macabout presents your Linux machine's hardware in the same format as macOS (via "About this Mac...")
If you're on a re-purposed Mac and need to see a simple system summary, this makes complete sense.
I created this project because I use old converted Macs and Linux system info is never presented in the same way, so I found it slightly annoying to compare or understand exactly what Mac I have. Just annoying enough to crack out Claude Code and finally do something useful with it, for probably 10% of users ;-)
Having a Mac isn't compulsory for macabout to work - it's compatible with any hardware, but might not make as much sense.
| Field | Source | Example output |
|---|---|---|
| Distro name | /etc/os-release (NAME) |
Zorin OS |
| Version | /etc/os-release (VERSION, parenthesised suffix stripped) |
Version 17.1 |
| Processor model | /proc/cpuinfo (model name), cleaned up by family |
Intel Xeon W |
| Processor speed | /proc/cpuinfo (@ X.Y GHz in model name) |
3.2 GHz |
| Core count | /proc/cpuinfo — unique (physical id, core id) pairs |
8-Core |
| Memory size | /proc/meminfo (MemTotal), nearest GB |
8 GB |
| Memory speed/type | dmidecode -t memory |
1600 MHz DDR3 |
| Graphics | lspci -nn PCI ID → bundled gpu_lookup.json; falls back to parsed lspci name + AMD sysfs VRAM |
Radeon Pro Vega 56 8 GB |
| Serial Number | dmidecode -s system-serial-number |
C02J1234XYZA |
Memory speed/type and serial number require dmidecode.
curl -sSL https://pandawood.github.io/macabout/install.sh | sudo bashSee the Releases for instructions.
macabout reads system information from standard Linux interfaces and therefore works on any modern Linux distro (or macOS). Only the installer is distro-specific:
| Distro family | How to install |
|---|---|
| Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Zorin… | .deb from Releases (see below) |
| Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, … | Run from source (see "Running from source") |
The .deb installs a sudoers rule so dmidecode runs without a password prompt.
On other distros you'll need to run macabout with sudo to see memory speed/type and the serial number.
This is also the path for anyone not on a Debian-family distro... Replace the apt command with your package manager's equivalent.
git clone https://github.com/PandaWood/macabout.git
cd macabout
sudo apt install python3-tk python3-venv python3-pip pciutils dmidecode
make dev
source .venv/bin/activate
sudo python3 -m macaboutIf you don't have a linux machine nearby and you're desperate to work on it... install tkinter/Python via Homebrew, matching the version numbers:
brew install python@3.14
brew install python-tk@3.14Then setup/run:
make dev
source .venv/bin/activate
make mock # static Zorin OS sample data (good for UI work)
make run # real macOS system callsThe icon is sourced from the running system's own branding, in this order:
LOGO=field in/etc/os-release(explicit XDG icon name — most authoritative)distributor-logo(FreeDesktop standard, present on most distros)distributor-logo-{id},{id}-logo,{id}(fallback guesses)- A bundled PNG at
macabout/data/icons/{distro_id}.pngif present - A brand-colored circle with the distro's initial letter (pure tkinter, no extra deps)
To add a bundled icon for a distro, drop a PNG named {distro_id}.png (200×200px) into macabout/data/icons/. The distro_id matches the ID= field in /etc/os-release.
Graphics card names and VRAM figures (displayed in GB) are resolved via macabout/data/gpu_lookup.json, keyed by PCI vendor:device ID (eg "8086:0a26").
The file ships with ~60 entries covering Intel HD/Iris/UHD Graphics from Sandy Bridge through Coffee Lake, plus a handful of common cards. Add entries to extend coverage without touching app code.