Use current X11 background on lock screen

[ajgrf]

Feature Request

Rather than configuring a separate lock screen background, just use the current X11 background image and apply effects to that instead.

Implementation

I've already implemented this in my own script here, because of course I didn't discover betterlockscreen until the day after I needed it. It makes use of xbgdump to get the X11 background, and graphicsmagick to apply a blur.

I needed this feature because I like my lock screen to match my wallpaper, but I use XMonad's per-workspace (and therefore also per-monitor) wallpaper module. So my wallpaper is changing all the time as I switch workspaces.

Have you planned working on this feature?

No

[ajgrf]

I also packaged xbgdump for nix in my dotfiles. If you use the nix package manager with flake support, you can try it out with nix shell github:ajgrf/dotfiles#xbgdump.

[jeffmhubbard]

It's a nice idea, but I don't think I would add any dependencies that aren't widely available.

Also, the use-case you describe doesn't fit betterlockscreen very well. You want something on-the-fly, but the image processing can lead to delays and\or failures in locking the screen, which is kinda what we're about (see About).