diff --git a/common.mk b/common.mk
index d287504..d6b7d92 100644
--- a/common.mk
+++ b/common.mk
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ XCB_CFLAGS  := $(call cflags_for_lib, xcb)
 XCB_CFLAGS  += $(call cflags_for_lib, xcb-event)
 XCB_LIBS    := $(call ldflags_for_lib, xcb,xcb)
 XCB_LIBS    += $(call ldflags_for_lib, xcb-event,xcb-event)
+XCB_LIBS    += $(call ldflags_for_lib, xcb-image,xcb-image)
 ifeq ($(shell $(PKG_CONFIG) --exists xcb-util 2>/dev/null || echo 1),1)
 XCB_CFLAGS  += $(call cflags_for_lib, xcb-atom)
 XCB_CFLAGS  += $(call cflags_for_lib, xcb-aux)
diff --git a/i3bar/include/common.h b/i3bar/include/common.h
index 90da938..c8dda14 100644
--- a/i3bar/include/common.h
+++ b/i3bar/include/common.h
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <xcb/xcb.h>
 #include <xcb/xproto.h>
+#include <xcb/xcb_image.h>
 #include "libi3.h"
 #include "queue.h"
 
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ struct status_block {
     i3String *short_text;
 
     char *color;
+    char *icon;
 
     /* min_width can be specified either as a numeric value (in pixels) or as a
      * string. For strings, we set min_width to the measured text width of
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ struct status_block {
     /* Optional */
     char *name;
     char *instance;
+    xcb_image_t *icon_image;
 
