Cosmostrix is a cosmic take on the classic Matrix rain for the terminal.
Watch the demo on YouTube:
See benchmark/README.md for profiling artifacts and a reproducible benchmark script.
- Multiple built-in color schemes
- Configurable speed, density, FPS, glitching, shading, and boldness
- Unicode character sets (
--charset) and custom ranges (--chars) - Screensaver mode (
--screensaver) - Runs in alternate screen and raw mode (no scrollback spam)
- Rust toolchain (stable) to build from source
- A terminal that supports ANSI escape sequences, alternate screen, and raw mode
- Best results with 256-color or truecolor terminals
Cosmostrix supports Unix-like systems (Linux, BSD, macOS, and similar) and Windows (7/10/11) via crossterm.
On Unix, Cosmostrix uses OS signals for clean shutdown; on Windows it uses a Ctrl-C handler. For best results on Windows, use a modern terminal that supports ANSI/VT sequences.
Run directly from source:
cargo run -- --help
cargo run -- --color green --fps 60 --speed 10Build a release binary:
# native local machine
cargo build --release
# build with specific cpu
cargo pro-linux-v3
# See detail options to build
cargo --listRun the built binary:
# Native local machine
# Linux/macOS
./target/release/cosmostrix --help
# Windows (PowerShell)
.\target\release\cosmostrix.exe --help
# Cross-compile target
# Cross-compile for x86_64 Linux
./target/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/cosmostrix --infoDownload the package for your OS/arch from Releases, verify the checksum, extract it, and place cosmostrix somewhere in your PATH.
- Linux/macOS/Android:
.tar.gz - Windows:
.zip
Pick PLATFORM based on your OS/CPU:
- Linux x86_64:
linux-x86_64-v1(most compatible),linux-x86_64-v2,linux-x86_64-v3,linux-x86_64-v4 - macOS:
darwin-aarch64-native(Apple Silicon) - Windows:
windows-x86_64(x86_64),windows-aarch64-native(AARCH64) - Android (Termux):
android-aarch64-native
You can confirm what you downloaded/installed by running cosmostrix -i (it prints a Build: line).
REPO="oxyzenQ/cosmostrix"
TAG="v1.0.0"
PLATFORM="linux-x86_64-v3"
ARCHIVE="cosmostrix-bin-${TAG}-${PLATFORM}.tar.gz"
VERSION="${TAG#v}"
BASE_URL="https://github.com/${REPO}/releases/download/${TAG}"
curl -LO "${BASE_URL}/${ARCHIVE}"
curl -LO "${BASE_URL}/${ARCHIVE}.sha512"
sha512sum -c "${ARCHIVE}.sha512"
tar -xzf "${ARCHIVE}"
"./cosmostrix-${VERSION}-${PLATFORM}/cosmostrix" -i
# optional: install to PATH
install -Dm755 "./cosmostrix-${VERSION}-${PLATFORM}/cosmostrix" ~/.local/bin/cosmostrixREPO="oxyzenQ/cosmostrix"
TAG="v1.0.0"
PLATFORM="darwin-aarch64-native"
ARCHIVE="cosmostrix-bin-${TAG}-${PLATFORM}.tar.gz"
VERSION="${TAG#v}"
BASE_URL="https://github.com/${REPO}/releases/download/${TAG}"
curl -LO "${BASE_URL}/${ARCHIVE}"
curl -LO "${BASE_URL}/${ARCHIVE}.sha512"
shasum -a 512 -c "${ARCHIVE}.sha512"
tar -xzf "${ARCHIVE}"
"./cosmostrix-${VERSION}-${PLATFORM}/cosmostrix" -ipkg install -y coreutils tar curl
REPO="oxyzenQ/cosmostrix"
TAG="v1.0.0"
PLATFORM="android-aarch64-native"
ARCHIVE="cosmostrix-bin-${TAG}-${PLATFORM}.tar.gz"
VERSION="${TAG#v}"
BASE_URL="https://github.com/${REPO}/releases/download/${TAG}"
curl -LO "${BASE_URL}/${ARCHIVE}"
curl -LO "${BASE_URL}/${ARCHIVE}.sha512"
sha512sum -c "${ARCHIVE}.sha512"
tar -xzf "${ARCHIVE}"
chmod +x "./cosmostrix-${VERSION}-${PLATFORM}/cosmostrix"
"./cosmostrix-${VERSION}-${PLATFORM}/cosmostrix" -i
# optional: install to PATH (Termux)
install -m755 "./cosmostrix-${VERSION}-${PLATFORM}/cosmostrix" "$PREFIX/bin/cosmostrix"$repo = "oxyzenQ/cosmostrix"
$tag = "v1.0.0"
$platform = "windows-x86_64"
$zip = "cosmostrix-bin-$tag-$platform.zip"
$version = $tag.TrimStart('v')
$base = "https://github.com/$repo/releases/download/$tag"
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "$base/$zip" -OutFile $zip
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "$base/$zip.sha512" -OutFile "$zip.sha512"
$expected = (Get-Content "$zip.sha512").Split()[0]
$actual = (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA512 $zip).Hash.ToLower()
if ($actual -ne $expected) { throw "SHA512 mismatch" }
Expand-Archive -Force $zip .
