Animations

Every transition pack that ships with PlasmaZones, with category, author, and tunable-parameter count.

Animation packs play when a window opens, closes, minimizes, or moves, when a column changes tabs, and when you switch desktops. 94 ship in-box across 12 categories, built on the same GLSL contract as the other two shader families. User packs drop into ~/.local/share/plasmazones/animations/ and hot-reload on save.

Most packs are universal and can be assigned to any transition. A few name the event classes they can meaningfully run on — desktop, geometry, move, strip, tab — and the settings picker dims them on rows they would no-op on. Those classes show as tags below. The sibling families are overlay shaders and surface shaders.

Fade

The quiet ones. Opacity, colour grade, and soft warps, with no motion beyond the dissolve itself.

aura-glow preview pending
Aura Glow The window crops into a colour-shifting glowing orb that fades out, using a square-to-circle gradient with a hue-cycling rim
9 params
PlasmaZones
circle preview pending
Circle Circular reveal expanding from a slightly randomized center, with soft edge falloff.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
colour-distance preview pending
Colour Distance Pixels emerge in order of brightness, using a luminance threshold.
1 param
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
desktop-fade preview pending
Desktop Fade Cross-fades the outgoing virtual desktop into the incoming one when you switch desktops.
desktop 0 params
PlasmaZones
dissolve preview pending
Dissolve Noise-based dissolve transition with configurable grain
2 params
PlasmaZones
fade preview pending
Fade Gentle scale-and-fade transition. Opening eases scale from 0.95 to 1.0 while the window fades in. Closing eases scale from 1.0 to 0.95 while it fades out.
3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
fadecolor preview pending
Fade Color A phased fade where visibility ramps up with smoothstep. The Color Phase dial delays the start of the fade and matches the niri original at 0.4.
1 param
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
focus preview pending
Focus A camera-focus rack where the surface appears and disappears through a depth-of-field-style blur ring.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)
overexposure preview pending
Overexposure A brightness-pumped fade where channel intensities lift over a sin-modulated envelope while alpha fades.
1 param
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
soft-warp-fade preview pending
Soft Warp Fade A subtle noise warp combined with an eased fade for a gentle, organic transition.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
tab-fade preview pending
Tab Fade Cross-fade between the two tabs of a scrolling column. The tab you left dissolves into the one you picked, both at the same size in the same place, so the column reads as one surface changing its contents rather than two windows swapping.
tab 1 param
PlasmaZones

Slide

Directional travel. The window arrives from or departs toward an edge, with easing that ranges from a flat glide to an overshooting bounce.

bounce preview pending
Bounce The window drops in from above the frame with a decaying bounce.
vertex 1 param
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
desktop-slide preview pending
Desktop Slide Slides the incoming desktop in as the outgoing one slides out.
desktop 3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from GL-Transitions directional by gre, MIT)
desktop-slidefade preview pending
Desktop Slide & Fade Slides the desktops a short way while cross-fading between them, the way Hyprland's slidefade switches workspaces.
desktop 4 params
PlasmaZones
directional-wipe preview pending
Directional Wipe Diagonal soft-edge wipe with smoothstep falloff.
3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
fly-in preview pending
Fly-In Translates the surface in from the closest horizontal screen edge.
vertex 0 params
PlasmaZones
glide preview pending
Glide Smooth slide-and-fade glide entrance/exit.
4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)
paint-brush preview pending
Paint Brush Paint-stroke wipe across the surface.
textured 0 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)
popin preview pending
Pop In Scale-from-center pop-in with overshoot and opacity fade
2 params
PlasmaZones
slide preview pending
Slide Directional slide transition with configurable direction
2 params
PlasmaZones
slidefade preview pending
Slide Fade Combined slide and opacity fade transition with soft edge
2 params
PlasmaZones
tab-slide preview pending
Tab Slide Pushes the tab you left out of the column while the one you picked follows it in, like sliding a card out of a stack and the next one into its place. The stronger of the two direction settings picks the axis, so the slide is horizontal or vertical, and you can point it at whichever edge the tab bar sits on.
tab 2 params
PlasmaZones
tv preview pending
TV Effect An old-CRT power-off. The window collapses vertically to a horizontal line, then horizontally to a point, then flashes
1 param
PlasmaZones
wave-warp preview pending
Wave Warp A soft directional wave wipe with scale-warp. The surface contracts inward as it sweeps across. A Front Speed of 1 or higher lets the wipe complete early and hold revealed. This subsumes the former crosswarp shader.
3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)

Reveal

The window is uncovered rather than moved: irises, gates, wipes, scanlines, and the classic genie pour into the task manager icon.

