conky

Name

conky — A system monitor for X originally based on the torsmo code, but more kickass. It just keeps on given'er. Yeah.

Synopsis

conky [ options ]

Description

Conky is a system monitor for X originally based on torsmo. Since its inception, Conky has changed significantly from its predecessor, while maintaining simplicity and configurability. Conky can display just about anything, either on your root desktop or in its own window. Not only does Conky have many built-in objects, it can also display just about any piece of information by using scripts and other external programs.

Conky has more than 250 built in objects, including support for a plethora of OS stats (uname, uptime, CPU usage, mem usage, disk usage, "top" like process stats, and network monitoring, just to name a few), built in IMAP and POP3 support, built in support for many popular music players (MPD, XMMS2, BMPx, Audacious), and much much more. Conky can display this info either as text, or using simple progress bars and graph widgets, with different fonts and colours.

We are always looking for help, whether its reporting bugs, writing patches, or writing docs. Please use the facilities at SourceForge to make bug reports, feature requests, and submit patches, or stop by #conky on irc.freenode.net if you have questions or want to contribute.

Thanks for your interest in Conky.

Compiling

For users compiling from source on a binary distro, make sure you have the X development libraries installed (Unless you configure your build without X11). This should be a package along the lines of "libx11-dev" or "xorg-x11-dev" for X11 libs, and similar "-dev" format for the other libs required (depending on your build options). You should be able to see which extra packages you need to install by reading errors that you get from running `cmake'. The easiest way to view the available build options is to run `ccmake' or `cmake-gui' from the source tree, but be careful when disabling certain features as you may lose desired functionality. E.g., with BUILD_MATH disabled you won't get errors but logarithmic graphs will be normal graphs and gauges will miss their line.

Conky has (for some time) been available in the repositories of most popular distributions. Here are some installation instructions for a few:

Gentoo users -- Conky is in Gentoo's Portage... simply use "emerge app-admin/conky" for installation.

Debian, etc. users -- Conky should be in your repositories, and can be installed by doing "aptitude install conky".

Example to compile and run Conky with default components (note that some build options may differ for your system):

cmake -D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:string=/usr .
make
make install # Optional
src/conky

Conky has been tested to be compatible with C99 C and C++0x C++, however it has not been tested with anything other than gcc, and is not guaranteed to work with other compilers.

TIP: Try configuring Conky with `ccmake' or `cmake-gui' instead of just `cmake'.

You Should Know

Conky is generally very good on resources. That said, the more you try to make Conky do, the more resources it is going to consume.

An easy way to force Conky to reload your ~/.config/conky/conky.conf: "killall -SIGUSR1 conky". Saves you the trouble of having to kill and then restart. You can now also do the same with SIGHUP.

Options

Command line options override configurations defined in configuration file.

-a | --alignment= ALIGNMENT: Text alignment on screen, {top,bottom,middle}_{left,right,middle} or none. Can also be abbreviated with first chars of position, ie. tr for top_right. Only available with build flag BUILD_X11 enabled.
-b | --double-buffer: Use double buffering (eliminates "flicker"). Only available with build flag BUILD_X11 enabled.
-c | --config= FILE: Config file to load instead of $HOME/.config/conky/conky.conf
-C | --print-config: Print builtin default config to stdout. See also the section EXAMPLES for more information. Only available with build flag BUILD_BUILTIN_CONFIG enabled.
-d | --daemonize: Daemonize Conky, aka fork to background.
-D | --debug: Increase debugging output, ie. -DD for more debugging.
-f | --font= FONT: Font to use. Only available with build flag BUILD_X11 enabled.
-h | --help: Prints command line help and exits.
-i COUNT: Number of times to update Conky (and quit).
-o | --own-window: Create own window to draw. Only available with build flag BUILD_X11 enabled.
-p | --pause= SECONDS: Time to pause/wait before actually starting Conky.
-q | --quiet: Run Conky in 'quiet mode' (ie. no output).
-t | --text= TEXT: Text to render, remember single quotes, like -t ' $uptime '
-u | --interval= SECONDS: Update interval.
-v | -V | --version: Prints version, build information and general info. Exits after printing.
-w | --window-id= WIN_ID: Window id to draw. Only available with build flag BUILD_X11 enabled.
-x X_COORDINATE: X position
-x X_COORDINATE: X position
-X | --display= DISPLAY: X11 display to use. Only available with build flag BUILD_X11 enabled.
-y Y_COORDINATE: Y position

Configuration Settings

Default configuration file location is $HOME/.config/conky/conky.conf or ${sysconfdir}/conky/conky.conf. On most systems, sysconfdir is /etc, and you can find the sample config file there (/etc/conky/conky.conf).

