xmatrix accepts the following options:
--window
Draw on a newly-created window. This is the default.
--root Draw on the root window.
--window-idnumber
Draw on the specified window.
--install
Install a private colormap for the window.
--visualvisual
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.
--delayusecs
The delay between steps of the animation, in microseconds: default 10000.
--densitypercentage
The approximate percentage of the screen that should be filled with characters at any given time.
Default 75%.
When running in a window, typing + will increase the density and typing - will decrease it.
Typing 0 will momentarily drain the screen.
--top | --bottom | --both
If --top is specified, the characters will only drop in from the top of the screen as sliding
columns of characters. If --bottom is specified, then instead of sliding columns, the characters
will appear as columns that grow downwards and are erased from above. If --both is specified,
then a mixture of both styles will be used. The default is --both.
When running in a window, typing [ will switch to top-mode, typing ] will switch to bottom-mode,
and typing \ will switch to both-mode.
--small | --large
These options specify the sizes of the characters. The default is --large.
--modetrace
Start off with a representation of a phone number being traced. When the number is finally
found, display The Matrix as usual. This is the default.
--phonenumber
The phone number to trace, if --trace is specified.
--modecrack
Start off by shutting down the power grid.
--modebinary
Instead of displaying Matrix glyphs, only display ones and zeros.
--modehexadecimal
Instead of displaying Matrix glyphs, display hexadecimal digits.
--modedna
Instead of displaying Matrix glyphs, display genetic code (guanine, adenine, thymine, and
cytosine.)
--modeascii
Instead of displaying Matrix glyphs, display random ASCII characters.
--modepipe
Instead of displaying random characters, display the output of a subprocess, as ASCII.
--programsh-command
The command to run to generate the text to display. This option may be any string acceptable to
/bin/sh. The program will be run at the end of a pty or pipe, and any characters that it prints
to stdout will be placed in the feeders for xmatrix. If the program exits, it will be launched
again after xmatrix has processed all the text it produced.
For example:
xmatrix -program 'echo Hello World'
xmatrix -ascii -program 'ps -eo comm | rev'
xmatrix -program 'od -txC -w6 /dev/random'
xmatrix -program 'cat /dev/random'