Starfield Screensaver_
What is the starfield screensaver?
Eight modes
Steer, or let it drift
How to use as a screensaver
Keyboard shortcuts
Also try
Guide — warp speed in five steps
Tune the stars, then let it run full screen.
Classic, Hyperspace, Nebula, Zen, Warp Jump, Wormhole, Galaxy or Retro. Press 1 to 8.
Drag Speed and Warp, add Trail for an afterglow, or use ↑ ↓ ← → while it runs.
White, tints, rainbow, realistic star colours or any custom colour. Add nebula, comets, twinkle or a clock.
Set Steering to Pointer to fly towards your mouse or finger, or Auto drift to let it wander.
Click the animation or press F. Space pauses, Esc exits.
Modes at a glance
- 1 Classic
- Steady white drift, the original look
- 2 Hyperspace
- Maximum speed and streaks
- 3 Nebula
- Rainbow stars, cosmic clouds
- 4 Zen
- Slow, sparse and calm
- 5 Warp Jump
- Cruise, charge, jump, arrive
- 6 Wormhole
- A swirling tunnel of light
- 7 Galaxy
- A spiral galaxy ahead
- 8 Retro
- Chunky 1990s pixels
- F
- Full screen on/off
- Space
- Pause / resume
- ↑ ↓
- Faster / slower
- ← →
- Roll left / right
- M
- Change steering
- C
- Clock on/off
- P
- Save a PNG
- Esc
- Leave full screen
- TV / monitor
- Open the page, press F, leave it running
- laptop
- Plug in power — browsers may throttle animation on battery
- OS screensaver
- A web page can’t register as one; use full screen instead
The starfield screensaver, explained
The starfield screensaver simulates flying through space: points of light stream outward from the centre of the screen, growing and stretching into streaks as you seem to accelerate. As Starfield Simulation it was one of the screensavers bundled with early versions of Windows. This page recreates the effect in your browser on an HTML5 canvas and goes further, with eight modes, steering, a clock and full-screen support, with nothing to download or install.
How the effect works
Every star has a position in 3D space. Each frame the stars move towards you, and a star’s position on screen is its x and y divided by its distance. As a star gets closer, that division pushes it outward faster and it is drawn larger and brighter, so the whole field seems to rush past from a vanishing point. The warp streak is a line from the star’s previous screen position to its current one: the faster you go, the longer the line. Stars that leave the screen are recycled far away, so the field never runs out. Movement is timed by the clock rather than by frames, so it looks the same on a 60 Hz and a 144 Hz display.
Eight ways to fly
Classic and Retro are the nostalgic modes: white dots on black, and chunky pixels in four shades of grey. Hyperspace and Warp Jump are the speed modes; Warp Jump loops through a cruise, a drive spool-up, a flash and a burst of light speed before it slows down again. Wormhole twists the stars into a spiral and draws glowing rings that rush towards you. Nebula, Zen and Galaxy are the calm modes, with painted cloud backdrops, realistic star colours, comets and a slowly turning spiral galaxy.
Getting the warp-speed look
Raise Warp to stretch each star into a streak and Speed to accelerate. A little Trail adds an afterglow, and Glow adds a soft halo to the brightest stars. For a calmer screen, lower Warp to get separate points of light and use the Zen mode.
Steer, drift and keep it running
With Pointer steering the stars flow towards your mouse or finger. Auto drift sweeps the view on a slow curve. The optional clock turns the screen into something you can read across the room. In full screen the page asks the browser not to let the display sleep, where the Screen Wake Lock feature is supported.
Running it on a TV or second monitor
Open the page on the screen you want, click the animation or press F, and move the mouse away. On phones and tablets, full screen works where the browser allows it; on iPhone the page fills the browser window instead. It runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android in any current browser.
Save a picture or share your settings
Save as PNG downloads the current frame at your screen’s resolution, a quick way to make a space wallpaper. Copy link gives you an address that reopens the page with the same mode, speed, colour and options.
Free, private, no install
The screensaver is free, with no account, no ads and no watermark, and it runs entirely in your browser. Your settings are stored only on your device.
More about the starfield screensaver
Is this the original Windows Starfield screensaver?
No. It is a new version written for the browser and inspired by the Starfield Simulation screensaver that came with early versions of Windows. The Classic and Retro modes are the closest to that look; the other modes go further.
How do I use it as a screensaver on my computer?
Open the page, press F for full screen and leave it running. A web page cannot register itself as the operating system's screensaver, but on a TV, a spare monitor or a laptop on power it does the same job. In full screen the page asks the browser to keep the display awake where that is supported.
How do I get the warp-speed look?
Pick Hyperspace for constant light-speed streaks or Warp Jump for a cinematic cycle of cruise, charge, flash, light speed and arrival. For a custom look, raise Speed and Warp together and add a little Trail so the streaks leave an afterglow.
Can I steer through the stars?
Yes. Set Steering to Pointer to fly towards your mouse or finger, or to Auto drift to let the ship wander on a gentle curve. Roll spins the whole field, and the left and right arrow keys change it while it runs.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. It runs in any current browser on Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac and Linux. Touch steers the stars in Pointer mode. On iPhone, full screen fills the browser window because Safari does not allow the page to take over the whole display.
Will it slow down my computer or drain the battery?
It uses the 2D canvas and nothing else. If your device cannot keep up, Auto quality quietly lowers the number of stars until it runs smoothly; you can switch that off, or lower Stars yourself. On a laptop, plug in the power for long runs.
Can I save a picture or share my settings?
Save PNG downloads the current frame at your screen's resolution, handy as a wallpaper. Copy link gives you a web address that opens the page with your exact mode, speed, colour and options.
Is it free and private?
Yes. It is free, with no account and no watermark. It runs entirely in your browser, and your settings are stored only on your own device.