You might want to copy it to $HOME/.config/conky/conky.conf and then start modifying it. Other configs can be found at http://conky.sf.net/

alignment

Aligned position on screen, may be top_left, top_right, top_middle, bottom_left, bottom_right, bottom_middle, middle_left, middle_middle, middle_right, or none (also can be abreviated as tl, tr, tm, bl, br, bm, ml, mm, mr). See also gap_x and gap_y.

append_file

Append the file given as argument.

background

Boolean value, if true, Conky will be forked to background when started.

border_inner_margin

Inner border margin in pixels (the margin between the border and text).

border_outer_margin

Outer border margin in pixels (the margin between the border and the edge of the window).

border_width

Border width in pixels.

colorN

Predefine a color for use inside conky.text segments. Substitute N by a digit between 0 and 9, inclusively. When specifying the color value in hex, omit the leading hash (#).

console_graph_ticks

A comma-separated list of strings to use as the bars of a graph output to console/shell. The first list item is used for the minimum bar height and the last item is used for the maximum. Example: " ,_,▁,▂,▃,▄,▅,▆,▇,█".

cpu_avg_samples

The number of samples to average for CPU monitoring.

default_bar_height

Specify a default height for bars. If not specified, the default value is 6.

default_bar_width

Specify a default width for bars. If not specified, the default value is 0, which causes the bar to expand to fit the width of your Conky window. If you set out_to_console = true, the text version of the bar will actually have no width and you will need to set a sensible default or set the height and width of each bar individually.

default_color

Default color and border color

default_gauge_height

Specify a default height for gauges. If not specified, the default value is 25.

default_gauge_width

Specify a default width for gauges. If not specified, the default value is 40.

default_graph_height

Specify a default height for graphs. If not specified, the default value is 25.

default_graph_width

Specify a default width for graphs. If not specified, the default value is 0, which causes the graph to expand to fit the width of your Conky window. If you set out_to_console = true, the text version of the graph will actually have no width and you will need to set a sensible default or set the height and width of each graph individually.

default_outline_color

Default outline color

default_shade_color

Default shading color and border's shading color

disable_auto_reload

Enable to disable the inotify-based auto config reload feature.

diskio_avg_samples

The number of samples to average for disk I/O monitoring.

display

Specify an X display to connect to.

xinerama_head

Specify a Xinerama head.

double_buffer

Use the Xdbe extension? (eliminates flicker) It is highly recommended to use own window with this one so double buffer won't be so big.

draw_borders

Draw borders around text?

draw_graph_borders

Draw borders around graphs?

draw_outline

Draw outlines?

draw_shades

Draw shades?

extra_newline

Put an extra newline at the end when writing to stdout, useful for writing to awesome's wiboxes.

font

Font name in X, xfontsel can be used to get a nice font

format_human_readable

If enabled, values which are in bytes will be printed in human readable format (i.e., KiB, MiB, etc). If disabled, the number of bytes is printed instead.

gap_x

Gap, in pixels, between right or left border of screen, same as passing -x at command line, e.g. gap_x 10. For other position related stuff, see 'alignment'.

gap_y

Gap, in pixels, between top or bottom border of screen, same as passing -y at command line, e.g. gap_y 10. For other position related stuff, see 'alignment'.

hddtemp_host

Hostname to connect to for hddtemp objects. Defaults to "127.0.0.1".

hddtemp_port

Port to use for hddtemp connections. Defaults to 7634.

http_refresh

When this is set the page generated with out_to_http will automatically refresh each interval. Default value is no.

if_up_strictness

How strict should if_up be when testing an interface for being up? The value is one of up, link or address, to check for the interface being solely up, being up and having link or being up, having link and an assigned IP address.

imap

Default global IMAP server. Arguments are: "host user pass [-i interval (in seconds)] [-f 'folder'] [-p port] [-e 'command'] [-r retries]". Default port is 143, default folder is 'INBOX', default interval is 5 minutes, and default number of retries before giving up is 5. If the password is supplied as '*', you will be prompted to enter the password when Conky starts.

imlib_cache_flush_interval

Interval (in seconds) to flush Imlib2 cache.

imlib_cache_size

Imlib2 image cache size, in bytes. Defaults to 4MiB. Increase this value if you use $image lots. Set to 0 to disable the image cache.

lua_draw_hook_post function_name [function arguments]

This function, if defined, will be called by Conky through each iteration after drawing to the window. Requires X support. Takes any number of optional arguments. Use this hook for drawing things on top of what Conky draws. Conky puts 'conky_' in front of function_name to prevent accidental calls to the wrong function unless you place 'conky_' in front of it yourself.

