goop(6)

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

💅 goop(6) — it's giving XScreenSaver manual, bestie

okay so before we even start: this is goop(6), straight out of the XScreenSaver manual, and it's genuinely one of the prettiest little hacks in the box. buckle up 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

goop — a squishy transparent oil and bubble screenhack. no cap, that's the whole pitch and it ate. 🫧

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

goop [--display host:display.screen] [--foreground color] [--background
color] [--window] [--root] [--window-id number][--mono] [--install]
[--visual visual] [--transparent] [--non-transparent] [--additive]
[--subtractive] [--xor] [--no-xor] [--fps]

yeah so the synopsis name-checks --display, --foreground, --background and --no-xor — they're up there in the lineup even though the OPTIONS section below doesn't give them their own little paragraphs. i'm just telling you what the page says, ok? 💖

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

goop draws a whole simulation of bubbles in layers of overlapping multicolored translucent fluid. that's it. that's the vibe. it's like a lava lamp went to art school and got a skincare routine. lowkey hypnotic, highkey iconic. ✨

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

goop accepts the following options, and yes we're doing all of them, no skipping, periodt:

  • --window — Draw on a newly-created window. This is the default. main character behavior, honestly. 🪟
  • --root — Draw on the root window. it's giving i live here now. 🌍
  • --window-id number — Draw on the specified window. you point, it paints. 🎯
  • --mono — If on a color display, pretend we're on a monochrome display. delulu? maybe. aesthetic? absolutely. 🖤🤍
  • --install — Install a private colormap for the window. fancy private palette, iykyk. 🎨
  • --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. so like, class name or the number, decimal or hex, all valid. 💅
  • --count integer — How many bubbles to draw per layer. Default: random. chaotic? yes. correct? also yes. 🫧
  • --planes integer — How many planes to draw. Default: random, based on screen depth. it literally looks at your screen depth and decides. 🌸
  • --delay microseconds — How much of a delay should be introduced between steps of the animation. Default 12000, or about 0.012 seconds. tiny nap between frames, slay. 😴
  • --transparent — If --layers is greater than 1, then each layer will be drawn in one color, and when they overlap, the colors will be mixed. This is the default. (yes it says --layers, that's just what the page says, i don't make the rules 🫶) 🌈
  • --non-transparent — Turns off --transparent. simple as. turns it off. 🚫
  • --additive — If --transparent is specified, then this option means that the colors will be mixed using an additive color model, as if the blobs were projected light. This is the default. light beams, we love her. 🔦
  • --subtractive — If --transparent is specified, then this option means that the colors will be mixed using a subtractive color model, as if the blobs were translucent filters. gel filters, also gorgeous. 🍓
  • --xor — Draw with xor instead of the other color tricks. going full gremlin mode with it. 💀
  • --fps — Display the current frame rate and CPU load. numbers on screen, we stan a transparent queen. 📊

🧚 ENVIRONMENT 🧚

the env vars it looks at, all of them:

  • 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. long name, big job. 💜
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — The window ID to use with --root.

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

X(1), xscreensaver(1)

go read those too, bestie. do it for me. 🫶

Copyright © 1997 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.

(not me reading a whole license paragraph, but like — it's important, ok? 🙈)

🌸 AUTHOR 🌸

Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, 11-Jun-97. a legend, fr fr. 💖

and that's the page!! this gorgeous thing shipped as X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — so go forth, run goop, and let the translucent bubbles live their best lives. 🫧✨💅

📦 where this page comes from