cubicgrid(6x)

📦
version 6.17 · 10 versions
, in fedora 44

✨ cubicgrid(6x) ✨

okay bestie, welcome to cubicgrid from the XScreenSaver manual 💖 it's giving "you're inside a crystal and it's spinning" and honestly? iconic.

🌈 NAME 🌈

cubicgrid — a rotating 3D lattice, but you're watching it from the inside. no cap. 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

cubicgrid [--display host:display.screen] [--visual visual] [--window]
[--root] [--window-id number] [--install] [--delay microseconds]
[--mono] [--speed number] [--zoom number] [--ticks number] [--bigdots]
[--fps] [--symmetry crystalographic symmetry]

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so basically: this program shows you what it looks like when an observer 🫵 is sitting inside a whole bunch of points arranged into a 3D lattice. and then the lattice rotates. and as it rotates, all these different view-throughs appear and evolve, like little windows opening and closing in the structure. ✨

a simple idea with interesting results. that's literally the whole pitch and it ate. 💀

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

cubicgrid accepts the following options, bestie — there's a lot, but we're getting through all of them, periodt:

  • --window — draw on a newly-created window. this is the default, so if you don't say anything, this is what you get. 🪟
  • --root — draw on the root window instead.
  • --window-id number — draw on the specific window you point at.
  • --install — install a private colormap for the window. fancy 💅
  • --visual visual — pick which visual to use. legal values are either the name of a visual class, or the id number of a specific visual (and yes, that id can be decimal or hex).
  • --delay microseconds — how long to pause between frames. default is 20000, which is 0.02 second. ⏳
  • --mono — draw in black and white. if you don't use this, a fixed all-color scheme gets chosen for you. 🖤🤍
  • --speed number — the maximum speed of the rotation. the actual speed and the axis both change smoothly for a better effect (obsessed with that detail actually). range is 0.5 - 10. default is 1.0. 🔥
  • --zoom number — the size of the lattice. ideally it should fill the entire screen, but ngl you might find other values interesting too. range is 5 - 50. the default of 20 should do for common screen aspect ratios. 🦋
  • --ticks number — the count of points drawn along every axis. range is 10 - 100. default is 30. ⭐
  • --bigdots — draw the points twice as big. 🍓
  • --fps — display the current frame rate, CPU load, and polygon count. numbers go brrr 📊
  • --symmetry Symmetry — which crystalographic symmetry system to use. one of "auto", "cubic", or "hexagonal". and "auto" will randomly select between the symmetry systems, so it's a lil surprise every time 🎁

🧚 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. 🪟

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

X(1), xscreensaver(1)

Copyright © 2007 by Vasek Potocek.

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 so that's the legal bit and we are NOT skipping it, bestie — it's giving "yes you can use it, no there's no warranty, don't come for me." 📜

🌟 AUTHOR 🌟

Vasek Potocek <vasek.potocek@post.cz>, Dec-28-07.

and that's the whole page!! 💖 this was X Version 11, 6.17-1.fc44, dated 13-Oct-2026 — slay, go spin your lattice, main character energy only ✨🦋💅

📦 where this page comes from