hypnowheel(6)

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

🌀 hypnowheel(6) 🌀

okay bestie, so this is a page from the XScreenSaver manual (like, the hippest corner of the X world, no cap) and it's about hypnowheel — genuinely one of the prettiest little hacks in there. buckle up 💖

✨ NAME ✨

hypnowheel — draws overlapping, translucent spiral patterns 🌀✨

like… it draws spirals. overlapping ones. see-through ones. it's giving kaleidoscope but make it hypnotic, iykyk 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

hypnowheel [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--delay int] [--layers int] [--count int]
[--twistiness float] [--speed float] [--wander] [--symmetric] [--fps]

that's the whole vibe, bestie — copy it exactly, no improv 🫶

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

Draws a series of overlapping, translucent spiral patterns. ✨🌀✨

The tightness of their spirals fluctuates in and out. like, they're literally breathing, it's so mesmerizing, I could watch it forever 😭

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

okay so here's the whole menu, every single one, don't skip, there will NOT be a quiz but also there might be 👑

  • --visual visual — pick which visual to use. Legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. like which flavour of pixels you want, basically 🎨
  • --window — draw on a newly-created window. this is the default! the standard slay. 💅
  • --root — draw on the root window instead. main character energy, takes over the whole desktop 🌈
  • --window-id number — draw on the specified window. you pick the window, it draws there, periodt. 🪟
  • --delay int — delay between frames, in microseconds. default 20000. yes MICROseconds, she's precise ⏱️
  • --layers int — how many different spirals to draw at once. default 4. four spirals stacked, iconic 💫
  • --count int — how many arms each spiral should have. default 11. eleven arms!! like a very extra octopus 🐙
  • --twistiness float — how tightly wound the spirals can become, measured in rotations. default 4.0 (four times around). so twisty, so good 🍥
  • --speed ratio — less than 1 for slower, greater than 1 for faster. default 1. literally a speed dial for your eyeballs 🏎️
  • --wander — if specified, then the centers of the spirals will wander around, rather than them all having the same origin. they get to roam, we love that for them 🦋
  • --symmetric — if specified, then each pair of left-wrapping and right-wrapping spirals will be mirror images of each other. matchy-matchy, so satisfying 🪞
  • --fps — display the current frame rate, CPU load, and polygon count. nerd stats in the corner, lowkey obsessed 📊

🧚 ENVIRONMENT 🧚

the env vars, bestie, don't forget 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. fancy override business 📁
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root. 🔑

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

go read these too, they're the friends of the family:

Copyright © 2008 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 read that last bit: "as is", no warranty, no promises. it's the legal equivalent of "no thoughts head empty," so don't come for anybody if it breaks 💀

🍓 AUTHOR 🍓

Jamie Zawinski. 🫶 a legend, honestly.

and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🌈✨ this was X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — so like, go forth and make some twisty translucent spirals, you've got this 💜🌀🌸

📦 where this page comes from