Configuration settings

This is a listing of global configuration options for Conky. These are placed in the conky.config section of your configuration file, before conky.text.

The default configuration file location is ~/.config/conky/conky.conf or ${sysconfdir}/conky/conky.conf. On most systems, $sysconfdir is /etc, and you can find the sample config file there in /etc/conky/conky.conf.

You might want to copy the default config to ~/.config/conky/conky.conf and then start modifying it. User configs can be found at https://github.com/brndnmtthws/conky/wiki/Configs.

Optional arguments are generally denoted with paretheses (i.e., (optional)).

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 abbreviated 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_bar_fill

A character to fill the console bars.

Default: #
console_bar_unfill

A character to unfill the console bars.

Default: .
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, e.g. " ,_,=,#".

cpu_avg_samples

The number of samples to average for CPU monitoring.

default_bar_height

Specify a default height for bars.

Default: 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 default value will be 10 for the text version of the bar.

Default: 0
default_color

Default color and border color.

default_gauge_height

Specify a default height for gauges.

Default: 25
default_gauge_width

Specify a default width for gauges.

Default: 40
default_graph_height

Specify a default height for graphs.

Default: 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: 0
default_outline_color

Default outline color.

default_shade_color

Default shading color and border's shading color.

detect_battery

One or more batteries to check in order to use update_interval_on_battery (comma separated).

Default: BAT0
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.

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_blended

Boolean, blend when rendering drawn image? Some images blend incorrectly breaking alpha with ARBG visuals. This provides a possible work around by disabling blending.

Default: yes
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.

fontN

Predefine a font to be used in conky.text segments. Substitute N by a number between 0 and 9 inclusive. Use the same format as a font variable.

forced_redraw

Boolean value, if true, Conky will redraw everything when you switch the workspace. This may cause delays/flickering on some WMs.

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'.

github_token

Specify API token for GitHub notifications.

Create an API token at https://github.com/settings/tokens/new?scopes=notifications&description=conky.

graph_gradient_mode=(rgb|hcl|hsv)

Changes the color space used for interpolation. Arguments are hcl, hsv, and rgb (default).

Default: rgb
hddtemp_host

Hostname to connect to for hddtemp objects.

Default: 127.0.0.1
hddtemp_port

Port to use for hddtemp connections.

Default: 7634
http_port

Port to listen to for HTTP connections. Default value is 10080, but is blocked by Firefox and Chrome, so you really want to change it.

Default: 10080
http_refresh

When this is set the page generated with out_to_http will automatically refresh each interval.

Default: 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=hostuserpass-i interval (in seconds)-f 'folder'-p port-e 'command'-r retries

Default global IMAP server. 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. Increase this value if you use $image lots. Set to 0 to disable the image cache.

Default: 4194304
lowercase

Boolean value, if true, text is rendered in lower case.

lua_draw_hook_post=function_namefunction 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_namefunction 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_mouse_hook=function_name

This function, if defined, will be called by Conky upon receiving mouse events from X or Wayland. A table containing event information will be passed to this function as the first argument. Use this hook for detecting mouse input and acting on it. Conky requires that the function declaration has a 'conky_' prefix to prevent accidental calls to the wrong function.

lua_shutdown_hook=function_namefunction 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_namefunction 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.

Default: 256
max_text_width=integer_number

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=integer_number

Maximum size of user text buffer in bytes, i.e. text inside conky.text section in config file.

Default: 16384
maximum_width=integer_number

Maximum width of window.

minimum_height=integer_number

Minimum height of the window.

minimum_width=integer_number

Minimum width of window.

mpd_host

Host of MPD server.

mpd_password

MPD server password.

mpd_port

Port of MPD server.

music_player_interval

Music player thread update interval.

Default: update interval
mysql_db

MySQL database to use.

Default: mysql
mysql_host

Host of MySQL server

Default: localhost
mysql_password

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

mysql_port

Port of MySQL server.

Default: 0
mysql_user

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

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 used.

