One method you can use to get Widgets on your Linux desktop is Conky but setting up custom configurations can be a bit too technical for some people. A simpler way to achieve the same goal, although less technically complex ones, is to use Screenlets.
Screenlets is an open source Python-based tool that allows you add widgets to your desktop. It supports adding numerous screenlets including RSS readers, weather, countdown, clock, folder view, sensors, calendars, a Conky-like system information widget, among others widget options.
Screenlets Widgets
Screenlets was taken off Ubuntu’s repo because it no longer worked and got discontinued. But thanks to Hrotkó Gábor who fixed most of the issues in the tool, a new version for the official Screenlets PPA is now available for Ubuntu 16.04.
Features in Screenlets
- FOSS – free to use and open source with the source code available on Launchpad.
- Multiple screenlets (widgets) with individual configuration options.
Screenlets requires an X11-based composite manager and so you’ll need something like Xcompmgr or Compton for its widgets to show up on your desktop.
It is available to install for Ubuntu 16.04 via PPA using following commands in a new Terminal window.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:screenlets/ppa $ sudo apt update $ sudo apt install screenlets screenlets-pack-all
There are no Ubuntu 16.10 packages yet so you will need to make the PPA point to Xenial instead of Yakkety:
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:screenlets/ppa $ sudo sed -i 's/yakkety/xenial/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/screenlets-ubuntu-ppa-yakkety.list $ sudo apt update $ sudo apt install screenlets screenlets-pack-all
Screenlets Usage
Launch Screenlets Select the screenlet you want on the desktop and check the “Start / Stop” option on the left to start it (or just double click it). You can check the “Auto start at login” to get the screenlet to start automatically on login.
Have you used Screenlets before? What do you think about it in comparison to Conky? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
