gibson(6)

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

💻 gibson(6) — the XScreenSaver manual, but make it cute 💅

okay so bestie, this is gibson(6) from the XScreenSaver manual and it is literally one of the most iconic screensavers in the whole collection. buckle up 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

gibson — Hacking the Gibson screen saver. that's it. that's the whole vibe. 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

gibson [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
       [--root] [--window-id number] [--delay number] [--speed number] [--grid-
       width number] [--grid-depth number] [--grid-height number] [--grid-
       spacing number] [--columns number] [--no-texture] [--wireframe] [--fps]

like, yes, that's a lot of flags, but we're gonna go through every single one, don't worry 🫶

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

Hacking the Gibson, as per the 1995 classic film, HACKERS. no cap, this screensaver is a whole tribute to that movie and it ate. 🔥

and then the manpage hits you with this quote, which we are keeping verbatim because it's iconic:

"Hackers penetrate and ravage delicate public and privately owned computer systems, infecting them with viruses, and stealing materials for their own ends. These people, they are terrorists."

😭 the drama of it all. periodt.

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • --visual visual — tells it which visual to use. legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. iykyk. ✨
  • --window — draw on a newly-created window. this is the default, main character energy fr.
  • --root — draw on the root window instead. lowkey the classic screensaver move.
  • --window-id number — draw on the specified window. very "i know exactly where i want this" of you.
  • --delay number — per-frame delay, in microseconds. default: 20000 (that's 0.02 seconds, bestie). 🕐
  • --speed number — animation speed. 2.0 means twice as fast, 0.5 means half as fast. math girlies rise 💅
  • --grid-width number — number of towers across. 1 - 20. default: 10. 🏙️
  • --grid-depth number — number of towers deep. 1 - 20. default: 10. it's giving city skyline ngl
  • --grid-height number — height of the towers. 1 - 20. default: 7. tall queens only 👑
  • --grid-spacing number — space between towers. 1 - 5. default: 2.0. personal space matters 🫶
  • --columns number — columns of text on the towers. 1 - 20. default: 6. so much scrolling text 🌈
  • --texture | --no-texture — whether to draw text. default true. yes babes, the text is the point 💖
  • --wireframe | --no-wireframe — render in wireframe instead of solid. aesthetic choice, both slay ⭐
  • --fps | --no-fps — whether to show a frames-per-second display at the bottom of the screen. numbers go brrr 💀

🌼 ENVIRONMENT 🌼

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number. it literally needs this to know where to exist, bestie.
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property. fancy resource file behaviour, we love to see it 🧚
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root. 🪟

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

X(1), xscreensaver(1) — go read those too, they're the supporting cast and they also eat 💜

Copyright © 2020 by Jamie Zawinski. and here's the whole legal situation, word for word, because we do not paraphrase legalese:

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.

tl;dr: go off, but keep the notices and there's no warranty. 🙈

🦋 AUTHOR 🦋

Jamie Zawinski. living legend, honestly. 🌟

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this version is from X Version 11, manual page version 6.15 (30-Mar-2026) — go hack the Gibson responsibly, mwah 💋✨

📦 where this page comes from