Building a System Information Fetch Tool in Bash

I once needed a quick system overview—CPU load, memory usage, disk space—but opening multiple commands felt inefficient. Instead of running top, df -h, and free -m separately, I decided to automate everything in a single Bash script. The result? A custom system fetch tool that provides essential system details at a glance. In this guide, you'll learn how to build your own step by step, improving your Bash scripting skills along the way. Step 1: The Basics (What We’re Fetching) Before we jump into coding, let’s outline what information we need: ✅ CPU Model & Load (/proc/cpuinfo, top) ✅ Memory Usage (free -m) ✅ Disk Space (df -h) ✅ System Uptime (uptime) ✅ Network Information (ip a, hostname -I) Step 2: Writing the Script (Fundamentals First) 1️⃣ Shebang & Setup Start by specifying Bash as the interpreter and clearing the screen: #!/bin/bash clear 2️⃣ Fetching CPU Info Extract the CPU model name using grep on /proc/cpuinfo: cpu_model=$(grep "model name" /proc/cpuinfo | head -1 | cut -d ':' -f2) Get the CPU load using top (or uptime for a lightweight alternative): cpu_load=$(top -bn1 | grep "load average" | awk '{print $10}') 3️⃣ Checking Memory Usage Use free -m to display RAM usage in MB: mem_usage=$(free -m | awk 'NR==2{printf "Used: %sMB / Total: %sMB", $3, $2}') 4️⃣ Fetching Disk Space List available disk space using df -h: disk_usage=$(df -h | awk '$NF=="/"{printf "Used: %d%%", $5}') 5️⃣ Displaying Network Info Fetch the current IP address: ip_address=$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}') Step 3: Formatting Output for Readability Instead of printing raw text, format the output neatly using colors and spacing: echo -e "\033[32mSystem Information:\033[0m" echo "-------------------------------" echo -e "CPU Model: $cpu_model" echo -e "CPU Load: $cpu_load" echo -e "Memory: $mem_usage" echo -e "Disk Space: $disk_usage" echo -e "IP Address: $ip_address"

Mar 13, 2025 - 12:20

Building a System Information Fetch Tool in Bash

I once needed a quick system overview—CPU load, memory usage, disk space—but opening multiple commands felt inefficient. Instead of running top, df -h, and free -m separately, I decided to automate everything in a single Bash script.

The result? A custom system fetch tool that provides essential system details at a glance. In this guide, you'll learn how to build your own step by step, improving your Bash scripting skills along the way.

Step 1: The Basics (What We’re Fetching)

Before we jump into coding, let’s outline what information we need:

✅ CPU Model & Load (/proc/cpuinfo, top)

✅ Memory Usage (free -m)

✅ Disk Space (df -h)

✅ System Uptime (uptime)

✅ Network Information (ip a, hostname -I)

Step 2: Writing the Script (Fundamentals First)

1️⃣ Shebang & Setup

Start by specifying Bash as the interpreter and clearing the screen:

#!/bin/bash
clear

2️⃣ Fetching CPU Info

Extract the CPU model name using grep on /proc/cpuinfo:

cpu_model=$(grep "model name" /proc/cpuinfo | head -1 | cut -d ':' -f2)

Get the CPU load using top (or uptime for a lightweight alternative):

cpu_load=$(top -bn1 | grep "load average" | awk '{print $10}')

3️⃣ Checking Memory Usage

Use free -m to display RAM usage in MB:

mem_usage=$(free -m | awk 'NR==2{printf "Used: %sMB / Total: %sMB", $3, $2}')

4️⃣ Fetching Disk Space

List available disk space using df -h:

disk_usage=$(df -h | awk '$NF=="/"{printf "Used: %d%%", $5}')

5️⃣ Displaying Network Info

Fetch the current IP address:

ip_address=$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')

Step 3: Formatting Output for Readability

Instead of printing raw text, format the output neatly using colors and spacing:

echo -e "\033[32mSystem Information:\033[0m"
echo "-------------------------------"
echo -e "CPU Model: $cpu_model"
echo -e "CPU Load: $cpu_load"
echo -e "Memory: $mem_usage"
echo -e "Disk Space: $disk_usage"
echo -e "IP Address: $ip_address"