Performance

Performance

This page lists configuration and workflow choices that reduce CPU and wakeups.

Prefer built-ins

Built-in widget readers (builtin:*) avoid external processes and are cheaper than shell commands. Prefer built-ins for CPU, memory, battery, and network stats.

Use watch commands

Long-running watch_cmd entries (for volume, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, rfkill) update widgets on events and reduce polling. When a watch command is unavailable, the widget falls back to polling.

Media marquee cost

Long media titles scroll with a marquee effect, which triggers periodic redraws. If lower idle CPU is preferred, either increase the title threshold or disable the media widget entirely:

[media]
title_char_limit = 48
enabled = false

Increase refresh intervals

For lightweight dashboards, increase refresh intervals:

[widgets]
refresh_interval_ms = 2000
refresh_interval_slow_ms = 6000

Prefer simple commands

Simple commands run directly and avoid shell overhead. Use sh -c only when a pipeline is required.

Disable unused widgets

Disable widgets that are not needed:

[widgets.volume]
enabled = false

[widgets.brightness]
enabled = false