Configure xmobar to show workspaces

haskellxmonad

What should my xmonad.hs file look like to correctly give workspace info to xmobar?

Best Answer

The most simple solution to add Xmobar is this configuration:

import XMonad
import XMonad.Hooks.DynamicLog

main = xmonad =<< xmobar def

But usually, Xmonad users prefer to adapt their desktops. This is a more popular way to add Xmobar:

import XMonad
import XMonad.Hooks.DynamicLog
import XMonad.Hooks.ManageDocks
import XMonad.Util.Run

main = do
    -- start Xmobar process
    h <- spawnPipe "xmobar -d"
    xmonad $ def {
            -- this adds a fixup for docks
            layoutHook = avoidStruts $ layoutHook def,

            -- this adds Xmobar to Xmonad
            logHook = dynamicLogWithPP $
                    xmobarPP {
                            ppOutput = hPutStrLn h
                            },

            -- this adds a second fixup for docks
            manageHook = manageDocks <+> manageHook def
            }

Xmobar does not look nice like this, in my opinion. In most cases, people add a custom Xmobar configuration and override further PP properties that are preconfigured with xmobarPP here.

Related Solutions

Xmonad: Float and resize windows to its “natural size”

For a floating workspace:

import XMonad.Layout.PerWorkspace
 -- then in layoutHook:
onWorkspace "float" simplestFloat

From droog's xmonad.hs

There is also more information on the wiki: http://xmonad.org/xmonad-docs/xmonad-contrib/XMonad-Layout-SimplestFloat.html

Xmobar doesn’t appear

The bar is stopped because you are starting it as a background job but it is configured to read from stdin (standard input). The xmobar process is not terminated, you should still see the bar.

If the bar is not visible at all, it could be because it is covered by your desktop. You are already importing XMonad.Hooks.ManageDocks and using avoidStruts so you could also use the manageDocks hook it provides and make xmobar behave like a dock (overrideRedirect=False in the configuration).

You configured xmobar to read from standard input, so you should have something writing to its standard input. It can be anything, not necessarily xmonad.

You don't have to start xmobar from xmonad, but if you want to show the output provided by XMonad.Hooks.DynamicLog for instance, it's easier to start it from there.

You can use the xmobar convenience function, as explained in the doc :

main = xmonad =<< xmobar myConfig

Or you can use the statusBar function and define your own pretty printing format :

main = xmonad =<< statusBar "xmobar" myPP myToggleKey myConfig

Or directly use dynamicLogWithPP as shown in the example in the documentation :

main = do
    h <- spawnPipe "xmobar -options -foo -bar"
    xmonad $ defaultConfig {
      ...
      logHook = dynamicLogWithPP $ defaultPP { ppOutput = hPutStrLn h }

spawnPipe runs the given command and returns a Handle to its standard input, that handle is then used in defining the ppOutput function.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Xmonad: Float and resize windows to its “natural size”

Xmobar doesn’t appear

Related Question