wormhole(6)

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

💫 wormhole(6) — the XScreenSaver manual, but make it a group chat 💫

okay so bestie, welcome to wormhole, one of the lil gems from the XScreenSaver manual. yes you read that right, we're in section 6 today. buckle up 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

wormhole — an animation of flying through a wormhole. that's it. that's the vibe. 🌀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

wormhole [--display host:display.screen] [--window] [--visual visual]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--stars n] [--delay usecs] [--zspeed n]
[--fps]

literally just run it and get sucked into a tunnel, no big deal 💅

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so picture this: you are FLYING through a tunnel 🌈 and the whole tunnel is surrounded by streaks of light whooshing past you. that's the whole show. it's giving hyperspace. it's giving main character energy. it's giving "i left my stomach back at the entrance." 😭

✨ OPTIONS ✨

wormhole accepts the following options. yes, all of them. i would never gatekeep 🫶

  • --window — draw on a newly-created window. this is the default, so if you do nothing, congrats, you already picked this one ✨
  • --root — draw on the root window. big "i live in your desktop wallpaper now" energy 🦋
  • --window-id number — draw on the window you specify. be specific, bestie 🎯
  • --mono — make all the rocks the same color. note: rocks. yes, the manpage says rocks. we don't question the rocks. also, lowkey monochrome slay 💀
  • --install — install a private colormap for the window. fancy private colors, exclusive invite only 👑
  • --visual visual — specify which visual to use. legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. yes hex counts. i checked. 🧚
  • --stars integer — the number of stars to create every animation loop. more stars = more sparkle, naturally ⭐
  • --zspeed integer — speed the light streaks fly by. highkey the throttle on this whole thing 🔥
  • --delay microseconds — number of microseconds to delay between each frame. default is 10000, meaning about 1/100th second. and the manpage itself says "compare and contrast with --zspeed, above" — so like, yes, they are two different knobs for two different vibes. respect it. 🍓
  • --fps — display the current frame rate and CPU load. ngl this is the nerd meter and i love it 📊

🌸 ENVIRONMENT 🌸

the environment variables, aka the backstage crew 💜

  • 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. mouthful, but she's iconic 🎀
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root.

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

go read these next, bestie, i'm obsessed with cross-referencing:

Copyright © 2004 by Jon Rafkind.

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. 🙈

💀 translation: she's free, she's yours, but she comes with zero promises. no cap. don't come for the author if she misbehaves.

💖 AUTHOR 💖

Jon Rafkind <jon@rafkind.com>

and that's the whole page, bestie! ✨ this was X Version 11, 6.15 (30-Mar-2026) — mark your calendar, screenshot the date, it's giving timestamped icon behavior 🎀🫶 go fly through a tunnel, you've earned it. 💫

📦 where this page comes from