imsmap(6)

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

✨ imsmap — the manual, but make it cute ✨

ok so this is imsmap(6) from the XScreenSaver manual, and bestie, it makes fractal maps. like, actual map-y cloud-y patterns. welcome to the group chat 🫶

💫 SYNOPSIS

imsmap [--display host:display.screen] [--foreground color]
[--background color] [--window] [--root] [--window-id number][--mono]
[--install] [--visual visual] [--ncolors int] [--delay seconds]
[--delay2 microseconds] [--iterations int] [--mode h|s|v|random] [--fps]

that's the whole vibe. run it, get fractals. 🔥

🎀 DESCRIPTION

okay so the imsmap program generates map or cloud-like patterns. that's literally the whole personality. fractal maps. clouds. textures. gorgeousness. ☁️✨

and the way it looks quite different in monochrome and color? iconic behavior honestly. like it has two completely different lewks and both ate 💅

🌸 OPTIONS 🌸

imsmap accepts the following options — here's the full lineup, no skips, no cuts, periodt:

  • --window — draws on a newly-created window. this one is the default, so if you do nothing, this is what you get ✨
  • --root — draws on the root window instead. main character energy for your whole desktop 🌈
  • --window-id number — draws on the specified window. you pick the window, you get the fractals 🪟
  • --mono — if you're on a color display, this makes imsmap pretend we're on a monochrome display. delulu is the solulu 😭
  • --install — installs a private colormap for the window. fancy 🎀
  • --visual visual — specifies 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 many options, all valid 🦋
  • --ncolors integer — how many colors to use. default 50. fifty whole colors, we're thriving 💜
  • --delay integer — how long to delay between images. default 10 seconds. patience is a virtue bestie 🧚
  • --delay2 integer — how long to delay between bitmaps. default 200000 (that's 0.2 seconds). short little pause, lil breather 🙈
  • --iterations integer — a measure of the resolution of the resultant image, from 0 to 7. default 7. more iterations = more detail = more to be obsessed with ⭐
  • --mode [hue | saturation | value | random] — the axis upon which colors should be interpolated between the foreground and background color. default random. chaos is the default, love that for us 💀
  • --fps — displays the current frame rate and CPU load. numbers! metrics! slay 📊
⚠️ quick vibe check: --mode in the synopsis is written as h|s|v|random, and the option list says hue | saturation | value | random — same thing, spelled out. iykyk 💖

🦋 ENVIRONMENT 🦋

the environment variables it reads, no gatekeeping:

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number. this is how it knows where to draw, bestie 🖥️
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property. it's giving "settings but extra" 🎀
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root. the root window's lil name tag 💅

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

go read those too, they're the extended universe 🫶

👑 AUTHOR 👑

  • Juergen Nickelsen <nickel@cs.tu-berlin.de>, 23-aug-92.
  • Hacked on by Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, 24-aug-92, 17-May-97.

two legends, one fractal map generator. we stan 🌟

and that's the whole page, bestie!! originally X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — ok bye, go make some clouds ☁️💜

📦 where this page comes from