IdleScreen documentation

IdleScreen turns procedural scenes or a live camera into a Metal-rendered field of animated characters. It is a signed and notarized macOS Tahoe screen saver with a native companion called Studio. The companion controls the look, the embedded extension renders it, and a separately signed camera agent owns the whole camera lifecycle.

Start hereCopy Anchor Link

• Getting started covers installing, the requirements and the first-run setup.
• Studio and looks covers the patterns, Pixel Materials and Saved Looks.
• Displays, Camera mode and Agent signals cover the rest of what you can set up.
• Troubleshooting explains what the Status page is telling you.

For contributorsCopy Anchor Link

• Building from source lists the requirements, the safe checks and the release path.
• Architecture describes the product boundary, the camera lifecycle and display planning.
• Security and privacy covers the invariants, what never leaves your Mac and how to report a vulnerability.
• Changelog has the release notes.

What it doesCopy Anchor Link

• 19 Metal-rendered modes, including 18 procedural patterns and live camera.
• Pixel Materials sand and water simulations with deterministic scene state.
• Panorama, Per Display and Focus Display layouts for several screens.
• Saved Looks and native controls for color, scale, contrast, motion, terrain, materials, camera choice and mirroring.
• Optional, expiring Codex and Claude status overlays that never read a prompt, transcript, command or response.
• A universal Apple silicon and Intel build for macOS 26 Tahoe or newer.