Matrix Code Rain
The Matrix code rain screensaver is the falling green digital rain from the films: columns of glowing katakana and digits cascading down a black screen for as long as you leave it running. Run it fullscreen as a screensaver, a stream background, or a prop on a second monitor.
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Press F11 for maximum realism. Tap or press Esc to exit.
For the best results, add this to the device's home screen. It then opens with no address bar, no tabs and no URL, so there is nothing left to give it away.
It is not really a prank. There's no punchline, just atmosphere. If you want the hacking bit rather than the aesthetic, the hacker screen plays a scripted intrusion and Hacker Typer lets you type it yourself. For pure nostalgia instead, the DVD screensaver is next door.
How to use the matrix code rain prank
- Press Launch Full-Screen Prank to fill the display with columns of green katakana and digits falling down a black background.
- For a second monitor, drag the browser window onto that screen before pressing Launch, so the code rain fills that display and the main one stays free.
- For a TV or projector, connect the laptop over HDMI or load the page in the TV's own browser, then let the rain run as long as you like.
- Click anywhere on the falling code, or press Esc, to stop it.
Running the Matrix screensaver on a second monitor, TV or laptop
The browser goes full screen on whichever display its window is on, so move the window first if you want the rain on a side monitor. On a TV, a laptop on HDMI or the TV's own browser both work. If a toolbar is still showing, F11 on Windows or Ctrl + Cmd + F on a Mac clears it.
On a phone or tablet, add the page to the home screen and launch it from there to lose the address bar. While the rain is running, the page asks the screen to stay awake on browsers that support it, so the display does not dim after a few minutes the way it normally would.
How this Matrix code rain is drawn
Each column drops one bright green character at a time, older characters fade into the black behind them, and every column starts again from the top at a random moment after it reaches the bottom. The characters are picked at random on each step from katakana and the digits 0 to 9, so the screen never repeats exactly. Resize the window and the columns re-flow to fit.
There are no settings: no speed, color or font size options, and no sound. It also does not start by itself when the computer is idle the way a system screensaver does. It runs when you launch it and stops when you end it.
Matrix code rain at parties, on stream and as a light prank
On a TV at a movie night or a themed party, the rain works as moving wallpaper that nobody needs to look after. For a stream, a browser source pointed at the page or a capture of the full-screen tab gives a starting-soon backdrop.
As a prank it is gentle. Left running on someone's monitor with no explanation, it reads for a moment like something has taken over the computer, and one click ends it. If you want a display that keeps a room busy for longer, the radar screen fills the whole screen with moving readouts.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Matrix code rain?
It's the falling green symbols from The Matrix: columns of glowing characters streaming down a black screen. Ours is a canvas animation generated live in your browser, so it never loops identically and runs as long as you leave the page open.
What are the falling characters actually?
In the films the glyphs were mostly mirrored half-width katakana mixed with digits and Latin letters, and the designer is widely reported to have based them on characters from Japanese cookbooks. Ours uses the same katakana-and-numerals mix to get the recognizable texture.
Can I use it as an OBS or stream background?
Yes. Go fullscreen and screen-capture the browser tab, or use a browser source pointed at the page. It runs indefinitely, so it works as a starting-soon screen or a layer behind a webcam.
Is it free to use in a video?
The animation on this page is free to capture and use. Bear in mind the Matrix name and imagery are Warner Bros. property, so use judgment with anything commercial. A personal video or stream background is very different from selling merchandise.
Will it burn my screen or drain the battery?
Burn-in is unlikely, because the image is constantly moving, which is the opposite of the fixed bright elements that cause it. It does use more power than a static page because it's animating continuously, so on a laptop expect it to be closer to video playback than an idle tab.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, and it scales to the screen. On mobile it makes a decent lock-screen-style ambience if you add it to the home screen so the browser bar disappears.
Can I use it as a real screensaver?
Not as a system screensaver, which would need an installed app. What most people do is leave it fullscreen in a browser on a second monitor, which gets the same effect with nothing to install.
Is this a prank?
Not really. There's no reveal and nothing to fool anyone with. It's ambience. For an actual prank in the same visual family, use the hacker screen.
