Custom Linux Welcome Message Guide

07 July 2025 - 6 mins read time
Tags: Linux How To

This guide walks you through setting up a personalized welcome message that appears when you log into your terminal or connect via SSH.

You’ll get:

A full fastfetch system overview
Colored greeting
Uptime and load average
Public IP
Disk usage
Update check
Raspberry Pi temperature and throttle status (if applicable)
Weather for your location
A custom message (“Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!”)

GitHub Repo

🔧 Optional One-Step Installer

Want to skip the manual setup?

Just run the installer script directly from the repo:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MichalAFerber/welcome-message/main/install_welcome.sh | bash

✅ You can re-run this any time — it will only update the script if needed

Language Support

The installer auto-detects your system language and uses the appropriate template if available.
Currently supported: en, es, nl, fr, de.
If no matching template is found, it lists all available templates and falls back to English.

To temporarily force a specific language without changing your system locale permanently:

LANG=fr_FR.UTF-8 LANGUAGE=fr \\
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MichalAFerber/welcome-message/main/install_welcome.sh)

✅ Step 1: Create the Welcome Script

Create a new script in your home directory:

nano ~/welcome.sh

Paste the following code into the file:

#!/bin/bash
clear
fastfetch

CYAN="\033[1;36m"
YELLOW="\033[1;33m"
GREEN="\033[1;32m"
RED="\033[1;31m"
NC="\033[0m" # No Color

echo -e "${CYAN}Hello, $USER!${NC}"
echo -e "${YELLOW}Uptime: $(uptime -p) | Load Average: $(cut -d ' ' -f1-3 /proc/loadavg)${NC}"

PUBIP=$(curl -s ifconfig.me)
echo -e "${GREEN}Public IP: $PUBIP${NC}"

echo -e "${CYAN}Disk Usage on /:$(df -h / | awk 'NR==2 {print " " $3 " used of " $2 " (" $5 ")"}')${NC}"

if command -v apt >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    UPDATES=$(apt list --upgradeable 2>/dev/null | grep -v "Listing..." | wc -l)
    if [ "$UPDATES" -gt 0 ]; then
        echo -e "${RED}Updates available: $UPDATES package(s)${NC}"
    else
        echo -e "${GREEN}Your system is up to date.${NC}"
    fi
fi

if [ -f /var/run/reboot-required ]; then
    echo -e "${RED}⚠️  Reboot required!${NC}"
fi

if command -v vcgencmd &>/dev/null; then
    TEMP=$(vcgencmd measure_temp | cut -d= -f2)
    THROTTLED_RAW=$(vcgencmd get_throttled | cut -d= -f2)
    if [ "$THROTTLED_RAW" != "0x0" ]; then
        THROTTLE_STATUS="${RED}Yes ($THROTTLED_RAW)${NC}"
    else
        THROTTLE_STATUS="${GREEN}No${NC}"
    fi
    echo -e "${CYAN}CPU Temp: $TEMP | Throttled: $THROTTLE_STATUS${NC}"
fi

WEATHER=$(curl -s 'wttr.in/Lake+City?format=3')
echo -e "${YELLOW}Weather: $WEATHER${NC}"

echo -e "${YELLOW}You are good to go for Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!${NC}"

Save and exit the file (Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X). Make it executable:

chmod +x ~/welcome.sh

Add it to your shell’s startup config.

🔹 For Zsh (default on Kali, macOS)

echo -e '\nif [ -x "$HOME/welcome.sh" ]; then\n "$HOME/welcome.sh"\nfi' >> ~/.zshrc

🔹 For Bash

echo -e '\nif [ -x "$HOME/welcome.sh" ]; then\n    "$HOME/welcome.sh"\nfi' >> ~/.bashrc

Then apply the changes:

source ~/.zshrc   # or ~/.bashrc depending on your shell

🌍 Optional: System-Wide Setup (for All Users)

To show the welcome message for every user on the system, copy the script to /etc/profile.d/:

sudo cp ~/welcome.sh /etc/profile.d/welcome.sh 
sudo chmod +x /etc/profile.d/welcome.sh

It will run for any interactive login shell across all users.

🔌 Step 3: Install Required Packages

Install the needed tools:

Debian/Ubuntu/Kali

sudo apt update sudo apt install fastfetch curl libraspberrypi-bin

Fedora

sudo dnf install fastfetch curl libraspberrypi-tools

Arch

sudo pacman -Sy fastfetch curl raspberrypi-firmware

🧪 Step 4: Test It

Simply run:

~/welcome.sh

Or open a new terminal or SSH session to see the welcome message in action.

🧠 Notes

The update check and reboot prompt only work on Debian-based systems.
Raspberry Pi-specific temp/throttle requires vcgencmd (from libraspberrypi-bin).
Change the weather location in the script (Lake+City) to match your area or use IP-based geolocation.
You can customize the colors, messages, or add even more functionality (like Docker container status, CPU graph, etc.).
Smarter Updates, No Hashes

The installer no longer relies on hardcoded hashes. It automatically compares the contents of your existing ~/welcome.sh with the latest version and only replaces it when needed. This makes the script fully idempotent — safe to run as often as you like, without losing custom edits unless there’s a real update.

🆕 August 2025 Update

Added Dutch, French, and German templates
Automatic language detection with template listing and fallback
Fastfetch installs even on Ubuntu 24.04 ARM and Raspberry Pi
Fully safe to rerun any time (idempotent installer)

🎉 Result Example

Hello, michal!
Uptime: up 3 hours, 2 minutes | Load Average: 0.15 0.10 0.08
Public IP: 75.176.xxx.xxx
Disk Usage on /: 13G used of 58G (22%)
Updates available: 3 package(s)
CPU Temp: 43.8°C | Throttled: No
Weather: Lake City: 🌤 +91°F
You are good to go for Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!

Screenshot

Enjoy your custom login experience, Commander. 🛫