Configuring Regolith i3xrocks

I upgraded my MINT 20 install to MINT 22, and everything ended up a bit of a mess, because so many things were updated.

Normally, it’s easy to figure out the situation, but I couldn’t find docs to get my Regolith + i3xrocks working right. So here’s what I’m doing.

First, create .config/regolith3/i3xrocks/conf.d

Then, copy each file you want to alter, from .config/regolith/i3xrocks/conf.d into that directory you just created.

If you want to copy them all:

mkdir -p ~/.config/regolith3/i3xrocks/conf.d
cp /usr/share/i3xrocks/conf.d/* ~/.config/regolith3/i3xrocks/conf.dCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

Then look at the tail of /var/log/syslog to see the errors.

I think the config file format changed, with many values being moved into Xresources.

Configuring the i3xrocks time

The following configurations are done via a user’s local Xresources file.

To create the file:

cd ~/.config
mkdir regolith3
vi Xresources

Changing the Format

Paste the following into the Xresources file:

i3xrocks.date.format2: %a %m/%d %H:%MCode language: HTTP (http)

Regolith’s time checks, first, for the Xresources configuration values, then the i3xrocks/conf.d/ config files. So, the Xresources values override the config files.

Changing the Click Behavior to Paste the Date into the Clipboard

Paste the following into the Xresources file:

i3xrocks.action.time: echo -n `date "+%Y-%m-%d"` | xclip -selection clipboardCode language: PHP (php)

The default behavior is to open the Settings panel, but that can be overridden by setting i3rocks.action.time to a command that will do what you want.

This command runs the date command, so it produces a date formatted like 2026-04-07.

The echo -n command strips the trailing newline.

xclip normally gets the string stdin, and puts it into the X clipboard. The “-selection clipboard” tells it to use the system clipboard, which is what GNOME uses.