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Output of conky -v

conky 2.0.0_pre compiled Wed Jul  2 18:53:50 BST 2014 for Linux 3.2.0-4-amd64 x86_64

Compiled in features:

System config file: /etc/conky/conky.conf
Package library path: /usr/local/lib/conky


 General:
  * math
  * hddtemp
  * portmon
  * IPv6
  * support for IBM/Lenovo notebooks
  * builtin default configuration
  * old configuration syntax
  * apcupsd
  * iostats
  * ncurses
  * Internationalization support
 X11:
  * Xdamage extension
  * Xft
  * ARGB visual
  * Own window

 Music detection:
  * MPD
  * MOC

 Default values:
  * Netdevice: eth0
  * Local configfile: $HOME/.conkyrc
  * Localedir: /usr/local/share/locale
  * Maximum netdevices: 64
  * Maximum text size: 16384
  * Size text buffer: 256

Conky config:-

conky.config = {
    alignment = 'top_right',
    --background = true,
    use_xft = true,
    font = 'LMMono10 Regular:size=10',
    xftalpha = 1,
    cpu_avg_samples = 2,
    default_color = 'ffffff',
    default_outline_color = 'white',
    default_shade_color = 'white',
    double_buffer = true,
    draw_borders = false,
    draw_graph_borders = true,
    draw_outline = false,
    draw_shades = false,
    gap_x = 12,
    gap_y = 35,
    minimum_height = 5,
    minimum_width = 5,
    net_avg_samples = 2,
    no_buffers = true,
    out_to_console = false,
    out_to_stderr = false,
    extra_newline = false,
    own_window = true,
    own_window_type = 'desktop',
    own_window_argb_visual = true,
    own_window_transparent = true,
    own_window_colour = 'ffffff',
    stippled_borders = 0,
    update_interval = 1.0,
    uppercase = false,
    use_spacer = 'none',
    show_graph_scale = false,
    show_graph_range = false
}

This set up causes the following output:-

X Error of failed request:  BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)                                                  
  Major opcode of failed request:  62 (X_CopyArea)                                                                   
  Serial number of failed request:  1074                                                                             
  Current serial number in output stream:  1077

Commenting out the own_window_argb_visual = true, line causes conky to render properly, except that own_window_colour = 'ffffff', has no effect, it always shows with a black background.

How can I make the conky window transparent, or at least change its background colour?

NB Please note that this question refers to conky version 2.0.0 which has a different config syntax to earlier versions.

After a conversation with Tucos on irc #conky it seems that the default settings for building conky 2.0.0_pre have BUILD_XDBE switched off. This was the cause of the X window error.

Building with BUILD_XDBE switched on stops the X error and allows own_window_colour to work. So the question remains:-

How do you get a transparent window with conky 2.0.0_pre?

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Comment out own_window_argb_visual and own_window_argb_value.
To make the window transparent set own_window_transparent = true.
To make the window have a white background color set own_window_transparent = false and own_window_colour = '#ffffff'.

Edit: it seems you have to turn on BUILD_XDBE at compile time and comment out own_window_colour to get a transparent background

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  • Thank you so much for the excellent BUILD_XDBE tip. That was the actual reason why I downgraded to conky 1.9.x after trying out 2.0.0 (pre). Transparency did not work at all when I compiled my own v2 build. When I reported another bug in 2.0.0, one of the main developers answered me that 2.0.0 was merely meant as a "playground" and that for the time being, the 1.9.x tree is planned to get further updates (let alone because v2 will require every 1.x script to get literally turned upside down to work with the pre-release). In other words, tinkering with v2 is rather meant for true freaks ;) Sep 12, 2014 at 17:09

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