A plume of smoke rising, curling and spreading out in characters, swaying in a draught.
A plume of smoke rising, curling and spreading out in characters, swaying in a draught.
In the app you can adjust the columns and colours. It runs natively on your Mac, drawn live in real time – no video, never quite the same twice.
Use it on your Mac
- Get SCRNSVRS free from the Mac App Store.
- Select ASCII Smoke in the library.
- Click Set as Screensaver or Set as Wallpaper – or both.
Preview free · macOS Tahoe 26 or laterNeed a hand? Read the setup guide.
ASCII Smoke FAQ
How do I set ASCII Smoke as my screensaver on a Mac?
Install SCRNSVRS free from the Mac App Store, select ASCII Smoke in the library and click Set as Screensaver. macOS starts it whenever your Mac is idle, exactly like a built-in screensaver.
Can I use ASCII Smoke as a live wallpaper?
Yes. Click Set as Wallpaper in SCRNSVRS and ASCII Smoke plays on your desktop behind your windows and icons. You can use it as screensaver and wallpaper at the same time.
Is ASCII Smoke free?
ASCII Smoke is included in SCRNSVRS Unlimited. It's free for your first 7 days; after that Unlimited is $1.99/month or $9.99/year (€1.99/month or €9.99/year) for every screensaver, including new ones. It can also come up in Free this month, when 25 premium screensavers are free for everyone.
Is ASCII Smoke a video loop?
No. ASCII Smoke is rendered live on your Mac with Metal, so it never repeats and stays sharp on any display size. The clip on this page is a screen recording of the real thing.
Will ASCII Smoke slow down my Mac or drain the battery?
No. SCRNSVRS drops to 30 fps on battery and stops rendering when the wallpaper is covered by a full-screen app, so ASCII Smoke costs next to nothing in everyday use.
Which Macs does ASCII Smoke run on?
ASCII Smoke needs macOS Tahoe 26 or later.
