nerverot(6)

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

✨ nerverot(6) — the XScreenSaver manual, bestie edition ✨

okay so you found nerverot(6) in the XScreenSaver manual and you're like "what is this" — don't worry, I got you 🫶

💅 NAME

nerverot — induces edginess in the viewer

(no like, literally. that's the whole job. it makes you uncomfy on purpose 💀)

🎀 SYNOPSIS

nerverot [--display host:display.screen] [--foreground color]
[--background color] [--window] [--root] [--window-id number][--mono]
[--install] [--visual visual] [--db] [--no-db] [--colors integer]
[--delay microseconds] [--count integer] [--line-width integer]
[--event-chance fraction] [--iter-amt fraction] [--nervousness fraction]
[--max-nerve-radius fraction] [--min-radius integer] [--max-radius
integer] [--min-scale fraction] [--max-scale fraction] [--fps]

🌸 DESCRIPTION

The goal of nerverot is to be interesting and compelling to watch, yet induce a state of nervous edginess in the viewer. That's the assignment. It ate and left no crumbs 👑

This manpage describes v1.3 of the program. (yes, v1.3 specifically, don't come at me)

✨ OPTIONS ✨

nerverot accepts the following options — buckle up, there's a lot of them:

  • --window — Draw on a newly-created window. This is the default, so if you just run it with zero thoughts, this is what you get 💖
  • --root — Draw on the root window.
  • --window-id number — Draw on the specified window. You pick which one, main character energy.
  • --mono — If on a color display, pretend we're on a monochrome display. delusion but make it retro 🎀
  • --install — Install a private colormap for the window.
  • --visual visual — Which visual to use. Legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual.
  • --db, --no-db — Use double-buffering (or not, respectively). Okay so listen: double-buffering may make things look better for larger line widths and/or larger numbers of blots, but "better" may equate to yielding less of the desired edginess effect. You'll be calmer after watching the double-buffered variant; you're more likely to go into epileptic fits with it off. Hence, it is off (false) by default, resource doubleBuffer.
🚨 real talk fr fr: those epileptic fits are not a vibe. Double-buffering off means more edginess AND more risk. Pick your battles, bestie.
  • --colors integer — How many colors should be used (if possible). The colors form a smooth ramp between two randomly-chosen colors. Defaults to 4, resource colors.
  • --delay microseconds — The interframe delay, in microseconds. Defaults to 10000, resource delay.
  • --max-iters integer — The maximum number of iterations (frames) before a new model is generated. The actual number of iterations per model is a random number between 1 and this value. Defaults to 1200, resource maxIters.
  • --count integer — How many "blots" to draw at a time. This number may be rounded down to fit the particularly chosen model, and has a fixed minimum per-model. Defaults to 250, resource count.
  • --line-width integer — The width of the lines to draw. 0 means an optimized pixel-thick line. Defaults to 0, resource lineWidth.
  • --event-chance fraction — The chance, per iteration, for a life-altering event to occur (such as picking a new rotation target), in the range 0..1. Defaults to 0.2, resource eventChance. life-altering event 💀 iconic phrasing
  • --iter-amt fraction — The fraction of movement towards a target (such as rotation angle or scale) that happens per iteration, in the range 0..1. Defaults to 0.01, resource iterAmt.
  • --nervousness fraction — How nervous the drawing is, in the range 0..1. This is how jumpy the points on each blot are. Defaults to 0.3, resource nervousness. same energy as me before a deadline ngl 😭
  • --max-nerve-radius fraction — The maximum radius of blot nervousness, as a fraction of the radius of the blot, in the range 0..1. Defaults to 0.7, resource maxNerveRadius.
  • --min-radius integer — The minimum radius for a blot, in the range 1..100. Defaults to 3, resource minRadius.
  • --max-radius integer — The maximum radius for a blot, in the range 1..100. Defaults to 25, resource maxRadius.
  • --min-scale fraction — The minimum overall scale of drawing, as a fraction of min(windowHeight,windowWidth), in the range 0..10. Defaults to 0.6, resource minScale.
  • --max-scale fraction — The maximum overall scale of drawing, as a fraction of min(windowHeight,windowWidth), in the range 0..10. Defaults to 1.75, resource maxScale.
  • --fps — Display the current frame rate and CPU load. the little numbers go brrr 📊

🦋 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.

🌈 X RESOURCES

There are resource equivalents for each option, noted above. (yes, every single one. I told you. we don't skip 💅)

💀 BUGS

  • nerverot should have more models.
  • XDBE should be detected and used, if available.

(dev said "yeah I know" and honestly? respect 🫡)

🔥 SEE ALSO

xscreensaver(1)

Copyright © 2000-2001 by Dan Bornstein. All rights reserved.

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.

🧚 AUTHOR

Dan Bornstein <danfuzz@milk.com>.

and that's the whole page, bestie 💜 — this icon was living in X Version 11, dated 6.15 (30-Mar-2026), and honestly she slayed her way into the archive. go watch some blots get jumpy, you've earned it ✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from