Configuration¶
Right-click the widget, then select Configure KVitals... to open the settings dialog. Settings are organized into four tabs.
General Tab¶
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Display mode | Controls how metrics appear in the panel (Text, Icons, or Icons + Text) | Text |
| Layout | Direction of compact panel items (Horizontal or Vertical) | Horizontal |
| Icon size | Icon dimensions in pixels | 12 px |
| Font | Searchable text input with popup list of installed system fonts | monospace |
| Font size | Text size in pixels. Setting 0 uses the system default |
0 |
| Update interval | Refresh frequency in seconds | 2.0 s |
| Label opacity | Transparency of metric labels in the compact view (0.0 to 1.0) | 0.65 |
| Separator opacity | Transparency of \| dividers in the compact view (0.0 to 1.0) |
0.40 |
Display Modes¶
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Text | Labels and values: CPU: 26% \| RAM: 8.8/39.0G |
| Icons | Icons and values: 🖥 26% \| 🧠8.8/39.0G |
| Icons + Text | Icons, labels, and values: 🖥 CPU: 26% \| 🧠RAM: 8.8/39.0G |
Layout Types¶
| Layout | Description |
|---|---|
| Horizontal | Places metrics in a single row separated by \| |
| Vertical | Stacks the value text directly above the icon |
Metrics Tab¶
Visibility Settings¶
Each metric features a four-way visibility selector:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| All | Shows the metric in both the compact panel and the expanded popup view. |
| Compact | Displays the metric in the compact panel only. |
| Popup | Displays the metric in the expanded popup view only, keeping the panel clean. |
| None | Disables sensor monitoring for that metric to save system resources. |
Supported Metrics¶
| Metric | Panel Label | Popup Features |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Usage | CPU: (customizable) |
Per-core usage and 60-sample sparkline history |
| RAM Usage | RAM: (customizable) |
Used/total memory and 60-sample sparkline history |
| CPU Temperature | TEMP: |
Dedicated CPU temperature reading and sparkline |
| System Temperature | SYS: |
Motherboard/chipset temperature |
| GPU Metrics | GPU: / <name>: |
Usage %, VRAM, temperature, and independent GPU sparklines |
| Fan Speed | FAN: / Fan N: |
Fan RPM, estimated %, per-fan labels, and sparklines |
| Battery Status | BAT: |
Battery level %, state, power draw (watts), and sparkline |
| Network Speed | NET: (customizable) |
Download/upload rates, IP address, and network rate sparkline |
| Disk I/O | DSK: (customizable) |
Per-drive read/write speeds, drive temps, and sparklines |
| System Uptime | UP: |
System uptime formatted as Xd Xh Xm |
Metric Grouping and Custom Labels¶
- Merge CPU & Temp: Shows CPU temperature next to CPU usage in a single panel block.
- Merge Battery & Power: Displays wattage draw next to battery percentage.
- Split GPU Metrics: Separates GPU usage, VRAM, and GPU temperature into individual compact items.
- Custom Labels: Custom text fields are available for CPU, RAM, Disk, Network, and Fan entries. Unchecking Use Custom Labels in Panel forces standard short labels in the panel while keeping custom names in the popup.
Network Interface¶
When set to auto, the widget aggregates traffic across all active network connections using KDE's network/all sensor. This handles VPN routing and switching networks automatically.
You can manually select a specific interface (e.g., wlan0, enp3s0) from the drop-down list if you only want to monitor a single network interface.
Note
The manual interface list is populated dynamically from /sys/class/net/.
GPU Selection¶
When GPU Metrics is enabled, a GPU Selection section lists every GPU detected on your system. GPUs are discovered dynamically via the KDE sensor tree without requiring polling during discovery.
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Checkbox | Enable or disable monitoring for each individual GPU |
| Label field | Override the display name for a GPU. Leave empty to use the name reported by ksystemstats |
Label resolution order: custom label → ksystemstats-provided name (e.g. GPU 1) → GPU N fallback.
Hybrid GPU Laptops (Intel/AMD + NVIDIA)
On hybrid laptops using tools like supergfxctl or asusctl, KVitals only polls GPUs whose checkboxes are selected. Unchecking the discrete GPU stops all polling for it, allowing it to enter its suspended power-saving state when idle.
Expanded Popup Panel¶
Clicking the panel widget opens an expanded view with detailed readings and real-time sparkline charts:
- Sparkline History: Renders 60-sample history graphs for active metrics. Usage percentages and temperatures use a fixed 0-100 scale.
- Pin Button: Clicking the pin icon in the title bar toggles
Plasmoid.hideOnWindowDeactivate, keeping the panel open while interacting with other windows. - Multi-Disk and Multi-Fan Views: Displays separate rows, individual read/write speeds, and sparklines for every discovered drive and fan.
Icons Tab¶
Icons can be assigned individually using KDE's native icon picker:
| Metric | Default Symbolic Icon | Fallback Source |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | am-cpu-symbolic |
Bundled SVG |
| RAM | nvidia-ram-symbolic |
Bundled SVG |
| Temperature | temperature-normal |
Freedesktop Theme |
| GPU | gpu-symbolic |
Bundled SVG |
| Disk | am-disk-utility-symbolic |
Bundled SVG |
| Fan | am-fan-symbolic |
Bundled SVG |
| Battery | battery-good |
Freedesktop Theme |
| Power | battery-charging-60 |
Freedesktop Theme |
| Network | network-wireless |
Freedesktop Theme |
| Uptime | clock |
Freedesktop Theme |
Click Reset to defaults to restore the default icon assignments. If an icon is missing from the installed system theme, KVitals automatically falls back to its bundled SVG icon set.
Colors Tab¶
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Use custom font color | Overrides text, label, and icon colors | Off |
| Font Color | Base text color hex code | Plasma theme text |
| Label Color | Color for labels like CPU:. Unset falls back to Font Color |
Font Color |
| Icon Color | Color for panel and popup icons. Unset falls back to Label Color | Label Color |
| Enable threshold coloring | Colors values based on warning and critical limits | Off |
| Warning color | Color when a warning threshold is met | #e5a50a |
| Critical color | Color when a critical threshold is met | #da4453 |
Threshold sliders are available for CPU usage, CPU temperature, System temperature, RAM usage, RAM temperature, GPU usage, GPU temperature, and battery level.