hw-probe vs inxi

hw-probe is a free hardware probing tool for Linux and BSD systems, aimed at debugging computer problems and managing hardware inventory. It captures a snapshot of hardware state and logs, then provides a permanent URL to view the probe. If a device lacks a driver, it can suggest a Linux kernel version or third-party driver using LKDDb data. Users can create an inventory ID and mark probes to locate their computers on Linux-Hardware.org. Its monitoring command schedules a daily cron probe and emails alerts about operating-system failures, configuration changes, and hardware degradation. Optional tests check graphics, drive read speed, CPU performance, and RAM. Installation options include AppImage, Docker, Snap, Flatpak, Live CD/USB, and native packages. Uploads use HTTPS; selected logs can be disabled, and private details are decorated before upload, though edge-case failures are acknowledged. MAC addresses and serial numbers are represented by prefixes of salted SHA-512 hashes. The tool is dual-licensed under LGPL-2.1-or-later and BSD-4-Clause. The Snap package runs in a sandbox with limited functionality.

inxi is a free, portable system-information script for GNU/Linux, usable from the command line and in IRC. Its options can report details about the system, CPU, graphics, disks, network, memory, battery, audio, Bluetooth, RAID, sensors, USB, partitions and processes. Output can appear on screen or be written as JSON or XML to a file. For IRC clients, filtering is enabled by default; the -z option removes information such as IP and MAC addresses, serial numbers, location, home directory and hostname. The script can be installed or upgraded as a single file and is packaged by many Linux distributions. It requires Perl 5.008 or newer, lspci, ps, and the Linux /proc and /sys filesystems. Some detailed reports depend on optional programs, while certain features require root or sudo configuration. The FAQ states that inxi is licensed under GPL 3 or later. The listed options page gives version 3.3.41 dated 2026-07-01.