desktop-circle preview pending
Desktop Circle Reveals the incoming desktop through a growing circle, or closes the outgoing one into a shrinking circle.
desktop 4 params
PlasmaZones
desktop-phosphor preview pending
Desktop Phosphor Switches desktops over a circuit of light in the official Phosphor style. Signal pulses race along glowing traces in the switch direction, nodes flare as each pulse arrives, and the new desktop floods outward from every lit node behind a thin front carrying the brand gradient.
desktop 10 params
PlasmaZones
desktop-wipe preview pending
Desktop Wipe Sweeps the incoming desktop across the screen behind a soft edge.
desktop 4 params
PlasmaZones
genie preview pending
Genie Minimize transition modeled on the classic genie lamp. The window stretches toward its task manager icon, with the edge nearest the icon leading the pour, and slips inside. Restoring plays the same motion back out of the icon. A window without a task manager entry collapses into its own bottom edge instead.
appearancevertex 0 params
PlasmaZones
peek-blinds preview pending
Peek Blinds Splits the screen into venetian slats that tilt open one after another, so the windows collapse to thin bands and the desktop shows through as the reveal sweeps across.
desktop 3 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-bloom preview pending
Phosphor Bloom The window fills with light along a diagonal sweep in the official Phosphor style. Ahead of the front the surface is a dark navy silhouette, and the front itself carries the brand gradient from cyan to rose with a soft shimmering glow.
9 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-gate preview pending
Phosphor Gate Edge gates for the scrolling strip in the official Phosphor style. Columns arriving on screen materialize through a cyan energize gate at the edge they enter from, and columns leaving drain to a dark navy silhouette with a rose afterglow at the edge they leave by. The gates breathe in with scroll speed and never touch the middle of the screen. Everything settles to the plain strip the instant scrolling stops.
strip 15 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-ignite preview pending
Phosphor Ignition The window ignites from its centre in the Phosphor style. A plasma bloom expands outward behind a turbulent rim of brand light with soft tendrils reaching ahead of it, the image shimmers briefly where the heat has just passed, and the rim carries the gradient from cyan at the core to rose at the corners. Closing collapses the plasma back into the centre.
9 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-iris preview pending
Phosphor Iris A ring of plasma opens from the centre of a scrolling column and swaps its tabs, in the Phosphor style. Inside the ring the tab you picked has already formed, while outside it the tab you left drains toward a dark navy silhouette as the ring closes on it. The rim is turbulent and carries the brand gradient from cyan at the centre to rose at the corners, with soft tendrils reaching ahead of it and ember sparks shed in its wake. Once the ring clears the corners the swap is done and nothing glows.
tab 13 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-peek preview pending
Phosphor Peek Reveals the desktop in the official Phosphor style. The windows de-energize like a circuit shutting down, a front sweeps across along glowing traces, and the pixels drain along them into the brand gradient as the desktop is left behind.
desktop 10 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-scan preview pending
Phosphor Scan The window powers on like a phosphor screen. A bright beam scans down the surface leaving a glowing persistence trail that settles into the image, faint scanlines fade as the picture stabilises, and the beam carries the brand gradient from cyan to rose. Closing powers the screen back down through the same scan.
11 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-siphon preview pending
Phosphor Siphon The window is siphoned into its task manager icon as separated luminous streams. Each stream runs on its own slightly offset clock and bows apart mid flight, carrying a different stop of the brand gradient, with ember sparks shed in the wake. Each region fades into the icon as it arrives, and restoring pours the streams back out. A window without a task manager entry drains into its own bottom edge instead.
appearancevertex 10 params
PlasmaZones
tab-wipe preview pending
Tab Wipe Sweeps the tab you picked across the column over the one you left, with a soft edge you can widen into a gradient or tighten to a hard line. Neither tab moves, so the column stays put while its contents change.
tab 3 params
PlasmaZones

Particle

The window comes apart or assembles from pieces — embers, smoke, ink, shattered glass, and the phosphor-branded condensation effects.