lua_draw_hook_pre function_name [function arguments]

This function, if defined, will be called by Conky through each iteration before drawing to the window. Requires X support. Takes any number of optional arguments. Use this hook for drawing things on top of what Conky draws. Conky puts 'conky_' in front of function_name to prevent accidental calls to the wrong function unless you place 'conky_' in front of it yourself.

lua_load

Loads the Lua scripts separated by spaces.

lua_shutdown_hook function_name [function arguments]

This function, if defined, will be called by Conky at shutdown or when the configuration is reloaded. Use this hook to clean up after yourself, such as freeing memory which has been allocated by external libraries via Lua. Conky puts 'conky_' in front of function_name to prevent accidental calls to the wrong function unless you place 'conky_' in front of it yourself.

lua_startup_hook function_name [function arguments]

This function, if defined, will be called by Conky at startup or when the configuration is reloaded. Use this hook to initialize values, or for any run-once applications. Conky puts 'conky_' in front of function_name to prevent accidental calls to the wrong function unless you place 'conky_' in front of it yourself.

mail_spool

Mail spool for mail checking

max_port_monitor_connections

Allow each port monitor to track at most this many connections (if 0 or not set, default is 256)

max_text_width width

When a line in the output contains 'width' chars and the end isn't reached, the next char will start on a new line. If you want to make sure that lines don't get broken, set 'width' to 0

max_user_text bytes

Maximum size of user text buffer, i.e. text inside conky.text section in config file (default is 16384 bytes)

maximum_width pixels

Maximum width of window

minimum_height height

Minimum height of the window

minimum_width width

Minimum width of window

mpd_host

Host of MPD server

mpd_password

MPD server password

mpd_port

Port of MPD server

mysql_host

Host of MySQL server. Defaults to localhost

mysql_port

Port of MySQL server. Defaults to the default mysql port

mysql_user

MySQL user name to use when connecting to the server. Defaults to your username

mysql_password

Password of the MySQL user. Place it between "-chars. When this is not set there is no password used

mysql_db

MySQL database to use. Defaults to mysql

music_player_interval

Music player thread update interval (defaults to Conky's update interval)

net_avg_samples

The number of samples to average for net data

no_buffers

Subtract (file system) buffers from used memory?

nvidia_display

The display that the nvidia variable will use (defaults to the value of the display variable)

out_to_console

Print text to stdout.

out_to_http

Let conky act as a small http-server serving it's text.

out_to_ncurses

Print text in the console, but use ncurses so that conky can print the text of a new update over the old text. (In the future this will provide more useful things)

out_to_stderr

Print text to stderr.

out_to_x

When set to no, there will be no output in X (useful when you also use things like out_to_console). If you set it to no, make sure that it's placed before all other X-related setting (take the first line of your configfile to be sure). Default value is yes

override_utf8_locale

Force UTF8? requires XFT

overwrite_file

Overwrite the file given as argument.

own_window

Boolean, create own window to draw?

own_window_class

Manually set the WM_CLASS name. Defaults to "Conky".

own_window_colour colour

If own_window_transparent no, set a specified background colour (defaults to black). Takes either a hex value (e.g. ffffff, note the lack of '#') or a valid RGB name (see /usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt)

own_window_hints undecorated,below,above,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager

If own_window is yes, you may use these window manager hints to affect the way Conky displays. Notes: Use own_window_type desktop as another way to implement many of these hints implicitly. If you use own_window_type override, window manager hints have no meaning and are ignored.

own_window_title

Manually set the window name. Defaults to "conky (<hostname>)".

own_window_argb_visual

Boolean, use ARGB visual? ARGB can be used for real transparency, note that a composite manager is required for real transparency. This option will not work as desired (in most cases) in conjunction with 'own_window_type override'.

own_window_argb_value

When ARGB visuals are enabled, this use this to modify the alpha value used. Valid range is 0-255, where 0 is 0% opacity, and 255 is 100% opacity.

own_window_transparent

Boolean, set transparency? If ARGB visual is enabled, sets background opacity to 0%.

own_window_type

if own_window is yes, you may specify type normal, desktop, dock, panel or override (default: normal). Desktop windows are special windows that have no window decorations; are always visible on your desktop; do not appear in your pager or taskbar; and are sticky across all workspaces. Panel windows reserve space along a desktop edge, just like panels and taskbars, preventing maximized windows from overlapping them. The edge is chosen based on the alignment option. Override windows are not under the control of the window manager. Hints are ignored. This type of window can be useful for certain situations.

