XDaliClock(1)

📦
version 2.49 · 4 versions
, in debian trixie, fedora 44, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 XDaliClock 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the xdaliclock manual page, section 1 of the General Commands Manual. yes you read that right. it's a clock. it MELTS. let's go 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

xdaliclock — melting digital clock 🕰️💫

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

xdaliclock

that's it. that's the whole synopsis. no arguments, no fuss, just vibes 💅

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so xdaliclock displays a digital clock, right? but here's the thing — when a digit changes, it melts into its new shape. like it literally drips from the old number into the new one. it's giving lava lamp but make it timekeeping 🌋⏰ iconic behaviour honestly.

this program was inspired by the Alto and Macintosh programs of the same name, written by Steve Capps in 1983 or 1984. so the concept is older than most of us and it still ate 💀👑

✨ COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS ✨

  • --display host:display.screen — which X display to use, bestie. tell it where to show up ✨
  • --version — prints the version number and then dips. exit stage left 🎬
  • --root — renders on the root window instead of opening its own application window. no window, just vibes on your desktop background 🌸
  • --window-id number — renders on an existing X11 Window instead of making its own. you already got a window? say less 💅

✨ GESTURES ✨

  • Single click — shows you the date 📅 it also gets briefly shown about once a minute, unprompted, like a little surprise 🎀
  • Double click — switches between 12-hour and 24-hour mode. pick your fighter ⚔️
  • Right click — opens the preferences dialog. come customize, queen 👑
  • Left arrow or down arrow keys — reduces the number of digits shown (e.g. HH:MM:SS to HH:MM) 📉
  • Right arrow or up arrow keys — increases the number of digits shown (e.g. HH:MM to HH:MM:SS) 📈

✨ PREFERENCES ✨

  • Date & Time — how to format the date and time, and how many digits to use 🗓️
  • Colors — the starting foreground and background colors, and how quickly to cycle their hues 🌈 so you can make it rainbow if you want. iykyk
  • Countdown timer — to count down to (and then up from) a target time, enter it in the form "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS". and listen — if the "Seconds only in home stretch" box is checked, the display will switch to a seconds-only display 30 seconds before the target ⏳🔥

✨ ENVIRONMENT ✨

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number. classic 🌐
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root 🪟
  • GSETTINGS_SCHEMA_DIR — where preferences and defaults are stored 📁

✨ UPGRADES ✨

the latest version can be found at https://www.jwz.org/xdaliclock/ 🦋

there are also version of this program there for macOS, iOS, Android and others. so no matter what device you're on, you can have a melting clock. we love accessibility 💖

Copyright © 1991-2022 by Jamie Zawinski. Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. No representations are made about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

ngl the "as is" part is doing a lot of heavy lifting there but that's every license bestie, no cap 🙈

✨ AUTHOR ✨

Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, 18-sep-91.

based on a concept by Steve Capps.

and that's the whole page, babe ✨ this was X Version 11, from 25-Aug-2022, version 2.45 of XDaliClock — go forth and watch some numbers melt, you absolute icon 💜💅🎀

📦 where this page comes from