Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Conky VS Nerdtool

Compare Conky VS Nerdtool and see what are their differences

Conky logo Conky

Latest commit 262a292 on Dec 7, 2017 brndnmtthws Add missing build dep. Conky is a free, light-weight system monitor for X, that displays any kind of information on your desktop.

Nerdtool logo Nerdtool

NerdTool is a GeekTool-like application that displays information directly on your desktop.
  • Conky Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21
  • Nerdtool Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-19

Conky features and specs

  • Customization
    Conky allows for extensive customization. Users can create their own themes and widgets, which can display a wide variety of system information.
  • Lightweight
    Conky is known for being lightweight and efficient, consuming minimal system resources compared to other system monitoring tools.
  • Flexibility
    The application supports numerous outputs like text, graphs, and bars, allowing users to choose how they want their data visualized.
  • Community Support
    Conky has a strong community and a wealth of user-contributed templates and scripts, making it easier for new users to get started.
  • Integration
    It can be integrated into various desktop environments and window managers, making it a versatile tool across different Linux distributions.

Possible disadvantages of Conky

  • Complexity
    The high level of customization can make the initial setup process complex and daunting for new users.
  • Configuration Format
    Conky uses its own configuration format, which can be difficult to learn and understand for those who are not familiar with it.
  • Stability
    Sometimes Conky can be less stable, especially when running complex scripts or on less common desktop environments.
  • Documentation
    While there is community support, the official documentation can be somewhat lacking, making it difficult to troubleshoot certain issues.
  • Limited Cross-Platform Support
    Conky is primarily designed for Linux and UNIX-like systems, making it less useful for users on Windows or macOS.

Nerdtool features and specs

  • Customizability
    Nerdtool offers a high level of customizability allowing users to display various types of information on their desktop, such as system stats, text and images, or even shell output, by creating personalized skins.
  • Lightweight
    The application is lightweight, meaning it doesn’t require much system resources, allowing it to function efficiently in the background without slowing down other processes.
  • Open Source
    Nerdtool is open source, which means users can modify and improve the code according to their needs or preferences and also contribute towards the app’s development.
  • Free
    The application is freely available, providing an economical choice for displaying system information and other feeds directly on the desktop without any cost.

Possible disadvantages of Nerdtool

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For new users, Nerdtool may present a steep learning curve due to its reliance on scripting and absence of a more intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
  • Limited Support
    Being an open-source project, it may have limited official support and may rely heavily on community contributions for troubleshooting and updates.
  • Potential Compatibility Issues
    Nerdtool may encounter compatibility issues with recent operating system updates or third-party applications, as it may not receive timely updates to address these changes.
  • Basic UI
    The user interface of Nerdtool is relatively basic and may not be as visually appealing or user-friendly as other modern desktop widget applications.

Conky videos

Conky System Info for Ham Radio Digital Operators

More videos:

  • Review - LEGO Conky Robot MOC Review from Pee-Wee's Playhouse #ToyReplay
  • Review - Making Linux Look Good - Conky First-Time Setup - Live Stream

Nerdtool videos

Nerdtool & Quartz Composer... Experiments... 2 of 4

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Conky and Nerdtool)
Monitoring Tools
77 77%
23% 23
Command Line Tools
75 75%
25% 25
Tool
61 61%
39% 39
Performance Monitoring
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Conky and Nerdtool. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Conky seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 42 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Conky mentions (42)

  • An app to count down till certain day
    Maybe put something like echo $(($(date -d 24-Dec +%j) - $(date +%j))) days into your bashrc. Conky should be able to display it nicely on the desktop. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Do you plan on adding widgets to your desktop in Sonoma?
    What I could go for is something like Conky (https://github.com/brndnmtthws/conky). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Give Wayland a shot, don't base your opinion off of 2013 articles!
    Funny meme btw. Personally, I use xorg with 3 displays. Fortunately, the resolution is same on all screens (full HD). I use Komorebi for live wallpapers and conky for sidebar. It works flawlessly. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Issue in hyprland
    If you are using Wayland, then you may want to do some searches related to "wayland conky transparency" and see what results. Also, if you are using wayland, you will want to be sure you are using the latest possible version of conky, as close to 1.18.x or 1.19.2 as possible, as wayland support is a relatively new addition to conky. If you are on the latest or a late version and are also using the wayland video... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • I need a small tool to monitor the CPU temperature and Fans RPM in Fedora 38
    Conky is the best.... you can set whatever info you like and display the info in many style..... Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Nerdtool mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Nerdtool yet. Tracking of Nerdtool recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Conky and Nerdtool, you can also consider the following products

GKrellM - GKrellM is a single process stack of system monitors which supports applying themes to match its...

Desktop Info - This little application displays system information on your desktop in a similar way to some other...

Rainmeter - Rainmeter is a desktop customization platform.

Übersicht - Keep an eye on what is happening on your machine and in the World.

Bginfo - This fully-configurable program automatically generates desktop backgrounds that include important information about the system.

htop - htop - an interactive process viewer for Unix. This is htop, an interactive process viewer for Unix systems. It is a text-mode application (for console or X terminals) and requires ncurses. Latest release: htop 2.