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Screensaver

Screensaver Configuration

The login screen has a screensaver because waiting for authentication can be an aesthetic experience.

Configuration File

/usr/share/sysc-greet/ascii_configs/screensaver.conf

# Idle time before activation (minutes)
idle_timeout=5

# Time/Date formats (Go time format)
time_format=3:04:05 PM
date_format=Monday, January 2, 2006

# Clock style: kompaktblk (default, 3 rows), phmvga (2 rows, crisp), dos_rebel (8 rows, retro), plain (single line)
clock_style=kompaktblk

# ASCII variants (cycles every 5 minutes)
ascii_1=
  ▄▀▀▀▀ █   █ ▄▀▀▀▀ ▄▀▀▀▀    ▄▀    ▄▀
   ▀▀▀▄ ▀▀▀▀█  ▀▀▀▄ █      ▄▀    ▄▀
  ▀▀▀▀  ▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀   ▀▀▀▀ ▀     ▀
  //  SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY //

ascii_2=
.________._______._______ .____/\ .________
|    ___/: .____/:_.  ___\:   /  \|    ___/
|___    \| : _/\ |  : |/\ |.  ___/|___    \
|       /|   /  \|    /  \|     \ |       /
|__:___/ |_.: __/|. _____/|      \|__:___/
   :        :/    :/      |___\  /   :
                  :            \/

Time Format Reference

Go uses the reference time 01/02 03:04:05PM '06 -0700 (1234567 - memorable, right?).

Common formats:

Format Description
3:04:05 PM 12-hour with seconds
15:04:05 24-hour with seconds
Monday, January 2, 2006 Full date
2006-01-02 ISO format

Clock Styles

Style Description
kompaktblk Default compact digital style (3 rows)
phmvga Crisp VGA-style (2 rows)
dos_rebel Retro 8-line DOS font
plain Single line display

Behavior

  • Activates after idle_timeout minutes of no input
  • Exits on any keyboard or mouse input
  • Cycles through ASCII variants every 5 minutes
  • Time updates every second while active
  • Previous login state (username, password) remains intact when exiting

Testing

sysc-greet --test --screensaver

Troubleshooting

Screensaver not working:

  • Verify /usr/share/sysc-greet/ascii_configs/screensaver.conf exists
  • Check file permissions: ls -la /usr/share/sysc-greet/ascii_configs/screensaver.conf
  • Test in isolation: sysc-greet --test --screensaver