Matrix Rain Screensaver for tmux

Authentic Matrix digital rain effect as a tmux screensaver. Activates automatically after idle timeout.

Quick Setup (Recommended)

Option 1: Glitch Mode (Best Visual Effect)

Uses encoding hack to create authentic glitchy Matrix effect:

# Install cmatrix
apt install cmatrix

# Create glitch wrapper
cat > /usr/local/bin/cmatrix-glitch << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
# Force broken encoding for glitch effect
LC_ALL=C cmatrix -c "$@"
EOF
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cmatrix-glitch

# Add to ~/.tmux.conf
echo '
set -g lock-after-time 60
set -g lock-command "cmatrix-glitch -s -b -u 4"
' >> ~/.tmux.conf

# Reload
tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

Option 2: Standard cmatrix

# Install
apt install cmatrix

# Add to ~/.tmux.conf
echo '
set -g lock-after-time 60
set -g lock-command "cmatrix -s -b -u 4"
' >> ~/.tmux.conf

# Reload
tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

Flags:

• -s — screensaver mode (any key to exit)
• -b — bold characters
• -u 4 — update delay (1-9, higher = slower)
• -c — Japanese katakana characters

How Glitch Mode Works

The glitch effect is achieved through an encoding hack:

LC_ALL=C cmatrix -c

1. -c enables Japanese katakana characters (wide characters)
2. LC_ALL=C forces basic C locale (breaks UTF-8)
3. Terminal can't render wide chars properly → glitch effect

Alternative: Bash Script

Included matrix.sh for systems without cmatrix:

# Download
curl -o ~/.local/bin/matrix.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nglain/matrix/main/matrix.sh
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/matrix.sh

# Add to ~/.tmux.conf
set -g lock-after-time 60
set -g lock-command '~/.local/bin/matrix.sh'

Configuration

# Change timeout (seconds)
set -g lock-after-time 120  # 2 minutes

# Disable
set -g lock-after-time 0

Other Cool Screensavers

Name	Install	tmux lock-command	Description
cmatrix	apt install cmatrix	cmatrix -s -b	Matrix rain
cmatrix-glitch	see above	cmatrix-glitch -s -b -u 4	Glitchy Matrix
pipes.sh	apt install pipes.sh	pipes.sh	Animated pipes
cbonsai	apt install cbonsai	cbonsai -l -i -w 5	Growing bonsai tree
asciiquarium	apt install asciiquarium	asciiquarium	Aquarium with fish
tty-clock	apt install tty-clock	tty-clock -s -c	Terminal clock

License

MIT