Kali 1, XFCE Window Manager, Shiki-Colors Light Menus Theme & Conky Sys Monitor [Archive]

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g0tmi1k

2013-05-16, 11:49

This has been tried & tested on Kali 1.0.3-9 (x86 & x64).

...Other variations may not work.

For Kali 2 users, see this script (https://forums.kali.org/showthread.php?27107-Customising-XFCE-4-Window-Manager-axiomd-Theme).

Result (Screenshots):

Conky (GNOME & XFCE4 with Shiki-Colors Light Menus Theme)
http://i.imgur.com/8D69XMOl.png (http://i.imgur.com/8D69XMO.png)

XFCE #1 (without conky)
http://i.imgur.com/xvVps2Vl.png (http://i.imgur.com/xvVps2V.png)

XFCE #2 (without conky)
http://i.imgur.com/NpTqkCKl.png (http://i.imgur.com/NpTqkCK.png)

Quick & Easy Install:
Open a terminal and paste in the following either/both commands
(This will automatically pull the scripts down and run them).

## XFCE4 - Desktop Environment
curl -s http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=r5kbi5kj | tr -d '\15\32' | bash

## Conky - System Monitor
curl -s http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=ArY0PvwM | tr -d '\15\32' | bash

Then log-off and re-log in with "XFCE Session" (note: for the menu to show - press 'other' - allowing you to type a username!)

http://i.imgur.com/mn5757hl.png (http://i.imgur.com/mn5757h.png)

What is XFCE4?
Its a Window Manager/Desktop Environment (For more information ~ http://docs.kali.org/live-build/customize-the-kali-desktop-environment)
By default, the current standard Kali x86 & x64 builds use GNOME. This will install XFCE4, allowing you to switch between them, each time you login to Kali.
If you don't like it, you can switch back to GNOME next time you login.

Why switch to XFCE4? Whats wrong with GNOME?
Theres lots of reasons for and against them both. I'm not going to get into it here.
This is here purely if you wish to use my personal take/build/customisations of Kali using XFCE4.

What is Conky?
Its the system monitor thats in the bottom right of the screen in the screenshots.
If you wish, you can use it in either XFCE4 or GNOME.

Anything else I should do with XFCE/Conky?
If you can decode the pastebin contents for XFCE4 install script, you'll see some hidden settings such as:

Enable num lock at startup
Different wallpaper each time
...Others similar things

Anything else I should do with my Kali install afterwards?
Look into using something different than:

bash (e.g. ZSH/Oh-My-ZSH)
the default terminal (e.g. terminator)
...the github link below!

Like this sort of stuff? Want more?
This is taken from a larger script. which you can see the rest of my modifications & tweaks here:
http://github.com/g0tmi1k/OS-Scripts/blob/master/kali.sh

Update 2014-10-20:

Updated conky

Made sure all the output now fits on screen
Checks to see if you have a second second LAN NIC (eth1)
Moved a few things about/renamed a labels

Updated XFCE4 - Added keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl + Alt + T == Open terminal)
Change default desktop wallpaper (again) and login wallpaper to match.
Disabled numlock at startup
Updated screenshots

Update 2013-11-19:

Re-worked internal workings of conky & XFCE
Set default programs with XFCE (fixes start menu bug)
Change default wallpaper
Enabled numlock at startup

Updated 2013-07-13:

Little bug fix in XFCE
Enabled compositing in XFCE

r3d

2013-06-01, 00:10

Thx g0tmilk for sharing this. When are you going to post new videos on your blog? i love to watch them!

troyd

2013-06-11, 21:20

Thx Man - I like it, nice job...

wy477d3rp

2013-06-14, 08:32

Well it worked! Now to work on getting some customization on! Also E17 would be epic running on Kali :) Thanks g0tmi1k!

blackMORE

2013-06-15, 10:42

Thank you. I only used the conky settings, nicely done.

g0tmi1k

2013-06-17, 10:25

Well it worked! Now to work on getting some customization on! Also E17 would be epic running on Kali :) Thanks g0tmi1k!

All my customisation can be found here: https://github.com/g0tmi1k/OS-Scripts/blob/master/kali.sh

0x711

2013-06-18, 12:14

Hey thanks for these simply-working scripts g0tmi1k and your kali.sh share. :D I looked over kali.sh and you are awesome.

g0tmi1k

2013-07-13, 07:51

Updated:

Little bug fix
Enabled compositing

carmila

2013-07-13, 08:59

hi @gotm1lk,

how can i have same conky like your? It doesnt appear on my desktop..:(

g0tmi1k

2013-07-13, 09:40

hi @gotm1lk,

how can i have same conky like your? It doesnt appear on my desktop..:(
Did you run the bash commands?
Whats happening?
Using x86?

carmila

2013-07-13, 10:57

Did you run the bash commands?
Whats happening?
Using x86?

Oh man.. so sorry bout my silliness... forgot to run the bash command.. anyway problem solve! :)

pamamolf

2013-07-13, 18:50

Can you post the commands for the x64 version?

Thank you

g0tmi1k

2013-07-14, 00:24

Can you post the commands for the x64 version?