.\cosmostrix-$version-$platform\cosmostrix.exe -igit clone https://github.com/oxyzenQ/cosmostrix.git
cd cosmostrix
cargo install --path .
cosmostrix -iUse the cargo aliases in .cargo/config.toml to build the same variants as GitHub Releases (and to embed the correct build: id shown by cosmostrix -i).
# Linux x86_64 example
cargo pro-linux-v3
./target/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/pro-linux-v3/cosmostrix -iCommon examples:
# default settings
cosmostrix
# color + speed
cosmostrix --color rainbow --speed 12
# tune visuals
cosmostrix --density 1.5 --fps 30 --shadingmode 1 --bold 2
# disable glitching
cosmostrix --noglitch
# screensaver: exit on first keypress
cosmostrix --screensaver
# overlay message
cosmostrix --message "wake up, neo"
# character sets
cosmostrix --charset katakana
cosmostrix --charset braille
# custom unicode ranges (hex code points, pairs define inclusive ranges)
cosmostrix --chars 30,39,41,5AThese flags at (cosmostrix -h).
-a, --async enable async column speeds
-b, --bold <NUM> 0=off, 1=random, 2=all
-c, --color <COLOR> color scheme (default: green)
--color-bg <MODE> background: black, default-background, transparent (default: black)
-d, --density <NUM> droplet density (default: 1.0)
-F, --fullwidth use two columns per character
-f, --fps <NUM> target FPS (default: 60)
--duration <SECONDS> exit after N seconds (useful for benchmarks)
-g, --glitchms <LO,HI> glitch timing range in ms (default: 300,400)
-G, --glitchpct <PCT> glitch chance percent (default: 10)
-l, --lingerms <LO,HI> linger timing range in ms (default: 1,3000)
-M, --shadingmode <NUM> 0=random, 1=distance-from-head (default: 0)
-m, --message <TEXT> overlay message
--message-no-border draw message box without border (use with --message; shorthand: -mB)
--maxdpc <NUM> max droplets per column (min 1 max 3, default: 3)
--noglitch disable glitch
-r, --rippct <PCT> die-early percent (default: 33.33333)
-S, --speed <NUM> chars per second (default: 8)
-s, --screensaver exit on first keypress
--shortpct <PCT> short droplet percent (default: 50)
--charset <NAME> character set (default: binary)
--chars <HEX...> custom unicode hex ranges (pairs)
--colormode <MODE> force color mode (0, 8, 24)
--check-bitcolor print detected terminal color capability and exit
--info print version info and exit
--color supports:
green, green2, green3, gold, yellow, orange, red, blue, cyan, purple, neon, fire, ocean, forest, vaporwave, gray, snow, aurora, fancy-diamond, cosmos, nebula, rainbow
gray also accepts grey.
Built-in charsets:
auto, matrix, ascii, extended, english, digits, punc, binary, hex, katakana, greek, cyrillic, hebrew, blocks, symbols, arrows, retro, cyberpunk, hacker, minimal, code, dna, braille, runic
binaryalso acceptsbinand01.autochooses a safe charset based onLANG:- if
LANGdoes not containUTF, it uses a safe ASCII set (letters + digits) - otherwise it uses
matrix.
- if
--charstakes comma-separated hex unicode code points, and the list length must be even. Each pair defines an inclusive range.
Example: digits + uppercase letters
cosmostrix --chars 30,39,41,5AIf --colormode isn't set, Cosmostrix tries to detect terminal capabilities:
COLORTERMcontainstruecolor/24bit-> truecolorTERMcontains256color-> 256-colorTERMequalsdumb-> mono- otherwise -> 256-color
To inspect what Cosmostrix detects on your system:
cosmostrix --check-bitcolor
You can override with:
--colormode 0(mono)--colormode 8(256-color)--colormode 24(truecolor)
Interactive controls (while running) These hotkeys now work in the main loop (no CLI changes needed):
q / Esc quit
p pause/resume
Space reset/reseed animation
Up / Down increase/decrease speed (--speed effect)
[ / - decrease density
] / + increase density
c cycle to next theme (includes your new space themes)
C cycle to previous theme
a toggle async mode
Left/Right change glitch percent
Tab toggle shading mode
1 green
2 green2
3 green3
4 gold
5 neon
6 red
7 blue
8 cyan
9 purple
0 gray
! rainbow
@ yellow
# orange
$ fire
% vaporwave
cargo test --all
cargo fmt --all
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warningsCreate a release by pushing a v* git tag (this triggers the GitHub Actions Release workflow).
# 1) Update Cargo.toml version
# 2) Commit the version bump
git commit -am "release: 1.0.1-stable.1"
# 3) Tag and push
git tag -a v1.0.1-stable.1 -m v1.0.1-stable.1
git push origin v1.0.1-stable.1See workflow/about-ci.md for details.
PRs and issues are welcome. Please run cargo fmt and cargo clippy before submitting.
MIT. See LICENSE.
- Terminal compatibility: best results in modern terminals with 256-color or truecolor support.
- UTF-8: Cosmostrix can use Unicode character sets depending on your locale and
--charset.
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