FluxBar
GNOME Shell Extension for GNOME 45 to 50

Live network speed, right in the top bar.

FluxBar keeps your current upload and download speed visible without opening a system monitor, with practical settings for source, format, units, refresh rate, styling and 30 days of usage history.

Install FluxBar View source
  • No telemetry
  • No account
  • Local history
  • Open source
Download: 120 KB/s Upload: 35 KB/s Total: 155 KB/s

Display

Speed Download and UploadTotal Speed
Format 120 KB/s 35 KB/s 120K / 35K 120 35
Network Source AutomaticWi-FiEthernetAll
Hover Details

Update Frequency

Refresh 1s2s3s5s
  • 124GNOME downloads
  • 1sdefault refresh
  • 30 dayslocal usage history
  • 0telemetry calls
  • 45-50GNOME Shell
Small surface, real control

The settings window is the feature list.

Each feature below is a switch or a choice in the FluxBar preferences window.

Live speed at a glance

Show separate upload and download values, or collapse them into one total speed indicator.

Compact formats

Choose standard text or compact labels like 120K / 35K, with or without direction markers.

Network source choice

Use automatic detection, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or all real interfaces. Mobile broadband and USB tethering count too.

Usage history

Review daily download, upload, and total usage for the last 30 days, with totals, and clear it whenever you like.

Bytes or bits

File-transfer style KB/s or network-rate style Kb/s, scaling all the way up to GB/s on fast links.

Idle-aware label

Hide the label after a few quiet seconds, with an idle threshold so background chatter doesn’t keep it visible.

Hover and click details

Hover for download, upload, and total speed. Click for today’s and the last 30 days’ usage.

Placement and styling

Put it on the left, center, or right of the top bar, with normal or bold text and an optional custom color.

Steady width

The label reserves room for its widest value, so your top bar doesn’t shuffle every time the speed changes.

Refresh choices

Pick a 1, 2, 3, or 5 second update interval to balance freshness with calmness.

Local counters

Reads Linux interface counters from /proc/net/dev and ignores virtual adapters in automatic mode.

No telemetry

No accounts, analytics, network calls, or external services. Usage history stays on your machine.

Interactive preview

Tune the label before you install.

These are the same choices FluxBar offers in its preferences. Change one and the top bar below updates.

Display
Format
Units
Position
Download 120 KB/s Upload 35 KB/s Total 155 KB/s
SourceAutomatic
Idle below1 KB/s
History30 days

Local by design

FluxBar reads /proc/net/dev and keeps usage history on your machine.

  • TodayDownload 2.48 GBUpload 2.44 GB
  • YesterdayDownload 14.10 GBUpload 10.30 GB
~/.local/share/fluxbar/usage.json
Install

Get it from GNOME Extensions.

FluxBar is published on extensions.gnome.org for GNOME Shell 45 through 50, so updates arrive automatically. Pick whichever route suits you.

From your browser Recommended

Open FluxBar on extensions.gnome.org and flip the switch. This needs the GNOME Shell integration add-on for Firefox or Chrome, plus the gnome-browser-connector package.

Open on extensions.gnome.org 124 downloads so far

From the terminal

Asks GNOME Shell to fetch FluxBar from extensions.gnome.org. No browser add-on needed; just confirm the dialog that pops up. 

$ gdbus call --session \
    --dest org.gnome.Shell.Extensions \
    --object-path /org/gnome/Shell/Extensions \
    --method org.gnome.Shell.Extensions.InstallRemoteExtension \
    fluxbar@piyushdoorwar.github.io

With Extension Manager

Install Extension Manager from Flathub, search for FluxBar and click Install. (GNOME's built-in Extensions app can manage FluxBar once it's installed, but it can't install new extensions.)

From source

For hacking on FluxBar. The Makefile copies the files into your extensions folder and compiles the schema. On Wayland, log out and back in before enabling. 

$ git clone https://github.com/piyushdoorwar/fluxbar.git
$ cd fluxbar
$ make install
$ gnome-extensions enable fluxbar@piyushdoorwar.github.io

Keep an eye on your connection.

Free and open source under the MIT license. Small, local, and at home in the panel.

Install FluxBar Releases