Discover the Ultimate Linux Desktop Customization Tool You May Not Have Tried

Customizing a Linux desktop offers users a chance to enhance their computing experience, and one popular tool that often comes to mind is Conky, renowned for its system monitoring capabilities. However, another tool, EWW, short for ElKowar’s Wacky Widgets, is garnering attention for its versatility. Unlike Conky, EWW excels in creating a variety of dynamic widgets, including clocks, system monitors, and weather displays, all with the ease of a graphical user interface (GUI).

Understanding EWW

EWW serves as a robust widget system specifically designed for Linux desktops, empowering users to craft and showcase custom widgets. This flexibility allows for the display of a multitude of components, such as weather forecasts, music controls, and other personalized information, independently of the existing desktop environment.

Developed in Rust, EWW utilizes its own unique configuration language named Yuck, which is reminiscent of Lisp S-expressions. This means that crafting widget layouts involves engaging with a structured text format that may feel familiar to those accustomed to editing HTML or XML files.

Within EWW, you will define widgets as templates or components and arrange them in windows, which act as containers. For styling, EWW effectively employs CSS/SCSS, the same styling language that enhances the appearance of web pages. This integration grants users significant control over visual attributes such as fonts, colors, and spacing, leveraging CSS’s versatility.

Eww Dashboard in action — Image credit: Elkowar’s GitHub

Getting Started with EWW

Although my initial encounter with EWW was daunting, I found it to be quite approachable after some exploration. Installation options vary; you can obtain EWW through your distribution’s repository or compile it from source. Once installed, setting up EWW requires a few foundational steps.

The first step involves configuring a designated directory that houses at least two key files: one for widget definitions (often labeled eww.yuck) and another for styling (named eww.scss or.css).The Yuck configuration file outlines your widgets and windows, while the SCSS/CSS file manages the styling.

Understanding EWW’s configuration syntax becomes intuitive once you see a concrete example. For instance, creating a CPU monitor widget displaying usage percentages or a clock showing the current time is straightforward. EWW offers various GUI elements, such as boxes, labels, images, and buttons, which function as foundational building blocks for your custom widgets.

Consider defining a window titled “sidebar” that organizes critical information vertically. The corresponding Yuck syntax might resemble this:

(defwindow sidebar : monitor 0 : geometry (geometry: x "0%":y "0%":width "200px":height "100%":anchor "top left") (box: orientation "vertical" (widget1...) (widget2...)...))

This example specifies a window named “sidebar” positioned on monitor 0, anchored to the top left of the screen, with designated width and height. Inside this window, a vertical box hosts various widgets, whose definitions would reside elsewhere in the configuration.

Comparing EWW and Conky

Conky, a seasoned companion since the early 2000s, is a lightweight system monitor crafted in C/C++ with Lua capabilities, primarily focusing on displaying real-time system stats like CPU, RAM, disk, and network usage. Its role is predominantly passive, designed for information display.

EWW differentiates itself as a comprehensive widget toolkit, extending beyond mere system monitoring. It empowers users to develop interactive elements, such as media players, sliders, and application launchers, allowing for a broader range of creative possibilities. While Conky primarily focuses on system metrics, EWW facilitates the creation of versatile UI components, offering the capability to show and hide elements as needed.

Both tools utilize text-based configurations; however, Conky’s reliance on a.conkyrc or Lua file structure can feel outdated in comparison to EWW’s structured Yuck language. The latter provides greater ease of theming and organization, albeit with a steeper initial learning curve than Conky, which benefits from an extensive array of pre-existing themes.

In terms of functionality, Conky excels at displaying various stats but lacks interactivity. Conversely, EWW supports buttons, sliders, and text inputs, allowing for interactive widgets capable of executing actions, such as volume adjustments or application launches.

My Journey with EWW

My initial efforts to configure EWW proved challenging, marked by substantial experimentation and research. Novices may navigate this learning curve more smoothly if they have prior experience with similar tools, but my encounter was my first significant venture into this domain.

Nonetheless, the hard work paid off. Following the installation, I began with a simple “hello world” widget, establishing a basic foundation. With time, I ventured into more complex projects, such as monitoring RAM usage, displaying battery levels, adding clocks, and tracking media playback. Each new widget functioned flawlessly as I became more adept at using EWW.

Remarkably, the available documentation is thorough, and the community surrounding EWW offers ample support. Initially daunted by the Yuck syntax, I found clarity through sample configurations, ultimately leading to the successful implementation of my first fully functional widget within a single day.

Customizing your Linux desktop can be as straightforward and rewarding as personalizing a Windows environment. If you’re seeking inspiration to kickstart your journey, consider exploring customized Linux desktops online or within dedicated communities.

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