The calendar app icon in macOS and iOS always shows the current (and correct) date.
It’s a subtle, unassuming features likely to go unnoticed by most. But once you’re aware of it you can’t help but think: “heh, that’s actually kinda neat”.
Now you can get a similar feature on the Ubuntu desktop.
Ubuntu’s Calendar Icon: It’s Always the 28th
Ubuntu uses the Yaru icon set by default. On a vanilla system, the Yaru icon for the GNOME Calendar app is a mock flip calendar showing the number ’28’. No matter what the actual date is, the icon always shows the number 28.
Is this an issue?
No — so stop yelling “Joey, Ubuntu shows the date at the top of the screen. If I need to see it, I can” cos I absolutely hear you, my friend.
But… there is a passive benefit to looking at the calendar icon on the Ubuntu Dock to see the current date. It makes the system feel more alive, somehow.
Plus, since I’ve gone all-in with the Apple comparisons thus far, macOS shows the date in both places too. If it’s good enough for them…
A Nifty Script Appears
Getting the Ubuntu calendar icon to reflect today’s date isn’t a built-in feature.
So we turn to a script made by community developer SebLisic. This changes (and refreshes) Ubuntu’s calendar to show the current date instead of the number ’28’. When the date changes in the real world the date changes on the icon.
I would say it’s magic but it’s actually just systemd scheduling.
Seb’s script also offers customisation abilities, something that Apple’s approach does not. You can choose to see the name of the day rather than month, and see the correct month/day name based on your locale rather than in English. Bon!
But what I love most about Seb’s script is how non-invasive it is. System files are untouched, it doesn’t require sudo, and doesn’t pull in the spaghetti-tangle of dependencies similar hacks I’ve covered in the past have.
That said…
Before you scroll down to grab the script and run it, I need to mention a few things.
First up, this script only works on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. If you use an older or newer version of Ubuntu be aware things may not work, and even if it appears to work, it could go askew down the line.
Secondly — this could be a deal breaker for some — this script uses a different calendar icon than used in the Yaru icon theme. It’s a Yaru-shaped replacement, uses the Ubuntu font, and adapts to Ubuntu accent colours, but the flip calendar aesthetic is gone.
Finally, once up and running, every time you open the Settings app the GNOME Calendar icon reverts back to the standard Yaru calendar icon. A workaround (for now) is to run systemctl --user start update_calendar_icon.service if this happens.
Or wait for the date the change normally, at which point the script re-runs itself.
Get The Script!
You can find the script and the steps needed to use it on SebLisic’s GitHub page. As well as step-by-step install instructions (tl;dr install git, clone repo, run script) it covers the undo process too, should you want to un-do and return to a vanilla setup.
An FAQ does the job of answering questions
Finally, the grown-up bit: I used this script to no ill-effect on my desktop but don’t run scripts found online blindly or idly. Always check things over yourself to satisfy your sensibilities before running ahead.
Thanks: Sebastian