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Show HN: Javalamp – A glowing terminal screensaver that keeps your Mac awake

4 points by tbreschi 5mo ago

tbreschi 5mo ago
Hey HN I'm Terrence and I built Javalamp, a terminal "lava lamp" screensaver that keeps your mac awake while your agents/tools are running. I built it because I kept having longer running coding/AI jobs pause when my Mac went to sleep, and I wanted something lightweight and fun that lived in the terminal. I’m curious whether others have this problem too and what features would make this actually useful (metrics, different visualizations, non-Mac support, etc.). Feedback on both the idea and the implementation is very welcome. Thanks!
- gus_massa 4mo ago
  Do you ha ve some screenshots or better a short video? Does the lava lamp stops when the AI job stops? So... 1) ... I can see it and look at the result 2) ... the computer get's bored and go to sleep and save electricity
  - tbreschi 4mo ago
    1.. I’d have to think through about how to wire it up to listen to the other terminal where the job is running, but yeah I suppose this could work. 2. Yeah this is a smart feature would be cool. Thanks for the feedback!
mockbolt 5mo ago
does it survive screen lock or just suppress the screensaver?
- tbreschi 5mo ago
  It suppresses macOS sleep and the display going off while it’s running, but it does not “survive” the lock screen in the sense of drawing over or replacing the system lock/saver. The terminal app (and javalamp) will still be there and running when you unlock, but the lock screen or any password prompt remains fully controlled by macOS.
usernametaken29 5mo ago
I didn’t know caffeinate exists. It’s insane this is a use case that needs a fix but sometimes you just want something to keep running and on Mac that’s fucking difficult
- tbreschi 5mo ago
  Right? Such a useful feature. I struggle to correctly tune my energy saving mode and screensaver settings - especially on a corporate laptop. Hence the motivation to seek out the setting.
timzaak 5mo ago
Can the animation be simpler? For example, just a dot moving from left to right and from top to bottom across the screen?
- tbreschi 5mo ago
  Yeah, I can do that. I actually bundled 8 different scenes into this release… was also considering including a skill for agents so others could write (and contribute) their own animations…

4 points by tbreschi 5mo ago

Hey HN I'm Terrence and I built Javalamp, a terminal "lava lamp" screensaver that keeps your mac awake while your agents/tools are running. I built it because I kept having longer running coding/AI jobs pause when my Mac went to sleep, and I wanted something lightweight and fun that lived in the terminal. I’m curious whether others have this problem too and what features would make this actually useful (metrics, different visualizations, non-Mac support, etc.). Feedback on both the idea and the implementation is very welcome. Thanks!

gus_massa 4mo ago
Do you ha ve some screenshots or better a short video? Does the lava lamp stops when the AI job stops? So... 1) ... I can see it and look at the result 2) ... the computer get's bored and go to sleep and save electricity
- tbreschi 4mo ago
  1.. I’d have to think through about how to wire it up to listen to the other terminal where the job is running, but yeah I suppose this could work. 2. Yeah this is a smart feature would be cool. Thanks for the feedback!

mockbolt 5mo ago

does it survive screen lock or just suppress the screensaver?

tbreschi 5mo ago
It suppresses macOS sleep and the display going off while it’s running, but it does not “survive” the lock screen in the sense of drawing over or replacing the system lock/saver. The terminal app (and javalamp) will still be there and running when you unlock, but the lock screen or any password prompt remains fully controlled by macOS.

usernametaken29 5mo ago

I didn’t know caffeinate exists. It’s insane this is a use case that needs a fix but sometimes you just want something to keep running and on Mac that’s fucking difficult

tbreschi 5mo ago
Right? Such a useful feature. I struggle to correctly tune my energy saving mode and screensaver settings - especially on a corporate laptop. Hence the motivation to seek out the setting.

timzaak 5mo ago

Can the animation be simpler? For example, just a dot moving from left to right and from top to bottom across the screen?

tbreschi 5mo ago
Yeah, I can do that. I actually bundled 8 different scenes into this release… was also considering including a skill for agents so others could write (and contribute) their own animations…