halftone(6)

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

💅 halftone — the XScreenSaver manual, but make it a group chat

okay bestie, so this is halftone(6), like, straight out of the XScreenSaver manual ✨ it's a screensaver module and honestly? it's giving physics class but make it cute. no cap.

🌸 NAME 🌸

halftone — a simple halftone dot pattern made of moving mass points, and yes it's exactly as pretty as it sounds 🎀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

halftone [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--count number] [--spacing number]
[--sizefactor number] [--delay number] [--minmass number] [--maxmass
number] [--minspeed number] [--maxspeed number] [--fps]

like, that's the whole vibe right there 👑

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so picture this: it draws the gravity force at every point on your screen, and you see it through a halftone dot pattern. the gravity force is calculated from a whole lil set of moving mass points — like lil planets doing their thing 🪐

and the pro tip that lives in the original and I will not let you skip: view it from a distance for best effect. fr fr, stand back. let it vibe check you from across the room 💫

💖 OPTIONS 💖

  • --visual visual — picks which visual to use. legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of one specific visual. you got options, bestie.
  • --window — draws on a newly-created window. this is the default, so it's the main character 🫶
  • --root — draws on the root window instead.
  • --window-id number — draws on the window you specify. you pick, it commits.
  • --count number — how many mass points get to move around. Default: 10
  • --spacing number — the distance between each halftone dot. Default: 14
  • --sizefactor number — how big each halftone dot should be drawn compared to the spacing value. Default: 1.5
  • --minmass number — the minimum mass of each mass point. Default: 0.001
  • --maxmass number — the maximum mass of each mass point. Default: 0.02
  • --minspeed number — the minimum speed of each mass point. Default: 0.001
  • --maxspeed number — the maximum speed of each mass point. Default: 0.02
  • --delay number — per-frame delay, in microseconds. Default: 10000
  • --fps — displays the current frame rate and CPU load. stats girlies rise 🙈
lowkey obsessed with the fact that minmass and minspeed match, and maxmass and maxspeed match. consistency icon 💅

🌈 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, iykyk 💜

Copyright © 2002 by Peter Jaric. 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.

that's the legal bit and it stays exactly as written — do not come for me, i'm just the messenger 😭

⭐ AUTHOR ⭐

Peter Jaric 🫶

and that's the whole page, bestie! this one's from X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — screenshot it, cite it, love it 💖✨🌀

📦 where this page comes from