As many other dwm users do, I customized my .xinitrc file and the dwm status bar in to display some useful information. Here is my configuration:
.xinitrc
This is what my .xinitrc looks like:
# set keyboard layout to Swiss German
setxkbmap ch
# Load .Xresources file
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
# Start xbindkeys
xbindkeys &
# Set some defaults
export BROWSER=chromium &
export EDITOR=vim &
xdg-mime default evince.desktop application/pdf &
# Loop
while true
do
# Set root title
sh .xsetroot.sh
# Check battery level
BATT=$( acpi -b | sed 's/.*[charging|unknown], \([0-9]*\)%.*/\1/gi' )
STATUS=$( acpi -b | sed 's/.*: \([a-zA-Z]*\),.*/\1/gi' )
if ([ $BATT -le 5 ] && [ $STATUS == 'Discharging' ]); then
# Beep
echo -e "\007" >/dev/tty10 && sleep 0.2
echo -e "\007" >/dev/tty10 && sleep 0.2
echo -e "\007" >/dev/tty10 && sleep 0.2
# Blink
echo 'on' > /proc/acpi/ibm/light && sleep 1
echo 'off' > /proc/acpi/ibm/light
fi
# Update every 10s
sleep 10s
done &
# Set up rotated dual screen without touching my xorg.conf
xrandr --output DVI-1 --auto --rotate left --pos 0x0 --output DVI-0 --auto --pos 1080x720 --rotate normal
# Read .xsessionrc
sh ~/.xsessionrc &
# Set wallpaper
feh --bg-scale ~/.xwallpaper-dwm.png
# Set WM name (for Java apps)
wmname LG3D
# Run dwm
exec dwm.Xresources
In my .Xresources, I’m setting the UXTerm color to white on black, as well as fixing a bug with the Alt key in SSH sessions. The last line is to set the window URGENT flag when the window uses the system bell.
UXTerm*eightBitInput: false
UXTerm*metaSendsEscape: true
UXTerm*reverseVideo: true
UXTerm*bellIsUrgent: true
.xsetroot.sh
As you’ve seen in my .xinitrc file, I didn’t want to keep my xsetroot commands in the .xinitrc file. The main reason for this is that now I can update the status information from an external script, e.g. when pushing some volume buttons on my notebook.
DATETIME=`date`
UPTIME=`uptime | sed 's/.*up\s*//' | sed 's/,\s*[0-9]* user.*//' | sed 's/ / /g'`
VOLUME=$( amixer sget Master | grep -e 'Front Left:' | sed 's/[^\[]*\[\([0-9]\{1,3\}%\).*\(on\|off\).*/\2 \1/' | sed 's/off/M/' | sed 's/on //' )
UNREADMAIL=`cat .unreadmail`
BATTERYSTATE=$( acpi -b | awk '{ split($5,a,":"); print substr($3,0,2), $4, "["a[1]":"a[2]"]" }' | tr -d ',' )
if [ `date +%S` == 30 -o `date +%S` == 00 ]; then python imap_check_unread.py > .unreadmail; fi
xsetroot -name "Unread ${UNREADMAIL} | ${VOLUME} | ${DATETIME} | Up ${UPTIME}h | ${BATTERYSTATE}"The uptime value doesn’t look perfect, there are bugs if the uptime is <1h. But that doesn’t bug me 
In summary, my status bar displays the following things:
- Unread e-mail count
- Volume
- Date and time
- Uptime
- Battery status
imap_check_unread.py
To check the unread mail count in my IMAP account, I created a little Python script. But because I don’t want to query the server every second, I’m caching the value in a file and updating it every 30 seconds. Create a cronjob or similar to update the file.
#!/usr/bin/env python
import imaplib
obj = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL('xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx', '993')
obj.login('user', 'password')
obj.select()
print len(obj.search(None, 'UnSeen')[1][0].split())