pad_percents

Pad percentages to this many decimals (0 = no padding)

pop3

Default global POP3 server. Arguments are: "host user pass [-i interval (in seconds)] [-p port] [-e 'command'] [-r retries]". Default port is 110, default interval is 5 minutes, and default number of retries before giving up is 5. If the password is supplied as '*', you will be prompted to enter the password when Conky starts.

short_units

Shortens units to a single character (kiB->k, GiB->G, etc.). Default is off.

show_graph_range

Shows the time range covered by a graph.

show_graph_scale

Shows the maximum value in scaled graphs.

stippled_borders

Border stippling (dashing) in pixels

temperature_unit

Desired output unit of all objects displaying a temperature. Parameters are either "fahrenheit" or "celsius". The default unit is degree Celsius.

templateN

Define a template for later use inside conky.text segments. Substitute N by a digit between 0 and 9, inclusively. The value of the variable is being inserted into the stuff inside conky.text at the corresponding position, but before some substitutions are applied:

'\n' -> newline

'\\' -> backslash

'\ ' -> space

'\N' -> template argument N (starting from 1)

text_buffer_size bytes

Size of the standard text buffer (default is 256 bytes). This buffer is used for intermediary text, such as individual lines, output from $exec vars, and various other variables. Increasing the size of this buffer can drastically reduce Conky's performance, but will allow for more text display per variable. The size of this buffer cannot be smaller than the default value of 256 bytes.

times_in_seconds

If true, variables that output times output a number that represents seconds. This doesn't affect $time, $tztime and $utime

top_cpu_separate

If true, cpu in top will show usage of one processor's power. If false, cpu in top will show the usage of all processors' power combined.

top_name_verbose

If true, top name shows the full command line of each process, including arguments (whenever possible). Otherwise, only the basename is displayed. Default value is false.

top_name_width

Width for $top name value (defaults to 15 characters).

total_run_times

Total number of times for Conky to update before quitting. Zero makes Conky run forever

update_interval seconds

Update interval

update_interval_on_battery seconds

Update interval when running on batterypower

uppercase

Boolean value, if true, text is rendered in upper case

use_spacer

Adds spaces around certain objects to stop them from moving other things around. Arguments are left, right, and none (default). The old true/false values are deprecated and default to right/none respectively. Note that this only helps if you are using a mono font, such as Bitstream Vera Sans Mono.

use_xft

Use Xft (anti-aliased font and stuff)

xftalpha

Alpha of Xft font. Must be a value at or between 1 and 0.

Objects/Variables

Colours are parsed using XParsecolor(), there might be a list of them: /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt. Colour can be also in #rrggbb format (hex).

Some objects may create threads, and sometimes these threads will not be destroyed until Conky terminates. There is no way to destroy or clean up threads while Conky is running. For example, if you use an MPD variable, the MPD thread will keep running until Conky dies. Some threaded objects will use one of the parameters as a 'key', so that you only have 1 relevant thread running (for example, the $curl, $rss and $weather objects launch one thread per URI).

acpiacadapter (adapter)

ACPI ac adapter state. On linux, the adapter option specifies the subfolder of /sys/class/power_supply containing the state information (tries "AC" and "ADP1" if there is no argument given). Non-linux systems ignore it.

acpifan

ACPI fan state

acpitemp

ACPI temperature in C.

addr (interface)

IP address for an interface, or "No Address" if no address is assigned.

addrs (interface)

IP addresses for an interface (if one - works like addr). Linux only.

adt746xcpu

CPU temperature from therm_adt746x

adt746xfan

Fan speed from therm_adt746x

alignc (num)

Align text to centre

alignr (num)

Right-justify text, with space of N

apcupsd host port

Sets up the connection to apcupsd daemon. Prints nothing, defaults to localhost:3551

apcupsd_cable

Prints the UPS connection type.

apcupsd_charge

Current battery capacity in percent.

apcupsd_lastxfer

Reason for last transfer from line to battery.

apcupsd_linev

Nominal input voltage.

apcupsd_load

Current load in percent.

apcupsd_loadbar

Bar showing current load.

apcupsd_loadgauge (height),(width)

Gauge that shows current load.

apcupsd_loadgraph (height),(width) (gradient colour 1) (gradient colour 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

History graph of current load.

apcupsd_model

Prints the model of the UPS.

apcupsd_name

Prints the UPS user-defined name.

apcupsd_status

Prints current status (on-line, on-battery).

apcupsd_temp

Current internal temperature.

apcupsd_timeleft

Time left to run on battery.

apcupsd_upsmode

Prints the UPS mode (e.g. standalone).

