Fastfetch Custom Logo Not Showing? 8 Checks

1. Confirm the text file exists

Open logo.txt in a plain-text editor and confirm that the path in logo.source points to that exact file. A missing or unreadable file can cause Fastfetch to display its automatically detected built-in logo instead.

Avoid rich-text editors and save the file as UTF-8. For the first test, use a short filename without spaces.

# Linux or macOS
ls -l ~/.config/fastfetch/logo.txt

# Windows PowerShell
Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.config\fastfetch\logo.txt"

2. Run the exact config with --show-errors

Do not rely on a shell startup alias while diagnosing the problem. Call Fastfetch directly with the configuration file you intend to test.

The error output usually identifies an unreadable source path, invalid JSONC or unsupported value.

fastfetch --config ~/.config/fastfetch/fastfetch-logo-test.jsonc --show-errors

3. Use the correct path syntax

Linux and macOS accept a tilde path. Windows config files support %ENV_VAR% syntax, including %USERPROFILE%/path/to/logo.txt. Use forward slashes inside JSON when you want to avoid escaping backslashes.

If a path contains spaces on Unix-like systems, quote or escape it. Keep the first test path simple.

Linux/macOS source
"source": "~/.config/fastfetch/logo.txt"

Windows source
"source": "%USERPROFILE%/.config/fastfetch/logo.txt"

4. Match the logo type to the file

Use file-raw when every character should print literally. Use file when the logo contains $1–$9 color placeholders that Fastfetch should replace.

If a plain logo contains dollar-number text and uses file, those characters can disappear or turn into color controls. Switching to file-raw removes that ambiguity.

• Plain literal text → file-raw
• Fastfetch color placeholders → file
• Embedded text in the JSONC itself → data or data-raw, not a file path

5. Check whether output is being piped

Fastfetch can remove colors and the logo when it detects that output is not attached to an interactive terminal. Test in a normal terminal first.

If your shell integration pipes the output, test fastfetch --pipe false. Use this only when you understand why the output is being treated as piped.

fastfetch --pipe false --show-errors

6. Reduce width and remove fragile characters

A logo can be loading correctly but appear broken because its widest line wraps. Test the 40-column variant and compare it with the 60- and 80-column versions.

If alignment changes between terminals, replace tabs with spaces and test a plain keyboard-ASCII fallback. Unicode blocks and Braille depend on font coverage and cell metrics.

• No tab characters
• No trailing spaces required for the silhouette
• Use a monospace font
• Keep a plain-ASCII fallback

7. Prove a minimal configuration works

Temporarily test only the logo object. If this minimal file works, add your normal display and module settings back in small groups until the conflict appears.

This isolates logo problems from unrelated configuration errors.

{
  "logo": {
    "type": "file-raw",
    "source": "~/.config/fastfetch/logo.txt"
  },
  "modules": ["title", "os", "kernel", "shell", "terminal"]
}

8. Rebuild from a known-clean package

If the file and configuration have both been edited repeatedly, generate a fresh pack and run its isolated plain configuration. The pack keeps the selected color output separate from the literal fallback.

Once the clean test succeeds, compare only the logo object and path with your existing configuration.