# Polybar — Fast and Customizable Status Bar for Linux

> Polybar is a lightweight status bar for Linux window managers that uses simple INI-style configuration to display workspaces, system metrics, notifications, and custom scripts.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Polybar — Fast and Customizable Status Bar for Linux

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install (Arch)
sudo pacman -S polybar
# Install (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt install polybar
# Generate example config
mkdir -p ~/.config/polybar
polybar --print-default > ~/.config/polybar/config.ini
# Launch
polybar mybar &
```

## Introduction
Polybar is a status bar designed for use with tiling window managers like i3, bspwm, and Openbox. It emphasizes ease of configuration through a declarative INI format while remaining fast and resource-efficient, rendering information via a modular system of built-in and custom modules.

## What Polybar Does
- Displays workspace indicators, window titles, and system tray
- Shows real-time system info: CPU, RAM, disk, temperature, network, battery
- Renders custom shell script output as first-class modules
- Supports fonts, colors, underlines, and per-module formatting via format strings
- Handles multi-monitor setups with per-output bar instances

## Architecture Overview
Polybar is written in C++ and renders directly to an X11 window (or via XCB). Each bar is a single process that ticks modules at configurable intervals. Built-in modules query /proc, sysfs, or D-Bus for system data. Custom/script modules fork shell commands and parse their stdout. IPC commands allow external control via polybar-msg.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install from package manager or compile from source (requires cmake, xcb libs)
- Config file lives at ~/.config/polybar/config.ini (INI format with sections per bar/module)
- Define bars with position, size, fonts, and a list of modules for left/center/right
- Create custom modules using `type = custom/script` with `exec` and `interval` keys
- Launch via a shell script called from your WM's startup (e.g., i3 exec_always)

## Key Features
- Declarative INI configuration: no programming needed for common setups
- Rich built-in modules: i3/bspwm workspaces, ALSA/PulseAudio volume, MPRIS media
- Custom/script modules for displaying any shell command output
- IPC interface: send commands (hide, show, toggle module) from scripts
- Highly themeable with hex colors, gradients, ramp icons, and format overrides

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **i3bar/swaybar** — simpler, protocol-driven; less visual customization
- **Waybar** — Wayland-native alternative with similar module system; required for Sway/Hyprland
- **lemonbar** — minimal pipe-based bar; more flexible but harder to configure
- **tint2** — panel for Openbox; supports taskbar but less module variety
- **Eww (ElKowars Widgets)** — Lisp-like config for arbitrary desktop widgets; steeper learning curve

## FAQ
**Q: Does Polybar work on Wayland?**
A: No. Polybar is X11-only. For Wayland compositors, use Waybar instead.

**Q: How do I add a custom script module?**
A: Define a module section with `type = custom/script`, set `exec = /path/to/script.sh` and `interval = 5`.

**Q: Can I use Nerd Font icons in Polybar?**
A: Yes. Add a Nerd Font as a secondary font in your bar config and reference glyphs in module labels.

**Q: How do I reload the config without restarting?**
A: Polybar does not hot-reload. Use a launch script that kills existing instances and restarts the process.

## Sources
- https://github.com/polybar/polybar
- https://polybar.github.io

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Author: AI Open Source