apm_adapter

Display APM AC adapter status (FreeBSD, OpenBSD only)

apm_battery_life

Display APM battery life in percent (FreeBSD, OpenBSD only)

apm_battery_time

Display remaining APM battery life in hh:mm:ss or "unknown" if AC adapterstatus is on-line or charging (FreeBSD, OpenBSD only)

audacious_bar (height),(width)

Progress bar

audacious_bitrate

Bitrate of current tune

audacious_channels

Number of audio channels of current tune

audacious_filename

Full path and filename of current tune

audacious_frequency

Sampling frequency of current tune

audacious_length

Total length of current tune as MM:SS

audacious_length_seconds

Total length of current tune in seconds

audacious_main_volume

The current volume fetched from Audacious

audacious_playlist_length

Number of tunes in playlist

audacious_playlist_position

Playlist position of current tune

audacious_position

Position of current tune (MM:SS)

audacious_position_seconds

Position of current tune in seconds

audacious_status

Player status (Playing/Paused/Stopped/Not running)

audacious_title (max length)

Title of current tune with optional maximum length specifier

battery (num)

Battery status and remaining percentage capacity of ACPI or APM battery. ACPI battery number can be given as argument (default is BAT0).

battery_bar (height),(width) (num)

Battery percentage remaining of ACPI battery in a bar. ACPI battery number can be given as argument (default is BAT0, use all to get the mean percentage remaining for all batteries).

battery_percent (num)

Battery percentage remaining for ACPI battery. ACPI battery number can be given as argument (default is BAT0, use all to get the mean percentage remaining for all batteries).

battery_short (num)

Battery status and remaining percentage capacity of ACPI or APM battery. ACPI battery number can be given as argument (default is BAT0). This mode display a short status, which means that C is displayed instead of charging, D for discharging, F for full, N for not present, E for empty and U for unknown.

battery_time (num)

Battery charge/discharge time remaining of ACPI battery. ACPI battery number can be given as argument (default is BAT0).

blink text_and_other_conky_vars

Let 'text_and_other_conky_vars' blink on and off.

bmpx_album

Album in current BMPx track

bmpx_artist

Artist in current BMPx track

bmpx_bitrate

Bitrate of the current BMPx track

bmpx_title

Title of the current BMPx track

bmpx_track

Track number of the current BMPx track

bmpx_uri

URI of the current BMPx track

buffers

Amount of memory buffered

cached

Amount of memory cached

cmdline_to_pid string

PID of the first process that has string in it's commandline

cmus_aaa

Print aaa status of cmus (all/artist/album).

cmus_album

Prints the album of the current cmus song.

cmus_artist

Prints the artist of the current cmus song.

cmus_curtime

Current time of the current cmus song.

cmus_file

Print the file name of the current cmus song

cmus_date

Print the date of the current cmus song

cmus_genre

Print the genre name of the current cmus song

cmus_percent

Percent of song's progress.

cmus_progress (height),(width)

cmus' progress bar.

cmus_random

Random status of cmus (on/off).

cmus_repeat

Repeat status of cmus (song/all/off).

cmus_state

Current state of cmus (playing, paused, stopped etc).

cmus_timeleft

Time left of the current cmus song.

cmus_title

Prints the title of the current cmus song.

cmus_totaltime

Total length of the current cmus song.

cmus_track

Print track number of current cmus song.

color (color)

Change drawing color to 'color' which is a name of a color or a hexcode preceded with # (for example #0A1B2C ). If you use ncurses only the following colors are supported: red,green,yellow,blue,magenta,cyan,black,white.

colorN

Change drawing color to colorN configuration option, where N is a digit between 0 and 9, inclusively.

combine var1 var2

Places the lines of var2 to the right of the lines of var1 separated by the chars that are put between var1 and var2. For example: ${combine ${head /proc/cpuinfo 2} - ${head /proc/meminfo 1}} gives as output "cpuinfo_line1 - meminfo_line1" on line 1 and "cpuinfo_line2 -" on line 2. $combine vars can also be nested to place more vars next to each other.

conky_build_arch

CPU architecture Conky was built for

conky_build_date

Date Conky was built

conky_version

Conky version

cpu (cpuN)

CPU usage in percents. For SMP machines, the CPU number can be provided as an argument. ${cpu cpu0} is the total usage, and ${cpu cpuX} (X >= 1) are individual CPUs.

cpubar (cpuN) (height),(width)

Bar that shows CPU usage, height is bar's height in pixels. See $cpu for more info on SMP.

cpugauge (cpuN) (height),(width)

Elliptical gauge that shows CPU usage, height and width are gauge's vertical and horizontal axis respectively. See $cpu for more info on SMP.

