ASCII screensaver for the command-line or a TUI?

Pipes.sh

The classic screensaver in ASCII.

Usage :

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pipeseroni/pipes.sh/master/pipes.sh 
chmod +x pipes.sh
./pipes.sh

Installation :

git clone https://github.com/pipeseroni/pipes.sh.git
cd pipes.sh
sudo make install

Options :

 -t #

Type of pipes. Refer to the documentation to see them all.

-f [20-100]

Framerate.

-s [5-15]

Probability of a straight fitting.

-r LIMIT

Reset after x characters, 0 if no limit.

-R

Random starting point.

-B

No bold effect.

-C

No color.

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Refer to the documentation for more information.

cmatrix is another great one! Install it with:

sudo apt-get install cmatrix

The manpage description on it:

CMatrix(1)                                                    General Commands Manual                                                   CMatrix(1)

NAME
       CMatrix - simulates the display from "The Matrix"

SYNOPSIS
       cmatrix [-abBflohnsVx] [-u update] [-C color]

DESCRIPTION
       Shows a scrolling 'Matrix' like screen in Linux

   OPTIONS
       -a     Asynchronous scroll

       -b     Bold characters on

       -B     All bold characters (overrides -b)

       -f     Force the linux $TERM type to be on

       -l     Linux mode (sets "matrix.fnt" font in console)

       -o     Use old-style scrolling

       -h, -? Print usage and exit

       -n     No bold characters (overrides -b and -B)

       -s     "Screensaver" mode, exits on first keystroke

       -x     X window mode, use if your xterm is using mtx.pcf

       -V     Print version information and exit

       -u delay
              Screen update delay 0 - 9, default 4

       -C color
              Use this color for matrix (default green).  Valid colors are green, red, blue, white, yellow, cyan, magenta and black.

   KEYSTROKES
       The following keystrokes are available during execution (unavailable in -s mode)

       a      Toggle asynchronous scroll

       b      Random bold characters

       B      All bold characters

       n      Turn off bold characters

       0-9    Adjust update speed

       ! @ # $ % ^ & )
              Change  the  color  of  the  matrix to the corresponding color: ! - red, @ - green, # - yellow, $ - blue, % - magenta, ^ - cyan, & -
              white, ) - black.

       q      Quit the program

BUGS
       This program is very CPU intensive.  Don't be surprised if it eats up over 40% of your CPU at times.

HOMEPAGE
       The CMatrix homepage is currently at http://www.asty.org/cmatrix.

AUTHORS
       Chris Allegretta ([email protected]), with a lot of help from many other people. See README file for details.

                                                                  Mon May 3 1999                                                        CMatrix(1)

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Examples:

Normal Terminal running:

cmatrix -s -b

Console:

cmatrix -s -b -l

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Note: Although I do not show it in the images here, it is animated.

And if you want it to work like a proper screensaver (though the -l option won't work) then check out this answer.

This ASCII animation can be used a screensaver:

Live aquarium

You can find out how to install it here.