Default: $DISPLAY
out_to_console

Print text to stdout.

out_to_http

Let conky act as a small http-server serving its 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_wayland

Open a Wayland window to display output.

Default: no
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: yes
override_utf8_locale

Force UTF8. Requires XFT.

overwrite_file

Overwrite the file given as argument.

own_window

Boolean, draw conky in own window instead of drawing on root window.

own_window_argb_value=integer_number

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.

Default: 255
own_window_argb_visual

Boolean, use ARGB visual? ARGB can be used for real transparency, note that a composite manager is required on X11. This option will not work as desired (in most cases) in conjunction with 'own_window_type override'.

own_window_class

Manually set the WM_CLASS name.

Default: Conky
own_window_colour=color

If own_window_transparent no, set a specified background colour. Takes either a hex value (e.g. '#ffffff'), a shorthand hex value (e.g. '#fff'), or a valid RGB name (see /usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt).

Default: black
own_window_hints=hint(,hint)*

If own_window is set, on X11 you may specify comma separated window manager hints to affect the way Conky displays.

Following hints are some of the standard WM specification ones:

  • above indicates that conky should be on top of most windows.
  • below indicates that conky should be below most windows.
  • skip_pager indicates that conky should not be included on a Pager. Implied if own_window_type is 'dock' or 'panel'.
  • skip_taskbar indicates that conky should not be included on a taskbar. Implied if own_window_type is 'dock' or 'panel'.
  • sticky indicates that the Window Manager SHOULD keep conky's position fixed on the screen, even when the virtual desktop scrolls.
  • undecorated indicates that conky shouldn't have any window decorations (e.g. title bar). Implied if own_window_type is 'dock' or 'panel'.

Notes:

  • Use own_window_type='desktop' setting 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

Allows overriding conky window name.

Default: conky (<hostname>)
own_window_transparent

Make conky window transparent. If own_window_argb_visual is enabled, sets background opacity to 0%.

Default:
own_window_type=(normal|desktop|dock|panel|utility|override)

If own_window is set, under X11 you can specify type of window conky displayed as:

  • normal mode makes conky show as normal window. This mode can be configured with use of own_window_hints setting.
  • desktop windows are special windows that have no window decorations, are always visible on the desktop, do not appear in pager or taskbar, and are sticky across all workspaces. Many DEs include desktop windows for background, icons and desktop menu, in those cases it might be better to use normal or one of the below options, as those will cover conky when they're clicked on.
  • dock windows reserve space on the desktop, i.e. WMs will try their best to not place windows on top of them. They're the same as desktop in other respects, but render on top of desktop windows.
  • panel windows are similar to dock windows, but they also reserve space along a desktop edge (like taskbars), preventing maximized windows from overlapping them. The edge is chosen based on the alignment setting.
  • utility windows are persistent utility windows (e.g. a palette or toolbox). They appear on top of other windows (in the same group), but otherwise behave much like normal windows.
  • override windows are drawn directly on root window (desktop background) and are not under the control of the window manager. These will not work with DEs which draw desktop icons via custom panels/windows as those will cover conky. own_window_hints are ignored for override windows.
Default: normal
pad_percents

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

pop3=hostuserpass-i interval (in seconds)-p port-e 'command'-r retries

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: no
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.

store_graph_data_explicitly

Enable storing graph data explicitly by ID. This avoids resets while using conditional colors. This option should be disabled while using graphs indirectly e.g. via execpi or lua_parse. Otherwise the graph stays emtpy. The default value is true.

Default:
temperature_unit

Desired output unit of all objects displaying a temperature. Parameters are either fahrenheit or celsius.

Default: 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=seconds

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.

Default:
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.

units_spacer

String to place between values and units.

Default:
update_interval=seconds

Update interval.

update_interval_on_battery=seconds

Update interval when running on battery power.

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.

Default: none
use_xft

Use Xft (anti-aliased font and stuff).

xftalpha

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

xinerama_head

Specify a Xinerama head.

2024 Conky developers, updated 2024-04-11T18:18:03.579Z