cpugraph (cpuN) (height),(width) (gradient colour 1) (gradient colour 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

CPU usage graph, with optional colours in hex, minus the #. See $cpu for more info on SMP. Uses a logarithmic scale (to see small numbers) when you use the -l switch. Takes the switch '-t' to use a temperature gradient, which makes the gradient values change depending on the amplitude of a particular graph value (try it and see).

curl url (interval_in_minutes)

Download data from URI using Curl at the specified interval. The interval may be a positive floating point value (0 is allowed), otherwise defaults to 15 minutes. Most useful when used in conjunction with Lua and the Lua API. This object is threaded, and once a thread is created it can't be explicitly destroyed. One thread will run for each URI specified. You can use any protocol that Curl supports.

desktop

Number of the desktop on which conky is running or the message "Not running in X" if this is the case.

desktop_name

Name of the desktop on which conky is running or the message "Not running in X" if this is the case.

desktop_number

Number of desktops or the message "Not running in X" if this is the case.

disk_protect device

Disk protection status, if supported (needs kernel-patch). Prints either "frozen" or "free " (note the padding).

diskio (device)

Displays current disk IO. Device is optional, and takes the form of sda for /dev/sda. A block device label can be specified with label:foo. Individual partitions are also allowed.

diskio_read (device)

Displays current disk IO for reads. Device as in diskio.

diskio_write (device)

Displays current disk IO for writes. Device as in diskio.

diskiograph (device) (height),(width) (gradient colour 1) (gradient colour 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

Disk IO graph, colours defined in hex, minus the #. If scale is non-zero, it becomes the scale for the graph. Uses a logarithmic scale (to see small numbers) when you use -l switch. Takes the switch '-t' to use a temperature gradient, which makes the gradient values change depending on the amplitude of a particular graph value (try it and see).

diskiograph_read (device) (height),(width) (gradient colour 1) (gradient colour 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

Disk IO graph for reads, colours defined in hex, minus the #. If scale is non-zero, it becomes the scale for the graph. Device as in diskio. Uses a logarithmic scale (to see small numbers) when you use -l switch. Takes the switch '-t' to use a temperature gradient, which makes the gradient values change depending on the amplitude of a particular graph value (try it and see).

diskiograph_write (device) (height),(width) (gradient colour 1) (gradient colour 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

Disk IO graph for writes, colours defined in hex, minus the #. If scale is non-zero, it becomes the scale for the graph. Device as in diskio. Uses a logarithmic scale (to see small numbers) when you use -l switch. Takes the switch '-t' to use a temperature gradient, which makes the gradient values change depending on the amplitude of a particular graph value (try it and see).

distribution

The name of the distribution. It could be that some of the untested distributions will show up wrong or as "unknown", if that's the case post a bug on sourceforge, make sure it contains the name of your distribution, the contents of /proc/version and if there is a file that only exists on your distribution, also add the path of that file in the bug. If there is no such file, please add another way which we can use to identify your distribution.

downspeed (net)

Download speed in suitable IEC units

downspeedf (net)

Download speed in KiB with one decimal

downspeedgraph (netdev) (height),(width) (gradient colour 1) (gradient colour 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

Download speed graph, colours defined in hex, minus the #. If scale is non-zero, it becomes the scale for the graph. Uses a logarithmic scale (to see small numbers) when you use -l switch. Takes the switch '-t' to use a temperature gradient, which makes the gradient values change depending on the amplitude of a particular graph value (try it and see).

draft_mails (maildir) (interval)

Number of mails marked as draft in the specified mailbox or mail spool if not. Only maildir type mailboxes are supported, mbox type will return -1.

else

Text to show if any of the above are not true

endif

Ends an $if block.

entropy_avail

Current entropy available for crypto freaks

entropy_bar (height),(width)

Normalized bar of available entropy for crypto freaks

entropy_perc

Percentage of entropy available in comparison to the poolsize

entropy_poolsize

Total size of system entropy pool for crypto freaks

eval string

Evaluates given string according to the rules of conky.text interpretation, i.e. parsing any contained text object specifications into their output, any occuring '$$' into a single '$' and so on. The output is then being parsed again.

eve api_userid api_key character_id

Fetches your currently training skill from the Eve Online API servers (http://www.eve-online.com/) and displays the skill along with the remaining training time.

exec command

Executes a shell command and displays the output in conky. Warning: this takes a lot more resources than other variables. I'd recommend coding wanted behaviour in C/C++ and posting a patch.

execbar (height),(width) command

Same as exec, except if the first value returned is a value between 0-100, it will use that number to draw a horizontal bar. The height and width parameters are optional, and default to the default_bar_height and default_bar_width config settings, respectively.

