Xmobar doesn’t appear

xmonad

I installed xmonbar and try to launch it.

xmonbar &

I got Stopped. I don't know what's wrong. Here is my .xmobarrc

Config { font = "-misc-fixed-*-*-*-*-13-*-*-*-*-*-*-*"
   , borderColor = "black"
   , border = TopB
   , allDesktops = True
   , overrideRedirect = True
   , persistent = False
   , hideOnStart = False
   , bgColor = "black"
   , fgColor = "grey"
   , position = TopW L 100

   , lowerOnStart = True
   , commands = [ Run Cpu ["-L","15","-H","50","--normal","green","--high","red"] 10
                , Run Date "%a %b %_d %Y %H:%M:%S" "date" 10
                , Run StdinReader
                ]
   , sepChar = "%"
   , alignSep = "}{"
   , template = "%StdinReader% }{ %cpu% | %date%"
   }

By the way, I'm running xmonad window manager. It works well.

Edit:
My xmonad.hs file:

--
-- xmonad example config file.
--
-- A template showing all available configuration hooks,
-- and how to override the defaults in your own xmonad.hs conf file.
--
-- Normally, you'd only override those defaults you care about.
--

import XMonad
import System.Exit

import qualified XMonad.StackSet as W
import qualified Data.Map        as M

import XMonad.Hooks.DynamicLog
import XMonad.Hooks.ManageDocks
import XMonad.Util.EZConfig(additionalKeys)
import System.IO
import Graphics.X11.ExtraTypes.XF86

-- The preferred terminal program, which is used in a binding below and by
-- certain contrib modules.
--
myTerminal      = "xterm"
-- myTerminal      = "gnome-terminal"

-- Width of the window border in pixels.
--
myBorderWidth   = 1

-- modMask lets you specify which modkey you want to use. The default
-- is mod1Mask ("left alt").  You may also consider using mod3Mask
-- ("right alt"), which does not conflict with emacs keybindings. The
-- "windows key" is usually mod4Mask.
--
-- myModMask       = mod1Mask
myModMask       = mod4Mask

-- The mask for the numlock key. Numlock status is "masked" from the
-- current modifier status, so the keybindings will work with numlock on or
-- off. You may need to change this on some systems.
--
-- You can find the numlock modifier by running "xmodmap" and looking for a
-- modifier with Num_Lock bound to it:
--
-- > $ xmodmap | grep Num
-- > mod2        Num_Lock (0x4d)
--
-- Set numlockMask = 0 if you don't have a numlock key, or want to treat
-- numlock status separately.
--
myNumlockMask   = mod2Mask

-- The default number of workspaces (virtual screens) and their names.
-- By default we use numeric strings, but any string may be used as a
-- workspace name. The number of workspaces is determined by the length
-- of this list.
--
-- A tagging example:
--
-- > workspaces = ["web", "irc", "code" ] ++ map show [4..9]
--
myWorkspaces    = ["1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9"]

-- Border colors for unfocused and focused windows, respectively.
--
myNormalBorderColor  = "#dddddd"
myFocusedBorderColor = "#ff0000"

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Key bindings. Add, modify or remove key bindings here.
--
myKeys conf@(XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modm}) = M.fromList $

    -- launch a terminal
    [ ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_Return), spawn $ XMonad.terminal conf)

    -- launch dmenu
    , ((modm,               xK_p     ), spawn "exe=`dmenu_path | dmenu_run -fn 'DejaVu Sans Mono 12'` && eval \"exec $exe\"")

    -- launch Chrome browser
    , ((modm, xK_b), spawn "exe=`google-chrome`")

    -- launch Emacs editor
    , ((modm, xK_z), spawn "exe=`emacs`")

    -- launch gmrun
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_p     ), spawn "gmrun")

    -- close focused window 
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_c     ), kill)

     -- Rotate through the available layout algorithms
    , ((modm,               xK_space ), sendMessage NextLayout)

    --  Reset the layouts on the current workspace to default
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_space ), setLayout $ XMonad.layoutHook conf)

    -- Resize viewed windows to the correct size
    , ((modm,               xK_n     ), refresh)

    -- Move focus to the next window
    , ((modm,               xK_Tab   ), windows W.focusDown)

    -- Move focus to the next window
    , ((modm,               xK_j     ), windows W.focusDown)

    -- Move focus to the previous window
    , ((modm,               xK_k     ), windows W.focusUp  )

    -- Move focus to the master window
    , ((modm,               xK_m     ), windows W.focusMaster  )

    -- Swap the focused window and the master window
    , ((modm,               xK_Return), windows W.swapMaster)

    -- Swap the focused window with the next window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_j     ), windows W.swapDown  )

    -- Swap the focused window with the previous window
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_k     ), windows W.swapUp    )

    -- Shrink the master area
    , ((modm,               xK_h     ), sendMessage Shrink)

    -- Expand the master area
    , ((modm,               xK_l     ), sendMessage Expand)

    -- Push window back into tiling
    , ((modm,               xK_t     ), withFocused $ windows . W.sink)

    -- Increment the number of windows in the master area
    , ((modm              , xK_comma ), sendMessage (IncMasterN 1))

    -- Deincrement the number of windows in the master area
    , ((modm              , xK_period), sendMessage (IncMasterN (-1)))

    -- toggle the status bar gap (used with avoidStruts from Hooks.ManageDocks)
    -- , ((modm , xK_b ), sendMessage ToggleStruts)