     TAILQ_ENTRY(status_block) blocks;
 };
@@ -76,6 +79,7 @@ TAILQ_HEAD(statusline_head, status_block) statusline_head;
 #include "workspaces.h"
 #include "mode.h"
 #include "trayclients.h"
+#include "xbm.h"
 #include "xcb.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "libi3.h"
diff --git a/i3bar/include/xbm.h b/i3bar/include/xbm.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f3cc3d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/i3bar/include/xbm.h
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/*
+ * vim:ts=4:sw=4:expandtab
+ *
+ * i3bar - an xcb-based status- and ws-bar for i3
+ * © 2010-2011 Axel Wagner and contributors (see also: LICENSE)
+ *
+ * xbm.c: Parsing/Loading xbm data
+ *
+ */
+#ifndef XBM_H_
+#define XBM_H_
+
+#include "queue.h"
+
+#define BUFSZ 512
+
+struct raw_xbm {
+    uint32_t w,h;
+    uint32_t dlen;
+    uint8_t *data;
+};
+
+struct Cached_Xbm {
+    char *path;
+    xcb_image_t *icon;
+    int used;
+    SLIST_ENTRY(Cached_Xbm) xbm_cache;
+};
+
+/* Set the format information for loaded icons */
+void set_format(xcb_connection_t * c, uint8_t depth, uint8_t bpp);
+
+/* Set xcb context color for icon, needed with pango patch */
+void set_icon_color(xcb_connection_t *c, xcb_gcontext_t gc,
+        uint32_t foreground, uint32_t background);
+
+/* get the xcb image for the given icon path */
+xcb_image_t* get_icon(char* path);
+
+/* cache functions */
+void xbm_clear_cache_used();
+xcb_image_t* xbm_get_cached_icon(char* path);
+void xbm_cache_icon(char* path, xcb_image_t* icon);
+void xbm_free_unused_icons();
+
+
+#endif
diff --git a/i3bar/src/child.c b/i3bar/src/child.c
index cfc96d5..dff3f36 100644
--- a/i3bar/src/child.c
+++ b/i3bar/src/child.c
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ static void clear_statusline(struct statusline_head *head, bool free_resources)
             I3STRING_FREE(first->full_text);
             I3STRING_FREE(first->short_text);
             FREE(first->color);
+            FREE(first->icon);
             FREE(first->name);
             FREE(first->instance);
             FREE(first->min_width_str);
@@ -209,6 +210,9 @@ static int stdin_string(void *context, const unsigned char *val, size_t len) {
         ctx->block.is_markup = (len == strlen("pango") && !strncasecmp((const char *)val, "pango", strlen("pango")));
         return 1;
     }
+    if (strcasecmp(ctx->last_map_key, "icon") == 0) {
+        sasprintf(&(ctx->block.icon), "%.*s", len, val);
+    }
     if (strcasecmp(ctx->last_map_key, "align") == 0) {
         if (len == strlen("center") && !strncmp((const char *)val, "center", strlen("center"))) {
             ctx->block.align = ALIGN_CENTER;
@@ -304,6 +308,7 @@ static int stdin_end_array(void *context) {
         DLOG("full_text = %s\n", i3string_as_utf8(current->full_text));
         DLOG("short_text = %s\n", (current->short_text == NULL ? NULL : i3string_as_utf8(current->short_text)));
         DLOG("color = %s\n", current->color);
+        DLOG("icon = %s\n",current->icon);
     }
     DLOG("end of dump\n");
     return 1;
diff --git a/i3bar/src/xbm.c b/i3bar/src/xbm.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6781e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/i3bar/src/xbm.c
@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+/*
+ * vim:ts=4:sw=4:expandtab
+ *
+ * i3bar - an xcb-based status- and ws-bar for i3
+ * © 2010-2011 Axel Wagner and contributors (see also: LICENSE)
+ *
+ * xbm.c: Parsing/Loading xbm data
+ *
+ * set_format from:
+ * http://vincentsanders.blogspot.de/2010/04/xcb-programming-is-hard.html
+ */
+
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include <xcb/xcb.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include "common.h"
+
+static xcb_format_t* format = NULL;
+
+void set_format(xcb_connection_t * c, uint8_t depth, uint8_t bpp) {
+    const xcb_setup_t *setup = xcb_get_setup(c);
+    xcb_format_t *fmt = xcb_setup_pixmap_formats(setup);
+    xcb_format_t *fmtend = fmt + xcb_setup_pixmap_formats_length(setup);
+    for(; fmt != fmtend; ++fmt)
+        if((fmt->depth == depth) && (fmt->bits_per_pixel == bpp))
+            format = fmt;
+}
+
+/* With pango we need to set colors ourselves, since the pango
+ * patch only sets font color */
+void set_icon_color(xcb_connection_t *c, xcb_gcontext_t gc,
+                    uint32_t foreground, uint32_t background) {
+    uint32_t mask = XCB_GC_FOREGROUND | XCB_GC_BACKGROUND;
+    uint32_t values[] = {foreground, background };
+    xcb_change_gc(c, gc, mask, values);
+}
+
+static int
+parse_xbm(char* file, struct raw_xbm* data) {
+    FILE *f;
+    char *str;
+    int i,p,r,lim;
+    char *c;
+    uint8_t *d;
+
+    int in_array = 0;
+
+    data->w = data->h = -1;
+
+    f = fopen(file,"r");
+    if (!f) {
+        ELOG("Could not open xbm file: %s",file);
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    str=malloc(BUFSZ);
+    if (!str) {
+        ELOG("Could not malloc buffer for xbm parsing");
+        fclose(f);
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    while (fscanf(f," #define %s %d",str,&i) == 2) {
+        if (strstr(str,"width") != NULL)
+            data->w = i;
+        else if (strstr(str,"height") != NULL)
+            data->h = i;
+    }
+
+    if (data->w <= 0 || data->h <= 0) {
+        ELOG("Could not find height and/or width in xbm: %s\n",file);
+        fclose(f);
+        free(str);
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    d = malloc(data->w*data->h);
+    p = 0;
+
+    r = fread(str,1,BUFSZ,f);
+    lim = r;
+    while(r>0) {
+        if(in_array) {
+            while(c < (str+lim)) {
+                char* t = c;
+                while (*t && t!=(str+lim-1) && *t!=',' && *t!='}') t++;
+                if (*t && (*t==',' || *t=='}'))
+                    d[p++] = strtol(c,NULL,16);
+                else
+                    break;
+                c=t+1;
+            }
+        } else {
+            c = str;
+            while (*c && c!=(str+lim) && *c!='{')
+                c++;
+            if (*c && c!=(str+lim) && *c=='{') {
+                in_array=1;
+                c++;
+                if (c<(str+lim)) continue;
+            }
+        }
+
+        i = (str+lim)-c;
+        if (i > 0) memcpy(str,c,i);
+
+        r = fread(str+i,1,BUFSZ-i,f);
+        c=str;
+        lim = r+i;
+    }
+
+    fclose(f);
+    free(str);
+
+    /* will free if p==0, so we only have malloced mem
+     * when p!=0 */
+    d = realloc(d,p);
+
+    data->dlen = p;
+    data->data = d;
+    return p==0;
+}
+
+static xcb_image_t *
+create_icon_image(struct raw_xbm *xbm) {
+    int i,rowsize,done,di;
+    unsigned char *imgdata;
+    if (format == NULL) return NULL;
+
+    imgdata = (unsigned char *)calloc(xbm->w,xbm->h);
+
+    rowsize = format->scanline_pad;
+    while(rowsize < xbm->w) rowsize+=format->scanline_pad;
+
+    for(done=0,di=0,i=0;i<xbm->dlen;i++) {
+        imgdata[di] = xbm->data[i];
+        di++;
+        done+=8;
+        if (done >= xbm->w) {
+            // pad out to rowsize
+            while (done < rowsize) {
+                di++;
+                done+=8;
+            }
+            done=0;
+        }
+    }
+
+    return xcb_image_create(xbm->w,
+                            xbm->h,
+                            XCB_IMAGE_FORMAT_XY_BITMAP,
+                            format->scanline_pad,
+                            format->depth,
+                            format->bits_per_pixel,
+                            0,
+                            XCB_IMAGE_ORDER_LSB_FIRST,
+                            XCB_IMAGE_ORDER_LSB_FIRST,
+                            imgdata,
+                            xbm->w*xbm->h,
+                            imgdata);
+}
+
+xcb_image_t* get_icon(char* path) {
+    xcb_image_t* ret;
+    struct raw_xbm rxbm;
+
+    ret = xbm_get_cached_icon(path);
+    if (ret) return ret;
+
+    DLOG("Loading xbm: %s\n",path);
+
+    rxbm.data = NULL;
+    if (parse_xbm(path,&rxbm)) {
+        ELOG("Cannot parse xbm: %s\n",path);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    ret = create_icon_image(&rxbm);
+    xbm_cache_icon(path,ret);
+    free(rxbm.data);
+    return ret;
+}
+
+/* Below we implement a cache for parsed xbm icons.
+ *
+ * If an icon is used in a draw of the bar, it sticks around until the
+ * next draw, otherwise we throw it away at the end of a update.  The
+ * idea being that most icons are fairly static, or change rarely
+ * (like when a battery threshold is reached).  Therefore, we are very
+ * aggresive about throwing things out of the cache.
+ */
+
+static SLIST_HEAD(xbm_cache_head, Cached_Xbm) xbm_cache;
+
+void xbm_clear_cache_used() {
+    struct Cached_Xbm* cxbm;
+    SLIST_FOREACH(cxbm,&xbm_cache,xbm_cache) {
+        cxbm->used = 0;
+    }
+}
+
+xcb_image_t* xbm_get_cached_icon(char* path) {
+    struct Cached_Xbm* cxbm;
+    SLIST_FOREACH(cxbm,&xbm_cache,xbm_cache) {
+        if (!strcmp(path,cxbm->path)) {
+            cxbm->used = 1;
+            return cxbm->icon;
+        }
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+void xbm_cache_icon(char* path, xcb_image_t* icon) {
+    struct Cached_Xbm *cxbm = smalloc(sizeof(struct Cached_Xbm));
+    cxbm->used = 1;
+    cxbm->path = strdup(path);
+    cxbm->icon = icon;
+    SLIST_INSERT_HEAD(&xbm_cache,cxbm,xbm_cache);
+}
+
+void xbm_free_unused_icons() {
+    struct Cached_Xbm* cxbm;
+    SLIST_FOREACH(cxbm,&xbm_cache,xbm_cache) {
+        if (!cxbm->used) {
+            SLIST_REMOVE(&xbm_cache, cxbm, Cached_Xbm, xbm_cache);
+            free(cxbm->path);
+            xcb_image_destroy(cxbm->icon);
+            free(cxbm);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/i3bar/src/xcb.c b/i3bar/src/xcb.c
index f90bbce..9796a6d 100644
--- a/i3bar/src/xcb.c
+++ b/i3bar/src/xcb.c
@@ -211,6 +211,14 @@ void refresh_statusline(bool use_short_text) {
 
