Effects change the way the info appears when xfetch starts: the core renders the module lines, hands them to an effect binary (xfetch-effect-<name>), and plays the returned frames before settling on the final content.

xfetch effects install <name>     # e.g. decrypt, glitch

Or from a local path:

xfetch effects install ./effects/decrypt

Manage installed effects:

xfetch effects list               # list installed effects
xfetch effects remove <name>      # remove an effect

Effects are opt-in: without the binary installed, xfetch renders normally. Use --repo <url> or the XFETCH_EFFECT_REPO env var to install from a fork or mirror.

Add an "effects" block to your config.jsonc. It accepts a single effect or a list — effects play in sequence.

// Configuration for xfetch
{
  // Effects to play at startup (in order)
  "effects": [
    { "plugin": "glitch", "duration_ms": 700, "fps": 30 },
    { "plugin": "decrypt", "duration_ms": 1500, "fps": 30 }
  ],
  "modules": ["os", "cpu", "memory"]
}

Effects speak the xfetch-effect-api protocol (see xfetch-cli/api): read an EffectRequest from stdin (the rendered lines plus style/duration_ms/fps/args) and write an EffectResponse with a non-empty list of { delay_ms, lines } frames. The last frame should reach the final content.

Use the shared xfetch-effects-lib for ANSI-safe text helpers so escape sequences (colors/icons) are never broken apart.

effects/
├── Cargo.toml            # workspace
├── effects-lib/          # shared ANSI-safe helpers (xfetch-effects-lib)
└── <effect-name>/        # one crate per effect (binary xfetch-effect-<name>)
    ├── Cargo.toml
    ├── README.md
    ├── CHANGELOG.md
    ├── configs/          # example config snippets
    └── src/main.rs

Contribute to the project, report issues, or connect with the developer using the links around

• XFetch
• XFetch API
• XFetch Plugins
• XFetch Extensions
• XFetch Themes
• XFetch Configs