Alternatives to Lemonbar
Featherweight, scriptable status bar for X11 built on xcb. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Lemonbar
Featherweight, scriptable status bar for X11 built on xcb.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Lemonbar.
Polybar
Build a configurable status bar for an X11 desktop.
Polybar is an X11 status bar with built-in configuration and modules for workspace and system information, while still supporting custom scripts.
Tint2
Lightweight panel and taskbar for Linux and BSD window managers.
Tint2 is a lightweight panel and taskbar for Linux and BSD window managers, configured through a plain text file instead of external scripting.
Waybar
Add a customizable status bar to compatible Wayland desktops.
Waybar is a customizable status bar with workspace and system modules for supported Wayland compositors, so it moves away from X11.
nwg-panel
Add desktop panels to Sway and Hyprland using GTK.
nwg-panel is a GTK panel for Sway and Hyprland combining launchers, workspace controls and status modules, targeting Wayland rather than X11.
xfce4-panel
Configurable panel for the Xfce desktop with plugins and applets.
xfce4-panel is a plugin-based traditional panel tied to the Xfce desktop environment, offering applets instead of scripted output.
Eww
Create custom desktop widgets using declarative configuration and styling.
Eww builds panels and other desktop widgets with declarative configuration and styling, displaying script output, instead of a single scripted bar.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Lemonbar as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
xmobar
A minimalist text-based status bar for X11, written in Haskell and often paired with xmonad.
Lemonbar is a featherweight xcb-based X11 bar with no built-in configuration, so everything is scripted externally rather than set through plugins.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
bspwm
Manage X11 windows as the leaves of a binary tree.
dwm
Use a small dynamic window manager for X11 with tiling and floating layouts.
i3
Arrange X11 windows in a keyboard-controlled tiling workspace.
herbstluftwm
A manual tiling window manager for X11 that is configured at runtime through the herbstclient tool.
rofi
A keyboard-driven window switcher, application launcher and dmenu replacement for Linux desktops.