Thank you
Give it a try!
Some people have reported it working.

I only use x86, so that's the only thing which I've tested it on.
Doesn't mean it will not work on x64 - I just haven't tried.

carmila

2013-07-24, 12:05

hi @g0tmi1k

everything is working fine right now. I just want to know about how do i can change the conky configuration to make it read and display my 3g connection on ppp0?
i usually connected to 3g network and i want conky to display the traffic of my 3g connection.
thanx in advance.

g0tmi1k

2013-07-24, 12:21

I just want to know about how do i can change the conky configuration to make it read and display my 3g connection on ppp0?

If you open '/root/.conkyrc' in your favourite text editor, and look for:

'LAN eth1' - replace this with '3g'
eth1 - replace this with ppp0 (should now be 7 after doing the command before)

save it & recheck conky!

You will now have wired (eth0), 3g (ppp0) & wireless (wlan0).

venom

2013-07-30, 18:39

you are the man its working for me thanx man

carmila

2013-07-31, 13:03

you are the man its working for me thanx man

yeah me too.. thanx g0tm1lk! :D

hannah

2013-08-29, 23:57

This works like a charm on 64 bit Kali as well. Here is my machine in VirtualBox

root@kali:~# uname -a
Linux kali 3.7-trunk-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.7.2-0+kali8 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Thanks g0tmi1k

Doel

2013-08-30, 13:57

How to remove this conky?, i want to learn, how to remove conky

g0tmi1k

2013-08-31, 08:52

You can remove conky completely by doing:

apt-get-y remove conky

or you can keep it, but just disable it from automatically starting up:

rm -f /root/.config/autostart/conkyscript.sh.desktop

Doel

2013-09-02, 08:37

I use this, but it can't take screenshoot

g0tmi1k

2013-09-02, 10:08

Thats an issue with XFCE (in short, XFCE doesn't come with any application to take a screenshot).
You can find more information about taking a screenshot when using XFCE, here: https://wiki.xfce.org/faq (search for: "My desktop is so nice, I want to make a screenshot! How can I do that in Xfce?")

Personally I use shutter (apt-get -y install shutter) for taking/handling screenshots.

wurmt0ngue

2013-09-23, 14:35

Im Having an odd issue with XCFE, I installed following directions here, and it worked flawlessly for 3-4 days.

Now when logging into a XCFE session, it loads my gnome desktop overtop the XCFE one. So I still have my XCFE panels and conky config, however the desktop image and desktop icons are the ones from my gnome profile. Any thoughts on how to prevent this?

engwla2

2013-09-23, 23:00

thank you i like it :)

gigaslay3r

2013-10-09, 02:15

Works with x64 !!!!! brilliant thanks!!!

SlamberGamer

2013-10-27, 22:57

hi there this laucher are working fine in 1.05 kali linux version i just have 1 issues.
how do i configure corky??

g0tmi1k

2013-10-28, 10:16

hi there this laucher are working fine in 1.05 kali linux version i just have 1 issues.
how do i configure corky??
Edit in your favorite text editor, /root/.conkyrc

SlamberGamer

2013-10-28, 12:27

thank you very much for the help...

SlamberGamer

2013-10-28, 13:37

hi i tried to remove conky using this command

sudo apt-get remove conky-all

conky -v

Sudo apt-get --purge remove conky

the conky still there. how do i remove it..

g0tmi1k

2013-10-31, 08:11

hi i tried to remove conky using this command

sudo apt-get remove conky-all

conky -v

Sudo apt-get --purge remove conky

the conky still there. how do i remove it..
When you say its still there, do you mean you can still see it on your desktop? Or are there left over trace files?

Whats the output of the following commands?

whereis conky
locate conky

p.s. You shouldn't need to put sudo in front, as you should be running as root

g0tmi1k

2013-11-19, 23:18

Update:

Re-worked internal workings of conky & XFCE
Set default programs with XFCE (fixes start menu bug)
Change default wallpaper
Enabled numlock at startup

dombera

2014-03-04, 23:57

NORDLANDVOLK

2014-06-14, 15:44

null

2014-10-01, 12:14

Good job, brother.

staticn0de

2014-10-02, 13:21

Thanks for this script. A couple of snappy additions and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Quest

2014-10-02, 15:09

Thanks for this script. A couple of snappy additions and it was exactly what I was looking for.

that got my attention.

Like with anything linux related I'm lost(again), and I've been looking for a replacement for Gnome/Nautilus.

What script? Could you please explain? Post sceen shots of the desktop?

staticn0de

2014-10-03, 00:57

that got my attention.

Like with anything linux related I'm lost(again), and I've been looking for a replacement for Gnome/Nautilus.

What script? Could you please explain? Post sceen shots of the desktop?

Hey Quest,

g0tmi1k has made a couple of scripts. Both of which have the theme of installing kali the way he likes them.

Two on the main page install xfce and then conky so you get the cool desktop widgets and the light weight theme xfce (I like it a lot more than gnome). The script hosted on github is similar in that it sets up themes but the github script also installs software and configures some settings. I've forked it and I've been modifying it to include / exclude some stuff (as g0tmi1k says, he made the script for him) and I've added a script to change xfce to the default login manager at the end. I've also made it have some extra key bindings and changed to network adapters monitored by conky to match those I have installed.

