A simple Bash script that monitors plasmashell and automatically restarts it if it crashes. This is useful for KDE Plasma users who occasionally experience a frozen or disappearing panel, which is often a result of plasmashell crashing and failing to restart on its own.
The script runs in a continuous loop and checks if the plasmashell process is running. If the process is not detected, it executes plasmashell --replace to launch a new instance of the Plasma Shell. There is a configurable delay between each check to ensure minimal resource usage.
Below is the complete Bash script. You can save this to a file, for example, plasmashell-watcher.sh.
#!/bin/bash
# A script to monitor and restart plasmashell if it's not running.
# This is a workaround for situations where plasmashell crashes and doesn't
# automatically restart.
# The time in seconds to wait between checks.
CHECK_INTERVAL=5
while true; do
# Check if plasmashell is running.
# pgrep -x will match the exact process name.
if ! pgrep -x "plasmashell" > /dev/null; then
echo "Plasmashell is not running. Restarting..."
# Using 'plasmashell --replace &' to start it in the background.
# The DISPLAY environment variable might be necessary if running from a context
# where it's not set, such as certain startup scripts.
export DISPLAY=:0
plasmashell --replace &
fi
# Wait for the specified interval before checking again.
sleep $CHECK_INTERVAL
doneThere are two ways to use this script: you can run it manually for a single session, or you can set it up to run automatically every time you log in, which is the recommended approach.
- Save the script: Copy the script above and save it to a file named
plasmashell-watcher.sh. - Make it executable: Open a terminal and run the following command in the directory where you saved the file:
chmod +x plasmashell-watcher.sh
- Run the script:
./plasmashell-watcher.sh
The script will now be running in your terminal and will restart plasmashell if it crashes. You will need to keep this terminal window open.
For a "set it and forget it" solution, you can run the script as a systemd user service. This will automatically start the script when you log in and manage it in the background.
Step 1: Place the script in a permanent location.
It's a good practice to store user scripts in ~/.local/bin. If this directory doesn't exist, create it:
mkdir -p ~/.local/binNow, move the script into this directory:
mv plasmashell-watcher.sh ~/.local/bin/Make sure it's executable:
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/plasmashell-watcher.shStep 2: Create the systemd service file.
Create a new directory for user systemd services if it doesn't already exist:
mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user/Now, create a new service file with a text editor:
nano ~/.config/systemd/user/plasmashell-watcher.servicePaste the following content into the file. Make sure to replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual username.
[Unit]
Description=Plasmashell Watcher and Restarter
[Service]
ExecStart=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/bin/plasmashell-watcher.sh
[Install]
WantedBy=plasma-workspace.targetSave the file and exit the text editor.
Step 3: Enable and start the service.
Now, you need to tell systemd to recognize the new service and start it.
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now plasmashell-watcher.serviceThe enable command makes it start on login, and the --now flag starts it immediately for the current session.
You can check the status of the service at any time with:
systemctl --user status plasmashell-watcher.serviceThat's it! The script will now run automatically in the background every time you log in, ensuring your Plasma Shell is always running.
If you want to change how often the script checks for plasmashell, you can edit the plasmashell-watcher.sh script and change the value of the CHECK_INTERVAL variable.
This project is licensed under the MIT License.