sysc-terminal

sysc-terminal renders sysc-Go effects on Niri's background layer. It runs one process per output. sysc-shell can supervise those processes when Terminal Art is available.

Source: default-branch commit e2756323 · SYSC v0.1.3 pin: sysc-terminal v0.2.0, a binary-only component with no user unit.

The installer ships the checksum-pinned v0.2.0 executable. sysc-shell starts the wallpaper processes, so terminal wallpapers need no standalone user service. On Arch you can also install sysc-terminal from the AUR. See the installation guide for these routes.

Install from source

This source needs Go 1.26 or later and CGO disabled. The command below installs the released v0.2.0, the version the suite pins:

GOBIN="$HOME/.local/bin" CGO_ENABLED=0 go install github.com/Nomadcxx/sysc-terminal/cmd/sysc-terminal@v0.2.0
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
sysc-terminal --list

The list command prints effect IDs and themes from the current sysc-Go registry. sysc-shell discovers the binary by running sysc-terminal --list on its own service PATH. The export command above only changes the current terminal; check the user manager's PATH with systemctl --user show-environment | grep '^PATH='. If it omits ~/.local/bin, run the following from this terminal, where the earlier export has added that directory:

systemctl --user import-environment PATH
systemctl --user restart sysc-shell.service

The suite installer manages this binary; a manual install stays separate from suite upgrades and removal.

At this source commit, go.mod pins sysc-Go v1.0.7 and sysc-wayland v0.3.1. The README build note still says sysc-Go v1.0.6-0.20261008172414-1ff1f6c3c8d0; the install command follows go.mod. The sysc-Go v1.0.7 module identifies the animation source used by this binary.

Run one output

Use Niri to find the output connector. A manual invocation starts a wallpaper process:

niri msg outputs
sysc-terminal --output "$OUTPUT" --effect fire --theme nord --ipc-socket "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/sysc-terminal.sock"

Set OUTPUT to one connector from the first command. Use a different socket for each output. The renderer uses a monospace font with braille coverage, draws through wl_shm and caps output at 20 frames per second. CPU use varies with the effect, font, output size and hardware.

If the shell manages Terminal Art for an output, do not start another sysc-terminal process for that same output. For wallpaper ownership across the shell, sysc-terminal, sysc-walls and gSlapper, see the wallpaper guide.

Effects and controls

Run sysc-terminal --list after installing the binary to see effect IDs and themes from the sysc-Go registry linked into that build. Use one process and one IPC socket per output. The shell controls those processes when you choose an effect through Terminal Art; a direct command remains yours to stop.

The IPC socket accepts query, pause, resume, change effect <id> theme <theme> [file <path>], reset and stop. A paused process keeps its last frame. The CLI's --file option supplies text art to text effects. A font without braille glyphs can render an empty or broken-looking image; use --font /path/to/font.ttf to select a font that covers them.

The suite installer includes the sysc-terminal executable and no service unit. If the shell cannot find a manual install, check the user manager's PATH with systemctl --user show-environment; exporting PATH in one terminal does not change the service environment. See the install steps above for the user-manager command.

The documented source repository's README names an older sysc-Go build dependency than its committed go.mod. The source record uses the go.mod version for the recorded build. Check the exact dependency before comparing effect IDs or output with another release.

CLI source at the documented commit · Source code · Report an issue