    -- Quit xmonad
    , ((modm .|. shiftMask, xK_q     ), io (exitWith ExitSuccess))

    -- Restart xmonad
    , ((modm              , xK_q     ), restart "xmonad" True)



   , ((mod4Mask .|. shiftMask, xK_z), spawn "xscreensaver-command -lock"),
      ((0                     , 0x1008FF11), spawn "amixer set Master 2-"),
      ((0                     , 0x1008FF13), spawn "amixer set Master 2+"),
 ((0                     , 0x1008FF12), spawn "amixer set Master toggle")
-- ((0, xF86XK_AudioMute          ), spawn "amixer set Master toggle")    
    ]
    ++

    --
    -- mod-[1..9], Switch to workspace N
    -- mod-shift-[1..9], Move client to workspace N
    --
    [((m .|. modm, k), windows $ f i)
        | (i, k) <- zip (XMonad.workspaces conf) [xK_1 .. xK_9]
        , (f, m) <- [(W.greedyView, 0), (W.shift, shiftMask)]]
    ++

    --
    -- mod-{w,e,r}, Switch to physical/Xinerama screens 1, 2, or 3
    -- mod-shift-{w,e,r}, Move client to screen 1, 2, or 3
    --
    [((m .|. modm, key), screenWorkspace sc >>= flip whenJust (windows . f))
        | (key, sc) <- zip [xK_w, xK_e, xK_r] [0..]
        , (f, m) <- [(W.view, 0), (W.shift, shiftMask)]]


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Mouse bindings: default actions bound to mouse events
--
myMouseBindings (XConfig {XMonad.modMask = modMask}) = M.fromList $

    -- mod-button1, Set the window to floating mode and move by dragging
    [ ((modMask, button1), (\w -> focus w >> mouseMoveWindow w))

    -- mod-button2, Raise the window to the top of the stack
    , ((modMask, button2), (\w -> focus w >> windows W.swapMaster))

    -- mod-button3, Set the window to floating mode and resize by dragging
    , ((modMask, button3), (\w -> focus w >> mouseResizeWindow w))

    -- you may also bind events to the mouse scroll wheel (button4 and button5)
    ]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Layouts:

-- You can specify and transform your layouts by modifying these values.
-- If you change layout bindings be sure to use 'mod-shift-space' after
-- restarting (with 'mod-q') to reset your layout state to the new
-- defaults, as xmonad preserves your old layout settings by default.
--
-- The available layouts.  Note that each layout is separated by |||,
-- which denotes layout choice.
--
myLayout = avoidStruts (tiled ||| Mirror tiled ||| Full)
  where
     -- default tiling algorithm partitions the screen into two panes
     tiled   = Tall nmaster delta ratio

     -- The default number of windows in the master pane
     nmaster = 1

     -- Default proportion of screen occupied by master pane
     ratio   = 1/2

     -- Percent of screen to increment by when resizing panes
     delta   = 3/100

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Window rules:

-- Execute arbitrary actions and WindowSet manipulations when managing
-- a new window. You can use this to, for example, always float a
-- particular program, or have a client always appear on a particular
-- workspace.
--
-- To find the property name associated with a program, use
-- > xprop | grep WM_CLASS
-- and click on the client you're interested in.
--
-- To match on the WM_NAME, you can use 'title' in the same way that
-- 'className' and 'resource' are used below.
--
myManageHook = composeAll
    [ className =? "MPlayer"        --> doFloat
    , className =? "Gimp"           --> doFloat
    , resource  =? "desktop_window" --> doIgnore
    , resource  =? "kdesktop"       --> doIgnore ]

-- Whether focus follows the mouse pointer.
myFocusFollowsMouse :: Bool
myFocusFollowsMouse = True


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Status bars and logging

-- Perform an arbitrary action on each internal state change or X event.
-- See the 'DynamicLog' extension for examples.
--
-- To emulate dwm's status bar
--
-- > logHook = dynamicLogDzen
--
myLogHook = return ()
-- myLogHook = dynamicLogDzen

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Startup hook

-- Perform an arbitrary action each time xmonad starts or is restarted
-- with mod-q.  Used by, e.g., XMonad.Layout.PerWorkspace to initialize
-- per-workspace layout choices.
--
-- By default, do nothing.
-- myStartupHook = return ()
myStartupHook = do
          spawn "python2 ~/apps/goagent-goagent-593bfa1/local/proxy.py&"


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Now run xmonad with all the defaults we set up.

-- Run xmonad with the settings you specify. No need to modify this.
--
main = xmonad defaults

-- A structure containing your configuration settings, overriding
-- fields in the default config. Any you don't override, will 
-- use the defaults defined in xmonad/XMonad/Config.hs
-- 
-- No need to modify this.
--
defaults = defaultConfig {
      -- simple stuff
        terminal           = myTerminal,
        focusFollowsMouse  = myFocusFollowsMouse,
        borderWidth        = myBorderWidth,
        modMask            = myModMask,
--        numlockMask        = myNumlockMask,
        workspaces         = myWorkspaces,
        normalBorderColor  = myNormalBorderColor,
        focusedBorderColor = myFocusedBorderColor,

      -- key bindings
        keys               = myKeys,
        mouseBindings      = myMouseBindings,

      -- hooks, layouts
        layoutHook         = myLayout,
        manageHook         = myManageHook,
        logHook            = myLogHook,
        startupHook        = myStartupHook
    }

Best Answer

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.

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