's why I have it.
Fratm@reddit
On any machines that are public facing, I have it show me the fail2ban stats, other machines, just whatever the distro puts up by default.
hippor_hp@reddit
I print nothing
NoEntertainment5837@reddit
`.:/ossyyyysso/:. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย codercat1816@codercat1816-OptiPlex-790 ย
.:oyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyo:` ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย -------------------------------------- ย
-oyyyyyyyodMMyyyyyyyysyyyyo- ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย OS: Kubuntu 24.04.2 LTS x86_64 ย
-syyyyyyyyyydMMyoyyyydmMMyyyyys- ย ย ย ย ย ย Host: OptiPlex 790 01 ย
oyyysdMysyyyydMMMMMMMMMMMMMyyyyyyyo ย ย ย ย Kernel: 6.14.0-35-generic ย
`oyyyydMMMMysyysoooooodMMMMyyyyyyyyyo` ย ย ย Uptime: 4 mins ย
oyyyyyydMMMMyyyyyyyyyyyysdMMysssssyyyo ย ย ย Packages: 2684 (dpkg) ย
-yyyyyyyydMysyyyyyyyyyyyyyysdMMMMMysyyy- ย ย Shell: bash 5.2.21 ย
oyyyysoodMyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyydMMMMysyyyo ย ย Resolution: 1920x1080 ย
yyysdMMMMMyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyysosyyyyyyyy ย ย DE: Plasma 5.27.12 ย
yyysdMMMMMyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ย ย WM: KWin ย
oyyyyysosdyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyydMMMMysyyyo ย ย WM Theme: Breeze ย
-yyyyyyyydMysyyyyyyyyyyyyyysdMMMMMysyyy- ย ย Theme: [Plasma], Breeze [GTK2/3] ย
oyyyyyydMMMysyyyyyyyyyyysdMMyoyyyoyyyo ย ย ย Icons: Slot-Dark-Icons [Plasma], Slot-Dark-Icons [GTK2/3] ย
`oyyyydMMMysyyyoooooodMMMMyoyyyyyyyyo ย ย ย ย Terminal: konsole ย
oyyysyyoyyyysdMMMMMMMMMMMyyyyyyyyo ย ย ย ย ย CPU: Intel i5-2400 (4) @ 3.400GHz ย
-syyyyyyyyydMMMysyyydMMMysyyyys- ย ย ย ย ย ย GPU: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family ย
-oyyyyyyydMMyyyyyyysosyyyyo- ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Memory: 2901MiB / 15875MiB ย
./oyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyo/.
`.:/oosyyyysso/:.` ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Fri Nov 14 04:19:04 PM GMT 2025
16:19 (\~)>
photo-nerd-3141@reddit
Nothing.
mrtruthiness@reddit
I'm on an actual TTY (teletype) rather than those newfangled virtual TTYs and that would waste a lot of paper!!!
InSearchOfUpdog@reddit
fortune | cowsay
sinskinner@reddit
fortune | cowsay
random-user-420@reddit
Just operating system and uptime. Anything more like fastfetch or ascii art gets old fast when you are opening several terminal windows in a short period of timeย
trannus_aran@reddit
fortune | cowsay -f $(ls /usr/local/share/cowsay/cows | sort -R | head -n 1)
I just put that in my shell rc :)
4thehalibit@reddit
Just a tiny arrow and nothing else
mkwlink@reddit
Useless arrow. I don't need an indicator to know I can type /s
Mast3r_waf1z@reddit
I just use a modified prezto zsh theme that shows something like
(user@host) [git branch] /path/to/dir >karotoland@reddit
~ ->
Jojos_BA@reddit
same. For me its oh my zsh stock
youssef952008@reddit
just neofetch with the soviet union logo instead of my distro
Riponai_Gaming@reddit
Why the soviet union๐ญ๐ญ
youssef952008@reddit
idk, why not :)
Arasami@reddit
[cerberus@darkmatter ~]$Riponai_Gaming@reddit
I like [ADMIN]->, makes me feel important
amamoh@reddit
:
Nyxiereal@reddit
fish shell tide prompt
Dashu88@reddit
Boy did I have fin with Conway and fortune when is started with Linux. But fun quickly turns into annoyance and you take a simpler approach. Same with crazy shell themes. It becomes all basic after some time.
bbroy4u@reddit
This Time Will Pass
ImArtZX@reddit
zsh
Ok-Health-8873@reddit
That default FISH message lol (idk how to change it)
spreetin@reddit
$PS1
SeriousPlankton2000@reddit
\[\e[32m\]${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h${STY:+.${STY%%[^0-9]*}}:\w\$\[\e[00m\]Whourglass@reddit
What is happening here if you don't mind explaining?
