Beginner’s Guide to Install and Use Conky in Ubuntu Linux

If you’re looking to monitor your system performance in real time and want something lightweight and customizable, Conky is a great choice. It’s a system monitor for X that displays information on your desktop. CPU usage, RAM, disk activity, temperature, network speed — all of it can be shown in a sleek widget.

This guide walks you through installing Conky on Ubuntu, setting it up, and customizing it for your needs. No prior experience required.

What is Conky?

Conky is an open-source, highly configurable system monitor for Linux. It runs in the background and overlays real-time stats on your desktop. You can show:

• CPU & RAM usage
• Disk space
• Network activity
• Temperatures
• Battery level
• And much more

Plus, it uses minimal system resources.

Step 1: Install Conky

You can install Conky straight from the Ubuntu repositories.

Open a terminal and run:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install conky-all

The conky-all package includes most features and support for various data sources.

Step 2: Run Conky

Once installed, start it by typing:

conky

You’ll see a default system monitor appear on your desktop. This is just the beginning — the real power of Conky is in customization.

Step 3: Create a Configuration File

To make Conky start with your settings, create a personal config file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/conky

cp /etc/conky/conky.conf ~/.config/conky/conky.conf

Now you can edit it with any text editor. For example:

gedit ~/.config/conky/conky.conf

Step 4: Customize the Look

Conky uses Lua-based syntax. It may look a bit technical, but you can start with simple tweaks:

• Change colors
• Rearrange stats
• Add or remove elements

Here’s a very basic example:

conky.config = {
    alignment = 'top_right',
    background = true,
    double_buffer = true,
    update_interval = 1.0,
    own_window = true,
    own_window_type = 'desktop',
    minimum_width = 200, minimum_height = 200,
};

conky.text = [[
${time %A, %d %B %Y}
${time %H:%M:%S}

CPU: ${cpu cpu0}%
RAM: $mem/$memmax
Disk: ${fs_used /}/${fs_size /}
Net: ${downspeed enp3s0} ↓ / ${upspeed enp3s0} ↑
]];

You’ll need to replace enp3s0 with your actual network interface. Use ip a to find it.

Step 5: Autostart Conky

To have Conky launch at login:

1. Open Startup Applications in Ubuntu.
2. Click Add.
3. Name: Conky
4. Command: conky -c ~/.config/conky/conky.conf
5. Save.

Now Conky will launch every time you boot.

Where to Find More Conky Configs

You don’t need to build your setup from scratch. Plenty of beautiful, pre-made Conky themes are available on:

• https://www.deviantart.com
• https://github.com (search “Conky themes”)

Download, unpack them into ~/.config/conky/, and point Conky to use them:

conky -c ~/.config/conky/name-of-config.conf

Final Tips

• If you use a compositing window manager (like GNOME), make sure Conky’s window type is compatible (desktop or dock usually works).
• Conky doesn’t show up in the taskbar — that’s normal.
• Play around, test, and learn by tweaking small parts at a time.

Conclusion

Conky is a simple yet powerful tool to give your Ubuntu desktop an informative and personal touch. It can be as minimal or as fancy as you like. Once you get the hang of editing configs, the possibilities are wide open.

Have a favorite Conky theme or a question about setup? Drop it in the comments below.