execgauge (height),(width) command

Same as exec, except if the first value returned is a value between 0-100, it will use that number to draw a round gauge (much like a vehicle speedometer). The height and width parameters are optional, and default to the default_gauge_height and default_gauge_width config settings, respectively.

execgraph command (height),(width) (gradient color 1) (gradient color 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

Draws a horizontally scrolling graph with values from 0-100 plotted on the vertical axis. All parameters following the command are optional. Gradient colors can be specified as hexadecimal values with no 0x or # prefix. Use the -t switch to enable a temperature gradient, so that small values are "cold" with color 1 and large values are "hot" with color 2. Without the -t switch, the colors produce a horizontal gradient spanning the width of the graph. The scale parameter defines the maximum value of the graph. Use the -l switch to enable a logarithmic scale, which helps to see small values. The default size for graphs can be controlled via the default_graph_height and default_graph_width config settings.

If you need to execute a command with spaces, you have a couple options: 1) wrap your command in double-quotes, or 2) put your command into a separate file, such as ~/bin/myscript.sh, and use that as your execgraph command. Remember to make your script executable!

In the following example, we set up execgraph to display seconds (0-59) on a graph that is 50px high and 200px wide, using a temperature gradient with colors ranging from red for small values (FF0000) to yellow for large values (FFFF00). We set the scale to 60.

${execgraph ~/seconds.sh 50,200 FF0000 FFFF00 60 -t}

execi interval command

Same as exec, but with a specific interval in seconds. The interval can't be less than the update_interval in your configuration. See also $texeci.

execibar interval (height),(width) command

Same as execbar, but with an interval.

execigauge interval (height),(width) command

Same as execgauge, but with an interval.

execigraph interval command (height),(width) (gradient color 1) (gradient color 2) (scale) (-t) (-l)

Same as execgraph, but with an interval.

execp command

Executes a shell command and displays the output in conky. Warning: this takes a lot more resources than other variables. I'd recommend coding wanted behaviour in C/C++ and posting a patch. This differs from $exec in that it parses the output of the command, so you can insert things like ${color red}hi!${color} in your script and have it correctly parsed by Conky. Caveats: Conky parses and evaluates the output of $execp every time Conky loops, and then destroys all the objects. If you try to use anything like $execi within an $execp statement, it will functionally run at the same interval that the $execp statement runs, as it is created and destroyed at every interval.

execpi interval command

Same as execp, but with an interval. Note that the output from the $execpi command is still parsed and evaluated at every interval.

flagged_mails (maildir) (interval)

Number of mails marked as flagged in the specified mailbox or mail spool if not. Only maildir type mailboxes are supported, mbox type will return -1.

font (font)

Specify a different font. This new font will apply to the current line and everything following. You can use a $font with no arguments to change back to the default font (much like with $color)

format_time seconds format

Format time given in seconds. This var only works when the times_in_seconds configuration setting is on. Format is a string that should start and end with a "-char. The "-chars are not part of the output, \w,\d,\h,\m,\s,$,$ and \\ are replaced by weeks,days,hours,minutes,seconds,(,) and \. If you leave out a unit, it's value will be expressed in the highest unite lower then the one left out. Text between ()-chars will not be visible if a replaced unit in this text is 0. If seconds is a decimal number then you can see the numbers behind the point by using \S followed by a number that specifies the amount of digits behind the point that you want to see (maximum 9). You can also place a 'x' behind \S so you have all digits behind the point and no trailing zero's. (also maximum 9)

forwarded_mails (maildir) (interval)

Number of mails marked as forwarded in the specified mailbox or mail spool if not. Only maildir type mailboxes are supported, mbox type will return -1.

freq (n)

Returns CPU #n's frequency in MHz. CPUs are counted from 1. If omitted, the parameter defaults to 1.

freq_g (n)

Returns CPU #n's frequency in GHz. CPUs are counted from 1. If omitted, the parameter defaults to 1.

fs_bar (height),(width) fs

Bar that shows how much space is used on a file system. height is the height in pixels. fs is any file on that file system.

fs_bar_free (height),(width) fs

Bar that shows how much space is free on a file system. height is the height in pixels. fs is any file on that file system.

fs_free (fs)

Free space on a file system available for users.

fs_free_perc (fs)

Free percentage of space on a file system available for users.

fs_size (fs)

File system size.

fs_type (fs)

File system type.

fs_used (fs)

File system used space.

fs_used_perc (fs)

Percent of file system used space.

goto x

The next element will be printed at position 'x'.