         block->width = predict_text_width(block->full_text);
 
+        if (block->icon) {
+          block->icon_image = get_icon(block->icon);
+          if (!block->icon_image)
+            ELOG("Could not load icon: %s\n",block->icon);
+          else
+            statusline_width += block->icon_image->width+1;
+        }
+
         /* Compute offset and append for text aligment in min_width. */
         if (block->min_width <= block->width) {
             block->x_offset = 0;
@@ -275,6 +283,15 @@ void refresh_statusline(bool use_short_text) {
         }
 
         set_font_colors(statusline_ctx, fg_color, colors.bar_bg);
+
+        if (block->icon_image) {
+            int h = (font.height-block->icon_image->height)/2;
+            set_icon_color(xcb_connection, statusline_ctx, fg_color, colors.bar_bg);
+            xcb_image_put(xcb_connection, statusline_pm, statusline_ctx, block->icon_image, x, h, 0);
+            set_icon_color(xcb_connection, statusline_ctx, get_colorpixel("#666666"), colors.bar_bg);
+            x += block->icon_image->width+1;
+        }
+
         draw_text(block->full_text, statusline_pm, statusline_ctx, x + block->x_offset, logical_px(ws_voff_px), block->width);
         x += block->width + block->sep_block_width + block->x_offset + block->x_append;
 
@@ -1161,6 +1178,9 @@ char *init_xcb_early() {
     /* Now we get the atoms and save them in a nice data structure */
     get_atoms();
 
+    /* Set the format for icons */
+    set_format(xcb_connection,1,1);
+
     char *path = root_atom_contents("I3_SOCKET_PATH", xcb_connection, screen);
 
     if (xcb_request_failed(sl_pm_cookie, "Could not allocate statusline buffer") ||
@@ -1807,6 +1827,7 @@ void draw_bars(bool unhide) {
     /* Is the currently-rendered statusline using short_text items? */
     bool rendered_statusline_is_short = false;
 
+    xbm_clear_cache_used();
     refresh_statusline(false);
 
     i3_output *outputs_walk;
@@ -1990,6 +2011,8 @@ void draw_bars(bool unhide) {
         hide_bars();
     }
 
+    xbm_free_unused_icons();
+
     redraw_bars();
 }