Conky can display this info either as text, or using simple progress bars and graph widgets, with different fonts and colours.
So here I want to share steps required to install & configure conky. Here I’m using Ubuntu 10.04 as my OS.
First, install conky via apt-get.
sudo apt-get install conky
Then, create new conky configuration file
gedit ~/.conkyrc
Paste the code below to .conkyrc file
# UBUNTU-CONKY
# A comprehensive conky script, configured for use on
# Ubuntu / Debian Gnome, without the need for any external scripts.
#
# Based on conky-jc and the default .conkyrc.
# INCLUDES:
# – tail of /var/log/messages
# – netstat connections to your computer
#
# — Pengo ([email protected])
#
# Create own window instead of using desktop (required in nautilus)
own_window yes
own_window_type override
own_window_transparent yes
own_window_hints undecorated,below,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager
# Use double buffering (reduces flicker, may not work for everyone)
double_buffer yes
# fiddle with window
use_spacer yes
use_xft no
# Update interval in seconds
update_interval 3.0
# Minimum size of text area
# minimum_size 250 5
# Draw shades?
draw_shades no
# Text stuff
draw_outline no # amplifies text if yes
draw_borders no
font arial
uppercase no # set to yes if you want all text to be in uppercase
# Stippled borders?
stippled_borders 3
# border margins
border_margin 9
# border width
border_width 10
# max width conky
maximum_width 220
# Default colors and also border colors, grey90 == #e5e5e5
default_color black
own_window_colour brown
own_window_transparent true
# Text alignment, other possible values are commented
#alignment top_left
alignment top_right
#alignment bottom_left
#alignment bottom_right
# Gap between borders of screen and text
gap_x 10
gap_y 20
# stuff after ‘TEXT’ will be formatted on screen
TEXT
$color
${color orange}SYSTEM ${hr 2}$color
$nodename $sysname $kernel on $machine
${color orange}CPU ${hr 2}$color
${freq}MHz Load: ${loadavg} Temp: ${acpitemp}
$cpubar
${cpugraph 000000 ffffff}
NAME ${alignr} PID% ${alignr} CPU% ${alignr} MEM%
${top name 1} ${top pid 1} ${top cpu 1} ${top mem 1}
${top name 2} ${top pid 2} ${top cpu 2} ${top mem 2}
${top name 3} ${top pid 3} ${top cpu 3} ${top mem 3}
${top name 4} ${top pid 4} ${top cpu 4} ${top mem 4}
${color orange}MEMORY / DISK ${hr 2}$color
RAM: $memperc% ${membar 6}$color
Swap: $swapperc% ${swapbar 6}$color
root: ${fs_free_perc /}% ${fs_bar 6 /}$color
sda1: ${fs_free_perc /dev/sda1}% ${fs_bar 6 /dev/sda1}$color
${color orange}NETWORK (${addr eth1}) ${hr 2}$color
Down: $color${downspeed eth1}k/s ${alignr} Up: ${upspeed eth1}k/s
${downspeedgraph eth1 25,100 000000 ff0000} ${alignr} ${upspeedgraph eth1 25,100 000000 00ff00}$color
Total: ${totaldown eth1} ${alignr} Total: ${totalup eth1}
Inbound: ${tcp_portmon 1 32767 count} ${alignr} Outbound: ${tcp_portmon 32768 61000 count}
#Total: ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 count}
${color orange}LOGGING ${hr 2}$color
${execi 30 tail -n3 /var/log/messages | fold -w50}
#${color orange}FORTUNE ${hr 2}$color
#${execi 120 fortune -s | fold -w50}
After that, save that file.
On the terminal, type in “conky“, it’ll appear something like this:
Then, we want to make this conky autorun when login.
Go to System/Preferences/Startup Applications.Click on Add, type a name as you want e.g. “Conky” and “/usr/bin/conky” in command area (without quotes).
After that, try restart & login to your account. See your conky on your desktop.