Hamilton950B@reddit
Sets the color to green, then adds something if you're in a chroot, then adds username@hostname, then I think a tmux screen number? then working directory and $ or # if you're root. And color back to default.
ipsirc@reddit
Xorg/wayland in chroot?
Icy-Childhood1728@reddit
๏ semtex@fractal ~ ๏
jaimefrites@reddit
or $
Nullifier_@reddit
When I was newer to Linux I liked to have something like neofetch, fastfetch or hyfetch automatically but now I usually just prefer to go straight to the prompt
Ok-Mathematician5548@reddit
I really like user@computer: \~$ _
LoveSpongee@reddit
"All your base are belong to us"
MelioraXI@reddit
I used to do fastfetch but itโs useless info for me now so I donโt have anything.
FedMellow@reddit
agnoster shell
Alarmed_Contest8439@reddit
fastfetch
Dearth87@reddit
A weather forecast by Weathercrab:
https://github.com/ttytm/wthrr-the-weathercrab
Foxagon101@reddit
on my laptop I just have fortune piped with cowsay, and I don't have anything on my pc
Anarchistcowboy420@reddit
Fastfetch
agent-champagne@reddit
plus starship
Anarchistcowboy420@reddit
Oh right I use oh my posh but same thing
IzzyBoris@reddit
Just the prompt. But I do enjoy a good sl from time to time
Tempus_Nemini@reddit
Looks scary .. like Joker Penguin :-)
Mine is just prompt with user / host name (and git branch if git repo is detected).
lKrauzer@reddit
No prompt, just the tetminal
TroPixens@reddit
I just do my fastfetch(itโs a ascii of Finn and Jake from adventure time)
thekiltedpiper@reddit
Right now mine is:
Arch>
But I'm thinking about dropping it to just the >
libra00@reddit
None, cause when I open the terminal it's because I got shit to do and all I want is a prompt.
AudioHamsa@reddit
$
sequential_doom@reddit
The prompt. I don't have time for nonsense.
Carlos_Spicy_Weiner6@reddit
Hello another, you're quite good at turning me on
Moarkush@reddit
Empty prompt
Cart1416@reddit
I just get the regular prompt with no special startup
cart@cart-pc-debian:\~$
hpxvzhjfgb@reddit
I strongly dislike useless clutter like this
realitythreek@reddit
Sad-Project-672@reddit
Fortune
abotelho-cbn@reddit
voidvec@reddit
None, kid.
I need my terminal to be useful, not full of script-kiddie bs
archontwo@reddit
fishmapper@reddit
Your password expires in 9 days
niceandBulat@reddit
Very nice OP. My terminal is just a blank screen.
antii79@reddit
~ $
pancakeQueue@reddit
I open the terminal a lot, so I donโt want to see anything. โtouch ~/.hushlogin`
Living-Surprise-1923@reddit
the prompt (nord theme prompt)
Wind-charger@reddit
While I absolutely love the terminal artsy stuff, I find I usually ctrl+L and get on with itโฆ at least a semi transparent terminal leaves me my background, and good enough, is, well, good enough.
0riginal-Syn@reddit
I keep it simple and quick to the prompt, but I do have a little nerd humor for the basis of my name...
sublime_369@reddit
Nothing. Got 'i' aliased to fastfetch if I ever need it.
RoxyAndBlackie128@reddit
ah yes, the American Standard Code for Cnformation Interchange
prism8713@reddit
Just the prompt
beegtuna@reddit
You have mail.
ipsirc@reddit
The prompt. I open terminals very often.
Outrageous_Trade_303@reddit
Does it give you also a prompt in which you can type something? /s