You get a desktop similar to that shown here:
http://i.imgur.com/dr5RUV7.png

g0tmi1ks github is here if you want to fork it
http://github.com/g0tmi1k/OS-Scripts/blob/master/kali.sh

Quest

2014-10-03, 01:32

Great! Thx friend!

The first post had me confused. I didn't think that these two command lines would DL the script then install everything, plus I wasn't sure about it working with 1.0.7 x64.

I'm using them now(xfce and conky), and I will have more pertinent questions later, as I'm having prbs with some confs... Because now, it would appear that we have a new monster to test (FS3) :cool:

Thx to g0tmi1k. It's definitely a step forward in user interface.

Quest

2014-10-03, 14:09

Ok so here's a couple of questions regarding that setup..

conky:

- where is the config file? etc/conky/conky.conf don't seem to do much and /root/.conkyrc is nowhere to be found.
- how do you make it see and show your wifi connexion?
- i would like to see activity for all 8 CPUs. Now only shows CPU0 and CPU1

xfce:

- howto save created toolbars?
- change the 'hand' icon when pointing at a link in iceweasel?
- where is the bluetooth applet to close/open bleutooth?

g0tmi1k

2014-10-20, 12:32

Update 2014-10-20:

Updated conky

Made sure all the output now fits on screen
Checks to see if you have a second second LAN NIC (eth1)
Moved a few things about/renamed a labels

Updated XFCE4 - Added keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl + Alt + T == Open terminal)
Change default desktop wallpaper (again) and login wallpaper to match.
Disabled numlock at startup
Updated screenshots

g0tmi1k

2014-10-20, 12:48

Hi g0tmi1k

I have done fresh install of Kali 1.0.6 x64 (with open-vm-Tools) in VMware Workstation and installed your conky script via command:
curl -s http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=5LEjQVLw | tr -d '\15\32' | bash

Unfortunately conky is not transparent and no matter what I try changing in .conkyrc I can get transparency to work.. :(

I was wondering if you could help me?
Sounds like you have a driver/graphic issue.
I would recommend you using the native/closed VMware tools.

Ok so here's a couple of questions regarding that setup..

conky:

- where is the config file? etc/conky/conky.conf don't seem to do much and /root/.conkyrc is nowhere to be found.
- how do you make it see and show your wifi connexion?
- i would like to see activity for all 8 CPUs. Now only shows CPU0 and CPU1

xfce:

- howto save created toolbars?
- change the 'hand' icon when pointing at a link in iceweasel?
- where is the bluetooth applet to close/open bleutooth?

Conky:
- The config file is "/root/.conkyrc". (The script which runs at startup can be found here: "/usr/local/bin/conky.sh").
- By default, it will show eth0 & wlan0 at all times. When you run the script, if you have eth1, it will also add it. If you wish for other adapters to be shown, edit the config file (see the line above).
- If you want to show all 8 CPUs - that could get "messy". If you want to go ahead and do it, just edit the config file (copy/paste the lines CPU1 and replace with each CPU value).

XFCE:
- I'm not fully I understand what your asking. Do you mean: Kali -> Settings -> Panel ?
- No idea. Sorry!
- Not sure. First hit in Google says to install "Blueman" or "GNOME Bluetooth".

Like it says at the start, it’s a personal config file.
If you wish to edit/modify it yourself, you can to match your setup/wants/needs.

Quest

2014-10-20, 13:14

g0tmi1k

2014-10-22, 11:41

Thank you.

XFCE:

- I meant the customizable tool bar at the top, with shortcuts. I've added another one(vertically on the side of the desktop) and would like to save it, so I don't have to re-do it after afresh install. Took me awhile to find all the shortcut I wanted in that new tool bar.

- For the Bluetooth, I just like to shut it down upon starting since I don't use it and it is ON by default. Would be nice to be able to shut it down like in gnome..

For your first point: I don't if this is the the correct way (good chance this is wrong and its a bad habit), but you can manually backup the config files and then restore them (which is what this script is doing).
Path: ~/.config/xfce4/
So you're toolbar may be in: /root/.config/xfce4/panel/*.desktop or another subfolder - have a look about (hint, I would use grep -Ri <name of a program> /root/.config/xfce4/).

For your second point: I really dunno.
I haven't got any USB bluetooth devices to hand, to plug in and find out. I could only tell you what Google/Bing could at this stage.

jabulon

2014-11-07, 18:16

Everything works great on a VMware client.
This is now my favorite workplace!

Thank you g0tmi1k !!

60d

2015-08-27, 19:38

First of all thank you g0tmi1k ! Keep up the solid good work!
Second I have a question: On Kali Linux 64 bit Light - How can I clone user settings and configuration from root to less privileged account..
I never used to change anything but after using you'r .sh I really liked it!

g0tmi1k

2015-08-31, 08:05

Updated for Kali 2.0 https://forums.kali.org/showthread.php?27107-Customising-XFCE-4-Window-Manager-axiomd-Theme
...New theme this time =)