cube21(6)

📦
version 6.15 · 2 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable

🌸 cube21 — the XScreenSaver manual, bestie edition 🌸

Okay so this is the man page for cube21(6) from the XScreenSaver manual, and I'm literally gonna walk you through every single flag, no cap. Buckle up 💖

✨ NAME ✨

cube21 — it animates the Cube 21 puzzle. That's it, that's the whole vibe 🎀

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

cube21 [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--install] [--delay microseconds]
[--texture] [--no-texture] [--mono] [--wireframe] [--spin] [--no-spin]
[--wander] [--no-wander] [--randomize] [--no-randomize] [--spinspeed
number] [--rotspeed number] [--wanderspeed number] [--wait number]
[--cubesize number] [--colormode arg] [--fps]

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

So this program animates a puzzle called Cube 21, aka Square-1, and it picks its moves randomly — it's just out here living its truth, shuffling itself with zero plan 🔥

Cube 21 is a Rubik-like puzzle invented in 1992. Its specialities (yes, the original says specialities and I'm keeping it) are that it can change its shape and even the number of possible moves. Like, the puzzle itself is a different puzzle depending on the moment?? Iconic behavior honestly.

It can have more than 200 different shapes, and the total number of configurations (assuming colors) is several tens of billions. Not me doing math at 3am 😭

🧚 OPTIONS 🧚

cube21 accepts the following options — every single one, we're not skipping a single flag, periodt:

  • --window — Draw on a newly-created window. This is the default 💖
  • --root — Draw on the root window.
  • --window-id number — Draw on the specified window. You pick the window, it draws there, slay.
  • --install — Install a private colormap for the window.
  • --visual visual — Specify which visual to use. Legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. Both? Both. 🫶
  • --delay microseconds — How long to pause between frames. Default is 20000, or 0.02 second. So basically a lil nap between frames ngl.
  • --texture — Use texture maps. This is the default. Fancy ✨
  • --no-texture — Use solid colors. Plain, but make it fashion.
  • --mono — Disable both texture maps and colors. Fully stripped down, no frills, main character in a black-and-white film.
  • --wireframe — Only draw outlines. Outlines of all pieces, not only the whole object, are drawn. Like a skeleton but make it art 💀
  • --spin — Spin the whole object around X, Y and Z axes. This is the default. Rotate, queen 👑
  • --no-spin — Do not spin, showing the same three faces all the time. Lowkey boring but valid.
  • --wander — Move the object around the screen. This is the default. It's got places to be 🦋
  • --no-wander — Keep the object centered on the screen. Homebody mode.
  • --randomize — Shuffle the puzzle randomly at startup. This is the default. Chaos, but make it intentional.
  • --no-randomize — Do not shuffle at startup, begin at the shape of cube. Orderly. Calm. A fresh start 🌸
  • --spinspeed number — The relative speed of spinning. Default is 1.0.
  • --rotspeed number — The relative speed of the moves. Default is 3.0. Setting to ≤ 0.0 makes the object stay at one configuration. (Yes, that's a "less than or equal to" sign — the original is fancy like that 💅)
  • --wanderspeed number — The relative speed of wandering around the screen. Default is 1.0.
  • --wait number — How long to stay at ending position after each move. The meaning of the argument is again relative. Default is 40.0. It's a pause, not a number of seconds, iykyk.
  • --cubesize number — Size of the object. Value of 3.0 fills roughly all the screen (its height). Default is 0.7. So 3.0 is unhinged full-screen energy and 0.7 is cute lil bean.
  • --colormode argument — How many and which colors should the object have. The colors are put on the piece faces so that the puzzle is solvable. The inner faces are not influenced. Here's the menu, bestie:
    • se or silver — Simulate the "Silver Edition" — white and one random color.
    • 2 or two — Two random colors.
    • ce or classic — Simulate the "Classic Edition" — white, yellow, orange, red, green and blue.
    • 6 or six — Six random colors.
    • 1 or random or rnd — One random color.
    • Anything else — All faces white. (default behavior of a sort — the original lists it under "Anything else", so that's where it lives 🎀)
  • --fps — Display the current frame rate, CPU load, and polygon count. Stats girlies rise 🌈

💜 ENVIRONMENT 💜

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number.
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property.
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — The window ID to use with --root.

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

X(1), xscreensaver(1) — go read those too, they're the parents fr fr.

Copyright © 2005 by Vaclav Potocek. 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.

(Translation: go off, use it, sell it, just keep the notice and don't come for them if it breaks. It's "as is" and they said what they said 🙈)

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Vaclav (Vasek) Potocek <vasek.potocek@post.cz>, 30-Aug-05. A legend, honestly 💖

Okay and the official sign-off at the very bottom of the page, because we don't lose details in this house: this is X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026, and yes, it's still cube21(6) 🎀✨🦋
📦 where this page comes from