waybar-jack(5)

🎧 waybar-jack — the JACK module for waybar, explained by your fave 💅

okay bestie, so this is a page from the File Formats Manual — it's waybar-jack(5), the whole entire vibe guide for the JACK module. sit down, grab a boba, we're doing this 🧋✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

waybar — the JACK module. that's it, that's the name, she's simple and she's iconic 💖

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

the jack module shows you the current state of the JACK server. like, right now, live, in your bar. main character energy fr fr 👑

🎀 CONFIGURATION 🎀

this whole section gets addressed by the key jack — that's how waybar knows which module you're talking about 🫶

• format — typeof: string, default: {load}%. this is the format, aka how the info should be displayed. it's the fallback queen: it's used when the other formats aren't specified. 💅
• format-connected — typeof: string. used when the module is connected to the JACK server. slay 🦋
• format-disconnected — typeof: string. used when the module is not connected to the JACK server. sad girl hours 😭
• format-xrun — typeof: string. used for one polling interval when the JACK server reports an xrun. blink and you'll miss it ⭐
• realtime — typeof: bool, default: true. option to drop real-time privileges for the JACK client opened by Waybar. yes, it's a whole thing, and yes, default is on. 🎛️
• tooltip — typeof: bool, default: true. option to disable the tooltip on hover. hover bestie, hover 🌈
• tooltip-format — typeof: string, default: {bufsize}/{samplerate} {latency}ms. the format of the info displayed in the tooltip. 💬
• interval — typeof: integer or float, default: 1. the interval in which the information gets polled. she checks in on you constantly, obsessed 🍓
• rotate — typeof: integer. a positive value to rotate the text label (in 90 degree increments). spinny 💫
• max-length — typeof: integer. the maximum length in character the module should display. (yes, "character", singular, that's literally what the original says, we don't edit, we preserve 🙈)
• min-length — typeof: integer. the minimum length in characters the module should accept.
• align — typeof: float. the alignment of the label within the module, where 0 is left-aligned and 1 is right-aligned. if the module is rotated, it will follow the flow of the text. 🧭
• justify — typeof: string. the alignment of the text within the module's label, letting you pick 'left', 'right', or 'center' to define the positioning. ✨
• on-click — typeof: string. command to execute when clicked on the module. 🖱️
• on-click-middle — typeof: string. command to execute when middle-clicked on the module using mousewheel. 🖲️
• on-click-right — typeof: string. command to execute when you right-click on the module. 🫱
• on-update — typeof: string. command to execute when the module is updated. 🔄
• menu — typeof: string. action that popups the menu. 📋
• menu-file — typeof: string. location of the menu descriptor file. there needs to be an element of type

GtkMenu with id menu

(copy that exactly, bestie, don't freestyle it 💀)

• menu-actions — typeof: array. the actions corresponding to the buttons of the menu. 🔘
• expand — typeof: bool, default: false. enables this module to consume all left over space dynamically. she takes up space and she deserves it 👑

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💖 FORMAT REPLACEMENTS 💖

these are the little {} girlies you can drop into your formats 🎀

• {load} — the current CPU load estimated by JACK. 📈
• {bufsize} — the size of the JACK buffer.
• {samplerate} — the sample rate at which the JACK server is running.
• {latency} — the duration, in ms, of the current buffer size.
• {xruns} — the number of xruns reported by the JACK server since starting Waybar. 💀

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🌟 EXAMPLES 🌟

here's a little config moment, copy it exactly, no cap:

"jack": {
     "format": "DSP {}%",
     "format-xrun": "{xruns} xruns",
     "format-disconnected": "DSP off",
     "realtime": true
}

ate. no crumbs. 🔥

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🦋 STYLE 🦋

these are the CSS selectors you can style, go off:

• #jack
• #jack.connected
• #jack.disconnected
• #jack.xrun

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okay real talk bestie, this module is literally just a mirror for your JACK server and every single flag above is doing exactly what it says — no vibes-based guessing, we keep it factual around here 💅

this has been your girl, signing off from the File Formats Manual, page dated 2026-02-08, and the manual name is waybar-jack(5) — so if you ever forget any of this, just run man waybar-jack and she'll be right there waiting for you 🫶✨