gw_iface

Displays the default route's interface or "multiple"/"none" accordingly.

gw_ip

Displays the default gateway's IP or "multiple"/"none" accordingly.

hddtemp (dev)

Displays temperature of a selected hard disk drive as reported by the hddtemp daemon. Use hddtemp_host and hddtemp_port to specify a host and port for all hddtemp objects. If no dev parameter is given, the first disk returned by the hddtemp daemon is used.

head logfile lines (next_check)

Displays first N lines of supplied text file. The file is checked every 'next_check' update. If next_check is not supplied, Conky defaults to 2. Max of 30 lines can be displayed, or until the text buffer is filled.

hr (height)

Horizontal line, height is the height in pixels

hwmon (dev) type n (factor offset)

Hwmon sensor from sysfs (Linux 2.6). Parameter dev may be omitted if you have only one hwmon device. Parameter type is either 'in' or 'vol' meaning voltage; 'fan' meaning fan; 'temp' meaning temperature. Parameter n is number of the sensor. See /sys/class/hwmon/ on your local computer. The optional arguments 'factor' and 'offset' allow precalculation of the raw input, which is being modified as follows: 'input = input * factor + offset'. Note that they have to be given as decimal values (i.e. contain at least one decimal place).

i2c (dev) type n (factor offset)

I2C sensor from sysfs (Linux 2.6). Parameter dev may be omitted if you have only one I2C device. Parameter type is either 'in' or 'vol' meaning voltage; 'fan' meaning fan; 'temp' meaning temperature. Parameter n is number of the sensor. See /sys/bus/i2c/devices/ on your local computer. The optional arguments 'factor' and 'offset' allow precalculation of the raw input, which is being modified as follows: 'input = input * factor + offset'. Note that they have to be given as decimal values (i.e. contain at least one decimal place).

i8k_ac_status

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays whether ac power is on, as listed in /proc/i8k (translated to human-readable). Beware that this is by default not enabled by i8k itself.

i8k_bios

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the bios version as listed in /proc/i8k.

i8k_buttons_status

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the volume buttons status as listed in /proc/i8k.

i8k_cpu_temp

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the cpu temperature in Celsius, as reported by /proc/i8k.

i8k_left_fan_rpm

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the left fan's rate of rotation, in revolutions per minute as listed in /proc/i8k. Beware, some laptops i8k reports these fans in reverse order.

i8k_left_fan_status

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the left fan status as listed in /proc/i8k (translated to human-readable). Beware, some laptops i8k reports these fans in reverse order.

i8k_right_fan_rpm

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the right fan's rate of rotation, in revolutions per minute as listed in /proc/i8k. Beware, some laptops i8k reports these fans in reverse order.

i8k_right_fan_status

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the right fan status as listed in /proc/i8k (translated to human-readable). Beware, some laptops i8k reports these fans in reverse order.

i8k_serial

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays your laptop serial number as listed in /proc/i8k.

i8k_version

If running the i8k kernel driver for Inspiron laptops, displays the version formatting of /proc/i8k.

ibm_brightness

If running the IBM ACPI, displays the brigtness of the laptops's LCD (0-7).

ibm_fan

If running the IBM ACPI, displays the fan speed.

ibm_temps N

If running the IBM ACPI, displays the temperatures from the IBM temperature sensors (N=0..7) Sensor 0 is on the CPU, 3 is on the GPU.

ibm_thinklight

If running the IBM ACPI, displays the status of your ThinkLight™. Value is either 'on', 'off' or 'unknown'.

ibm_volume

If running the IBM ACPI, displays the "master" volume, controlled by the volume keys (0-14).

ical number file

Shows title of event number 'number' in the ical (RFC 5545) file 'file'. The events are first ordered by starting time, events that started in the past are ignored. The events that are shown are the VEVENTS, the title that is shown is the SUMMARY and the starting time used for sorting is DTSTART .

irc server(:port) #channel

Shows everything that's being told in #channel on IRCserver 'server'. TCP-port 6667 is used for the connection unless 'port' is specified.

iconv_start codeset_from codeset_to

Convert text from one codeset to another using GNU iconv. Needs to be stopped with iconv_stop.

iconv_stop

Stop iconv codeset conversion.

if_empty (var)

if conky variable VAR is empty, display everything between $if_empty and the matching $endif

if_existing file (string)

if FILE exists, display everything between if_existing and the matching $endif. The optional second parameter checks for FILE containing the specified string and prints everything between $if_existing and the matching $endif.

if_gw

if there is at least one default gateway, display everything between $if_gw and the matching $endif

if_match expression

Evaluates the given boolean expression, printing everything between $if_match and the matching $e