glknots(6)

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

✨ glknots(6) ✨

okay so bestie, welcome to glknots — it's a little XScreenSaver hack that makes the most gorgeous twisting 3d knot patterns and then just spins 'em around. that's it. that's the vibe. 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

glknots [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--delay number] [--speed float]
[--segments int] [--thickness float] [--duration seconds] [--no-wander]
[--spin XYZ] [--wireframe] [--fps]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Generates some twisting 3d knot patterns. Spins 'em around. 💅

like... that's literally the whole thing. it makes knots, they twist, they spin. iconic behaviour, no notes. 👑

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • --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.
  • --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.
  • --delay number — Per-frame delay, in microseconds. Default: 30000 (0.03 seconds.). ⏱️
  • --speed number — Larger numbers mean run faster. Default: 1.0. 🏃‍♀️
  • --segments number — Number of segments in each path. Default 800. Larger numbers make the curves smoother, at the expense of a higher polygon count. (so like... smoother = more expensive, the classic tradeoff bestie 😭)
  • --thickness float — How thick the tubes should be. Default 0.3. 🍓
  • --duration seconds — How long to leave each knot up. Default 8 seconds. ngl i'd leave them up forever but ok
  • --wander | --no-wander — Whether the cubes should wander around the screen. 🌀
  • --spin [XYZ] | --no-spin — Which axes, if any, to spin around on.
  • --wireframe | --no-wireframe — Render in wireframe instead of solid.
  • --fps — Display the current frame rate, CPU load, and polygon count. 💀 (the moment of truth)

🌈 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, bestie, iykyk 🫶

Copyright © 2003 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.

fr fr it's "as is" — no warranty, no promises, no drama. 🙈

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Jamie Zawinski. — the main character of this whole manpage, honestly. ⭐

okay that's the whole thing bestie, go make some knots 💜

this little masterpiece is from X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — mwah, talk soon 🧚

📦 where this page comes from