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Ironbar

Dynamic values

In some configuration locations, Ironbar supports dynamic values, meaning you can inject content into the bar from an external source.

Currently two dynamic content sources are supported - scripts (via shorthand syntax) and ironvars.

Dynamic String

Dynamic strings can contain any mixture of static string elements, scripts and variables.

  • Scripts should be placed inside {{double braces}}. Both polling and watching scripts are supported.
  • Variables use the standard #name syntax. Variables cannot be placed inside scripts.
  • To use a literal hash, use ##. This is only necessary outside of scripts.

Example:

label = "{{cat greeting.txt}}, #subject"

Scripts can be used to represent information which is quick to fetch, while ironvars are better suited to data that is more complex/expensive to fetch or calculate.

An example script might be to display system uptime, or a pending update count:

label = "Uptime: {{uptime -p | cut -d ' ' -f2-}}"

Variables tend to come in more for externally controlled data. You might for example have a script and module that fetches the weather, and wish to display the data:

label = "Weather: #weather_cond | #weather_temp"

Dynamic Boolean

Dynamic booleans can use a single source of either a script or variable to control a true/false value.

For scripts, you can just write these directly with no notation. Only polling scripts are supported. The script exit code is used, where 0 is true and any other code is false.

For variables, use the standard #name notation. An empty string, 0 and false are treated as false. Any other value is true.

Example:

show_if = "exit 0" # script
show_if = "#show_module" # variable

This can be used for example to show/hide a battery based on whether one is present.

{
  end = [ { type = "battery" show_if = "[ -f /sys/class/power_supply/BAT0 ]" } ]
}

Another use is to show/hide modules when another one is hovered or clicked.

let {
    $clock = {
        type = "clock"
        format = "%H:%M:%S"
        on_mouse_enter = "ironbar var set clock_state true"
        on_mouse_exit = "ironbar var set clock_state false"
    }


    $clock_extra = {
        type = "clock"
        format = "%d/%m/%Y"
        show_if = "#clock_state"
    }
} in {
    end = [ $clock_extra $clock ]
}