i3status is a lightweight status line generator for the i3 window manager. It is designed to provide real-time information about the system, such as the current time, battery level, and network status, in a format that can be easily integrated into the i3 window manager. i3status is typically called from the i3 configuration file, where it is used to display the status line at the bottom of the screen. The status line is highly customizable, and users can configure it to display various system information such as the date, battery level, CPU usage, memory usage, and network status.
i3status also supports various plugins that can be used to display additional information such as weather, volume, and temperature. The output of i3status can be configured to be displayed in various formats such as plain text, JSON, and i3bar protocol. i3bar protocol is used to display the status line in i3bar which is a status bar that is included in i3 window manager.
One of the advantages of i3status is its low resource usage and its ability to work seamlessly with the i3 window manager. The status line is updated in real-time, and it provides the user with useful information about their system without adding unnecessary clutter to the screen.
If you encounter the below error while running the command i3status:
i3status: command not found
you may try installing the below package as per your choice of distribution:
| Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Debian | apt-get install i3status |
| Ubuntu | apt-get install i3status |
| Arch Linux | pacman -S i3status |
| Kali Linux | apt-get install i3status |
| Fedora | dnf install i3status |
| Raspbian | apt-get install i3status |
i3status Command Examples
1. Print the status line to stdout periodically, using the default configuration:
# i3status
2. Print the status line to stdout periodically, using a specific configuration:
i3status -c path/to/i3status.conf
3. Display the `i3status` version and help:
i3status -h