# XScreenSaver

7 Hacker News commenters recommended XScreenSaver and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a working Linux screen saver that can lock the screen. Critics say it does not lock properly under Wayland and that its repository is hard to follow.

## Why people recommend it

- Works well for everyday use (3 comments): "xscreensaver works just fine. It only needs to keep nosy roommates out, not the NSA." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45792405)) "XScreenSaver works (and can lock the screen)." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47226528)) "XScreenSaver is a good piece of software" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47902084))

## What people warn about

- Does not lock properly on Wayland (2 comments): "XScreenSaver does work properly on Wayland now, apart from locking" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49476198)) "It doesn't lock the screen properly under Wayland." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45794355))
- Project lacks transparent repository and contributions (2 comments): "Instead of providing a mirrored repository, they decided to intentionally not fixing the correctly identified problem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50163638)) "there is ZERO visibility into peoples contributions to his project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50174158))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Fishoid](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fishoid.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "XScreenSaver", https://hackerapproved.com/p/xscreensaver/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).