xsetroot

xsetroot [-options ...]

-display display
    Specifies the X server to connect to.

-fg color
    Sets the foreground color for patterns (used with -mod or -bitmap).

-bg color
    Sets the background color for patterns (used with -mod or -bitmap).

-mod x y
    Creates a plaid-like pattern using specified foreground/background colors. x and y are integers.

-gray or -grey
    Sets the background to a built-in gray bitmap pattern.

-bitmap filename
    Uses the bitmap specified by filename to tile the background.

-solid color
    Sets the background to a solid color.

-cursor fontname maskfontname
    Sets the root window cursor using a glyph from fontname and a mask from maskfontname.

-cursor_name name
    Sets the root window cursor by a standard X cursor name (e.g., "top_left_arrow").

-def
    Resets the background to the default (usually a black and white checkerboard or solid white).

-name string
    Sets the name of the root window to string.

-version
    Prints the program version and exits.

-help
    Prints a summary of command-line options and exits.

xsetroot is a command-line utility for manipulating the root window of an X server. It allows users to set various properties, including the background color, a tiled background pattern (from a bitmap file or a generated plaid pattern), and the appearance of the root window's cursor. While modern desktop environments often provide their own graphical tools for background customization, xsetroot remains valuable for minimalist window managers or for scripting direct root window modifications. It provides fine-grained control over the initial visual state of the X desktop. The command is a fundamental part of the X Window System utilities, offering a simple yet powerful way to personalize the base desktop appearance directly from the command line.

While xsetroot is effective for setting basic root window properties, it does not manage or persist these settings across X server restarts or user sessions without explicit scripting (e.g., in ~/.xinitrc). Modern desktop environments (like GNOME, KDE, XFCE) typically override or provide their own background management utilities, making xsetroot less commonly used directly by end-users in such environments. It also doesn't handle modern image formats like JPEG or PNG directly; for those, other tools like feh or nitrogen are typically required.

xsetroot is a venerable utility originating from the early versions of the X Window System, a core component of Unix-like operating systems since the 1980s. It was designed to provide fundamental control over the appearance of the root window, which serves as the base layer for all other windows. Its simplicity and direct interaction with X properties have ensured its continued relevance, particularly in minimalist X setups where heavier desktop environments are not used. Despite the evolution of more sophisticated background management tools, xsetroot remains a testament to the modular and extensible design principles of X.

X(7), xset(1), xrdb(1), xmodmap(1), xrandr(1), xprop(1), feh(1), nitrogen(1)