Conky is a free system monitor tool for the X window system on Linux. It is able to monitor many system variables including CPU status, swap space, temperatures, disk storage, processes, network interfaces, battery status and a host of others and then displays the information on your desktop. It can also display other things like time, calendars weather and the like. All these are available via themes with which Conky works.
So let us take a look at installing and setting up Conky and Conky manager on Ubuntu.
How to Install Conky?
To install Install Conky on Ubuntu 16.04 ‘Xenial Xerus’ (also works for Linux Mint 18 Sarah and Ubuntu derivatives) open a new Terminal window and enter the following commands.
sudo apt-get install conky-all
Install Conky Manager on Ubuntu 16.04?
Conky is also highly configurable. Conky relies on the “.conkyrc” file for setting it up.and this may be a little complex. Conky manager seeks to ease all the associated troubles.
To install Install Conky Manager on Ubuntu 16.04 ‘Xenial Xerus’ (also works for Linux Mint 18 Sarah and Ubuntu derivatives) system via PPA, open a new Terminal window and enter the following commands.
To install Install Conky Manager on Ubuntu 16.04 ‘Xenial Xerus’ (also works for Linux Mint 18 Sarah and Ubuntu derivatives) system via PPA, open a new Terminal window and enter the following commands.
$ sudo apt-add-repository -y ppa:teejee2008/ppa $ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install conky-manager
Upon starting Conky manager, you will be presented with a very simple app window. From the first run, you’ll have some themes pre-installed from which you may select and setup. From the window, you can also easily import themes you have downloaded (search DeviantArt) into conky. You may also customize the themes from the Conky manager by selecting the theme you wish to configure and then click on the edit button.
Install themes
Follow this simple instruction to install other themes or widgets. Note that most themes and widgets will come with installation readme included, and they may include other things such as installing fonts or adding wallpapers.
- Download the theme and if it is a zip, unzip it.
- Then copy or move the folder to /home/your_user_name/conky-manager/themes/
- Start the Conky manager and then enable the theme.
Some Cool Conky Themes
There a ton of user created conky themes that are available for download. Let us take a look at a few cool ones you can try it.
- Nexus 5 inspired Clock and date Conky. Grab fromhere.
- To install the Conky script, extract the archive and put the extracted folder in ~/conky-manager/themes/, making sure the included fonts are also installed.
- Digital Alien Conky. Made for Conky Manager. Grab it fromhere.
- Unzip pack to Conky manager , themes
- Install fonts
- Reload conky manager
- Select Digital Alien Conky and good to go
- Cyborg Conky . Made for Conky Manager. Grab it fromhere.
- Unzip pack to Conky manager , themes
- Install fonts
- Reload conky manager
- Select Cyborg Conky and good to go
- Eye Ball conky. Made for Conky manager. Grab it fromhere.
- To install the Conky script, extract the archive and put the extracted folder in ~/conky-manager/themes/, making sure the included fonts are also installed.
- Funky Conky version B. Grab it from here.
- To install the Conky script, extract the archive and put the extracted folder in ~/conky-manager/themes/, making sure the included fonts are also installed.
Unity. Grab it from here. Detail installation available at download link.
Supreme Conky Pack. Made for Conky Manager Grab it from here. Detail installation available at download link.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, conky is pretty awesome. There are a ton of themes available on the Internet for download. Some themes will work for you out of the box and with others, you are probably going to want to edit or customize it to meet your needs. Conky and its themes will have your desktop looking cool and personal. Share your thoughts on Conky with us in the comments.
I use many conky scripts. They were working fine with Elementary OS Hera 5.1.2. Scripts appeared on every virtual desktop. I then upgraded to Elementary OS Hera 5.1.3 and now after bootup, scripts appear then disappear all together when switching to another virtual desktop. This occurs on both workstations running Hera 5.1.3. I posted problem on Elementary OS stack exchange, but no responses to the problem. Any ideas which you may have are welcomed.