splitflap(6)

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

✨ splitflap(6) — an XScreenSaver manual, but make it cute ✨

okay bestie, buckle up, because this is the splitflap page from the XScreenSaver manual and it's genuinely one of the most aesthetic things in here. no cap. 💖

🌸 NAME 🌸

splitflap — a simulation of a split-flap electromechanical display. yes, the flappy airport board thing. we love her. 😭

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

splitflap [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--delay microseconds] [--speed float]
[--width columns] [--height rows] [--mode text | clock12 | clock24]
[--no-wander] [--spin axes] [--no-spin] [--front] [--no-front]
[--wireframe] [--fps]

like, that's the whole invocation, laid out exactly as the manpage gives it. copy-paste her, she's yours 🫶

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so picture this: it simulates a split-flap display. you know the vibe — that old style of electromechanical sign, the one with the little physical flaps that clack-clack-clack into place until the whole board says your flight is delayed (💀). iconic in airports and train stations, and also lowkey everywhere in alarm clocks in the 1960s and 1970s. it's giving analog nostalgia, fr fr. ✨

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • --visual visual — picks which visual to use. legal values are either the name of a visual class, or the id number of a specific visual (and yeah, that number can be decimal or hex, she's flexible). 👑
  • --window — draws on a freshly-created window. this one is the default, so if you do nothing, this is what you get. 🎀
  • --root — draws on the root window instead. different vibe entirely.
  • --window-id number — draws on the window you specify. main character energy: you pick the window, you get the window.
  • --delay number — the per-frame delay, measured in microseconds. default is 20000 (which is 0.02 seconds, if you're doing the math, and you should be 🧮).
  • --speed number — animation speed. 2.0 means twice as fast, 0.5 means half as fast. simple as that, bestie.
  • --width number — how many columns wide the display is. default: 22.
  • --height number — how many rows tall the display is. default: 8.
  • --mode clock12 — displays a 12-hour clock. 🕐
  • --mode clock24 — displays a 24-hour clock. 🕐 (but European)
  • --front | --no-front — okay this one's important: when spinning, never spin all the way around or upside down — always face mostly forward so the text stays easily readable. this is the default, and ngl it's the polite choice. 🌸
  • --no-front — flips the above: allow spins to go all the way around or upside down. chaos mode. she's dizzy. 🙈
  • --wander | --no-wander — whether the object should wander around the screen. yes, that's literally it. she roams. 🦋
  • --spin — which axes around which the text should spin. the default is "XYZ", meaning rotate it freely in space. --spin Z, for example, would rotate the text in the plane of the screen while not rotating it into or out of the screen. etc. you get it. 🔥
  • --wireframe | --no-wireframe — render in wireframe instead of solid. skeleton mode. ⭐
  • --fps | --no-fps — whether to show a frames-per-second display at the bottom of the screen. for the nerds who need to know. iykyk. 💜

🌈 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. (yes, the all-caps one. she's important.)
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root.

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

X(1), xscreensaver(1) — go read those too, bestie, they're the parents of this whole situation 🫶

Copyright © 2015 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.

okay that's the legal bit, word for word — don't skip it, it's literally the license 💅

🧚 AUTHOR 🧚

Jamie Zawinski.

and that's the page, diva! 🎀 this whole thing is X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — so go forth, spin your flaps on all three axes, and remember: face mostly forward unless you're feeling chaotic ✨💖🦋

📦 where this page comes from