Where do I start?

GeekTool is a preference pane for Mac OS X that appears in the System Preferences application once downloaded. It allows you to display different kinds of information on your desktop. These bits of information are called Geeklets, and they can be text, images, files, and the output of shell commands.

1. Download GeekTool

The first thing to do is to download the GeekTool preference pane. The latest version is GeekTool 3.0 RC5.

Once downloaded, just double-click GeekTool.prefPane to install. Now GeekTool will be available in the "Other" section at the bottom of the System Preferences window.

2. Download Geeklets

This is where this site comes in. Collected here are Geeklets that have been contributed by users of the site. They are organised into categories according to their function. The collections category contains groups of Geeklets that go well together.

Once you have found a Geeklet that you like, hold the Option key and click the link to download it. Once downloaded, simply double-clicking on it will open it up in GeekTool.

3. Make your own Geeklets

Once you are familiar with how GeekTool works, you might want to start creating your own Geeklets. The best way to start is by editing other peoples. Start by changing the fonts and colours, then try new commands. Before you know it, you'll be an expert!



Click the above screenshot to see a bigger version. GeekTool has been used to display the current date, the day's calendar events from iCal, a to do list, current unread mail messages and a list of running applications' CPU and memory usage. Each of these bits of information is a single Geeklet.

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