SLACKWARE LOGIN MESSAGE WITH FORTUNE AND COWSAY

OVERVIEW

This document describes a simple and reversible method to enhance the
Slackware login experience by displaying a random fortune message using
cowsay, along with information about the last user login.

The setup uses Slackware’s native /etc/profile.d mechanism and applies
only to interactive login shells.


DESIGN GOALS

- use Slackware-native mechanisms
- avoid background services or hooks
- affect only interactive login shells
- remain easy to disable or remove
- preserve a clean and predictable login process


ASSUMPTIONS

- Slackware 15.0 or Slackware-current is in use
- bsd-games is installed (provides fortune)
- cowsay is installed
- a Bourne-compatible login shell is used (sh, bash, etc.)
- the user has root access


REQUIRED PACKAGES

The fortune program is provided by bsd-games:

    slackpkg install bsd-games

The cowsay package can be built from SlackBuilds.org:

    lftp -c "open https://slackbuilds.org/slackbuilds/15.0/games/; mirror cowsay"
    cd cowsay
    sudo sh cowsay.SlackBuild
    sudo installpkg /tmp/cowsay-*.t?z


PROFILE SCRIPT SETUP

Create the following file:

    /etc/profile.d/fortune-cowsay.sh

Add the content below:

    #!/bin/sh
    #
    # Display last login information and a fortune message on
    # interactive login shells.
    #

    # Do nothing if hushlogin exists
    if [ -e "$HOME/.hushlogin" ]; then
        return
    fi

    # Only run for interactive shells
    case $- in
    *i*)
        echo

        # Display last user login (ignore shutdown/reboot entries)
        last -n 10 | grep -vE 'shutdown|reboot' | head -n 1 | \
        awk '{ORS=""; print "Last login: " $1 " on " $2; $1=$2=""; print $0}' && echo ""

        echo
        if command -v cowsay >/dev/null 2>&1; then
            fortune fortunes fortunes2 linuxcookie | cowsay
        else
            fortune fortunes fortunes2 linuxcookie
        fi
        echo
        ;;
    esac

Make the script executable:

    chmod +x /etc/profile.d/fortune-cowsay.sh


DISABLING THE DEFAULT FORTUNE MESSAGE

To avoid duplicate fortune output, disable Slackware’s default login
fortune scripts:

    chmod -x /etc/profile.d/bsd-games-login-fortune.sh
    chmod -x /etc/profile.d/bsd-games-login-fortune.csh


VERIFICATION

Log in as a user with an interactive shell or start a new login session:

    su -l username

You should see:

- a “Last login” line (excluding reboot and shutdown entries)
- a random fortune displayed via cowsay (if installed)


EXAMPLE OUTPUT

A typical login may display output similar to the following:

    Last login: user on pts/0 Mon May  5 22:01:45 2025

     _______________________________________
    / You will be attacked by a beast with \
    \ big teeth. Film at 11.               /
     ---------------------------------------
            \   ^__^
             \  (oo)\_______
                (__)\       )\/\
                    ||----w |
                    ||     ||


SUPPRESSING THE MESSAGE PER USER

To disable the login message for a specific user, create an empty file:

    touch ~/.hushlogin

This follows standard Unix behavior and requires no further changes.


NOTES

- If cowsay is not installed, only the fortune message is displayed
- The script affects login shells only
- Non-interactive shells are not impacted


CONCLUSION

Using /etc/profile.d to display a fortune and login information is a
clean and idiomatic way to customize Slackware’s login environment.

This approach adds personality without sacrificing simplicity,
predictability, or control, and can be disabled at any time with minimal
effort.


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Last Modified: 2026-01-03 05:41:32 UTC