bsod(6x)

📦
version 6.17 · 10 versions
, in fedora 44

💀 bsod(6x) — the manual page, but make it a group chat

okay bestie, so like… bsod(6x) is a thing that lives in the XScreenSaver manual, and it is unhinged in the best way. It's not a real crash. It's a vibe. A whole emulator for the moment your computer decides to give up and stare into the void. Let's get into it. 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

bsod — Blue Screen of Death emulator 💙💀

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

bsod [--display host:display.screen] [--foreground color] [--background
color] [--window] [--root] [--window-id number][--mono] [--install]
[--visual visual] [--delay seconds] [--fps]

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

The bsod program is, and I quote, the finest in personal computer emulation. no notes, that's just the truth.

so what it does is it steps through a set of screens, and every single screen is a lovingly recreated failure mode of an operating system. it's giving museum of disasters. it's giving trauma but make it art.

the systems depicted include (and I need you to breathe before you read this list):

  • Windows 3.1
  • Windows 95
  • Windows NT
  • MS-DOS
  • AmigaDOS 1.3
  • Linux
  • SCO UNIX
  • BSD UNIX
  • HPUX
  • Solaris
  • Tru64
  • VMS
  • HVX/GCOS6
  • IBM OS/390
  • OS/2
  • MacOS (MacsBug, Bomb, Sad Mac, and OSX)
  • Atari ST
  • Apple ][+
  • VMware
  • NCD X Terminals

like. the range. the dedication. someone sat down and simmed every way a computer has ever said "i'm out." iconic behavior fr fr. 🔥

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

bsod accepts the following options:

  • --window — Draw on a newly-created window. ✨ This is the default, so if you're not sure, you already chose this.
  • --root — Draw on the root window. full desktop takeover energy.
  • --window-id _number_ — Draw on the specified window. you point, it crashes there. 💅
  • --mono — If on a color display, pretend we're on a monochrome display. delulu but make it retro 🖤🤍
  • --install — Install a private colormap for the window. fancy.
  • --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.
  • --delay _delay_ — The duration each crash-mode is displayed before selecting another. (aka how long you sit with the pain before it moves on 🙈)
  • --only _which_ — Tell it to run only one mode, e.g., --only HPUX. for when you have a favorite disaster bestie.
  • --fps — Display the current frame rate and CPU load. 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 🦋

Notable X resources supported include the following, which control which hacks are displayed and which aren't. 👀

The full roster: doWindows, doNT, doWin2K, doWin10, doRansomware, doAmiga, doMac, doMac1, doMacsBug, doMacX, doSCO, doAtari, doBSD, doLinux, doSparcLinux, doHPPALinux, doBlitDamage, doSolaris, doHPUX, doApple2, doOS390, doTru64, doVMS, doMSDOS, doOS2, doHVX, doVMware, and doATM.

Each of these is a Boolean resource, and they all default to true, except for doAtari, doBSD, doSparcLinux, and doHPPALinux, which are turned off by default — because they're really not all that interesting looking unless you're a fan of those systems. (no shade to the Atari/BSD/SparcLinux/HPPA Linux girlies, the manpage said it not me 😭)

There are command-line options for all of these: e.g., --bsd, --no-bsd. (Also note the --only option. 👑)

💀 BUGS 💀

Unlike the systems being simulated, bsod does not require a reboot after running.

that's it. that's the bug section. the joke is the bug. i'm obsessed. 🎀

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

X(1), xscreensaver(1)

🏷️ TRADEMARKS 🏷️

okay legal bestie moment, stay with me, this is all verbatim because lawyers do not do vibes:

  • Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows 95, and Microsoft Windows NT are all registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
  • Apple Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer.
  • Amiga is a registered trademark of Amiga International, Inc.
  • Solaris is a trademark of Sun Microsystems.
  • HP-UX is a trademark of HP Hewlett Packard Group LLC.
  • Nvidia is a tradmark of Nvidia Corporation.
  • VMS is probably a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.
  • Atari ST is probably a trademark, too, but it's hard to tell who owns it.
  • SCO is probably still a trademark of somebody these days, I guess.
  • Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds, but it isn't his fault.
  • OS/2 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
  • VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc.
  • Android is a trademark of Google LLC.
  • GladOS is a trademark of Aperture Science Incorporated.
(yes, tradmark is spelled that way up there. we do not fix the original. we respect the original. 💅)

Copyright © 1998-2022 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.

No animals were harmed during the testing of these simulations. Always mount a scratch monkey. 🐒

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Concept cribbed from Stephen Martin <smartin@mks.com>. This version is by Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, with contributions from many others.

and that's the whole thing bestie!! this page came to you straight from X Version 11, build 6.17-1.fc44, dated 13-Oct-2026 ✨💖 go forth and crash responsibly, no reboot required 🦋🌸

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