How to install and configure Conky

Introduction :
Conky can monitor virtually all system parameters, the temperature of the hard drive at the speed of fans through the battery. But this is not just a software like "Everest", it is much more than that. Including allowing an integration on the desktop, displaying graphics, customization and style of all the variables you might want to display. In addition to this, Conky is customizable as you wish.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...ts/Conky-1.jpg

Conky is a lightweight and convenient alternative to other more comprehensive programs such as KDE or SuperKaramba gDesklets for GNOME. It presents to me the advantage of being more easily configurable than the latter.

How to Install Conky:
Installation for (K / X) Ubuntu
To install Conky, no problems, its easy. Simply install the package "conky-all" already present in the official repositories.

Code:

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sudo apt-get install conky-all

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If you want to have the latest version, you can add these lines to your sources.list:

Code:

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deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/norsetto/ppa/ubuntu VOTRE_VERSION main deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/norsetto/ppa/ubuntu VOTRE_VERSION hand

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Then just get the key:

Code:

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sudo apt-key adv - keyserver.ubuntu.com keyserver - recv-keys 95628707

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And it'll just install the package "conky-all". For other Linux. Conky is normally present in your deposits under the name "conky" or "conky-all". If you do not find the package, download in Conky. "Tar.bz2" / ". Tar.gz" on the official site.

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How to configure Conky :
Now that Conky is installed, it is necessary to tell him what to display and how it should display. For this, it is necessary to create a file named ". Conkyrc 'in your user folder. To do this, nothing more simple, open your notebook preferred (eg Kate ) And create a file called ". Conkyrc 'in / home / user ("user" is obviously your username). This file will consist of two parts. The first showing all the style settings Conky and the second covering what must Conky display. Both parties are simply separated by the word "TEXT".
In the first part, we will not put anything except these three instructions:

Code:

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own_window yes yes update_interval a double_buffer

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"Own_window yes" to Conky can run in a window of its own. The line "update_interval 1" indicating that Conky must be updated every one second.
"Double_buffer yes" indicates that the double buffer is enabled, which avoids the annoying flicker. Double buffering mode: it is a technique widely used in 2D games that will ensure that the movement of objects on the screen are fluid (else it flickers and it's ugly)
Your. Conkyrc looks like this:

Code:

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own_window yes yes update_interval a double_buffer TEXT

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To open and test your Conky. Conkyrc ", nothing more simple, just type" conky "in console.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...y-hellfire.png

Data Display :
The structure of the "TEXT" of ". Conkyrc" is a little complex. The general schematic is as follows:

Code:

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My text $ my_var
Still text ($variable argument1 argument2)

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For example, to display the amount of free memory, it will enter the following:

Code:

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$ Memfree

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A list of all the variables in the official documentation of Conky:
- Documentation Conky on their official site
- Conky Variables on Ubuntu's site
- Variables and functions on Conky official site

As this documentation without specific examples, is quite tight at first, here are some possible realizations:

Code:

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Display uptime

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The "uptime" is the term for which the computer is allumé.Pour display, the doc says this, the variable "uptime" needs no argument. It is therefore possible to display it by typing:

Code:

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$ Uptime

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Obviously, to make more beautiful and more importantly, what corresponds to Understand what is displayed, a little legend is better right away!
Let's add it soon.

Code:

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Active since: $ uptime

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Battery level display :
Now for something a little more complicated: the battery. I want to display the time I left before falling out of power. I searched in the documentation, that must be used "battery_time". Well, there it thickens a bit already. I try typing this:

Code:

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Time remaining (battery) : $ battery_time

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Indeed, the argument "num" is optional (as indicated by parentheses). My battery is rightly called "BAT0" there is no problem and everything appears.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x.../conky-1-1.png