broken-glass preview pending
Broken Glass Surface shatters into glass shards that fly apart.
vertextextured 3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)
energize-a preview pending
Energize A A Star Trek transporter dematerialisation. The window dissolves through a shimmering atom shower with a central heart-glow
2 params
PlasmaZones
energize-b preview pending
Energize B A Star Trek transporter beam-up. A horizontal shower wave passes through the window, leaving vertical beam-streaks and shimmering atoms in its wake
2 params
PlasmaZones
fire preview pending
Fire BMW's flagship fire effect. An animated procedural fire texture eats the surface from top to bottom.
10 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)
heat-melt preview pending
Heat Melt A heat-driven melt where simplex noise carves the surface away from the bottom-right corner with radial falloff.
4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
incinerate preview pending
Incinerate A heat-driven dissolve with embers and chromatic distortion.
7 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)
ink-splash preview pending
Ink Splash An ink-blot reveal where an fbm-distorted radial threshold blooms outward like spilled ink.
4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
inkwell-drop preview pending
Inkwell Drop A circular ink front spreads from the point of impact with concentric ringed distortion.
4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
phosphor-condense preview pending
Phosphor Condense The window condenses out of rising ember dust in the Phosphor style. Sparks drift upward and thicken along a noisy frontier that climbs the surface, each region locking into the image as the light reaches it, with the brand gradient from cyan to rose riding the embers. Closing disperses the window back into embers that burn out as they rise.
9 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-transfer preview pending
Phosphor Transfer Switching tabs in a scrolling column breaks the old tab up into embers that re-settle as the new one. A ragged frontier climbs the column and the material comes apart along it, brightest right where the handover is happening, with the brand gradient from cyan to rose riding the sparks. Both tabs stay fully covered the whole way, so the column never shows the desktop behind it.
tab 12 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-vortex preview pending
Phosphor Vortex Grab a window and a plasma vortex around the cursor inhales it, pulling the surface into glowing streamlines that erode as they feed in. The plasma keeps orbiting for as long as the drag is held, stretches into a comet along the path while you move, and releases the window back when you let go.
move 9 params
PlasmaZones
smoke preview pending
Smoke Domain-warped fbm smoke. The surface dissipates into curling smoke, with different formulas for reveal and dissolve.
4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
snap preview pending
Snap A Thanos-style snap. The surface shatters into 10 randomized layers that fly toward a vanishing point, with different direction and re-form curves.
4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
wisps preview pending
Wisps Sparse animated noise trails dissipate the surface like smoke wisps.
6 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)

Tile

Procedural tessellations that fill in cell by cell: hexagons, honeycombs, voronoi shards, crosshatch, and noise fields.

crosshatch preview pending
Crosshatch A crosshatch reveal using a random diagonal threshold with radial falloff from the center.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
hexagon preview pending
Hexagon A Tron-style hex-tile dissolve. The window splits into shrinking hexagonal tiles overlaid with glowing edge lines
7 params
PlasmaZones
honeycomb preview pending
Honeycomb A hexagonal-grid radial wipe where cells reveal and hide from the centre outward
2 params
arch-disciple, ported by PlasmaZones
perlin preview pending
Perlin A Perlin-noise threshold reveal where the surface appears as noise crosses the rising progress threshold.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
polar-function preview pending
Polar Function A polar petal reveal where an n-fold cosine radial mask grows outward with progress.
1 param
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
polka-dots-curtain preview pending
Polka Dots Curtain A polka-dots curtain where the reveal threshold scales with distance from the origin, so dots open faster near a corner.
3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
randomsquares preview pending
Random Squares A random-grid block reveal where each cell flips on at its own threshold with a soft window.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
voronoi-shatter preview pending
Voronoi Shatter A Voronoi-cell shatter where each shard reveals at its own threshold using a per-cell hash.
3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)

Glitch

Digital-artifact transitions. Channel splits, static, datamosh, and the Matrix rain.

aretha-materialize preview pending
Aretha Materialize The window resolves hexagon by hexagon along a diagonal data sweep, with a glowing cyan leading edge, chromatic glitch, and scanlines in the Aretha / Ghost-in-the-Shell style.
7 params
PlasmaZones
desktop-aretha preview pending
Desktop Aretha Switches desktops hexagon by hexagon along a diagonal data sweep, with a glowing cyan leading edge and pink glitch flashes in the Aretha style.
desktop 6 params
PlasmaZones
glitch preview pending
Glitch Digital glitch transition with RGB offset and block displacement
3 params
PlasmaZones
matrix preview pending
Matrix Falling-glyph rain transition that wipes the window through a Matrix-style cascade.
textured 5 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)
rgb-warp preview pending
RGB Warp A vertical chromatic-aberration ripple. The RGB channels lift off the top of the window at slightly different speeds
4 params
PlasmaZones
static-fade preview pending
Static Fade A TV-static interference reveal. Random RGB static panels overlay the surface and ramp up in intensity at the midpoint.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
tv-glitch preview pending
TV Glitch Analog glitch artifacts. RGB shift, scanlines, and noise tear across the surface as it collapses.
4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from Burn-My-Windows by Simon Schneegans, https://github.com/Schneegans/Burn-My-Windows)

Geometry

Packs with their own vertex shader that deform real geometry — folds, stretches, and morphs between two rectangles — rather than shading a flat quad.

flow preview pending
Flow Geometry move and resize transition where the window streams into its destination zone instead of sliding across rigidly. The edge facing the target arrives first and the trailing rows lag and catch up, so the window looks like it is being poured into the slot, with the old frame cross-fading into the live content as each region settles.
geometryvertex 0 params
PlasmaZones
fold preview pending
Fold Geometry move and resize transition where the window folds up like an accordion as it travels and unfolds flat into its destination zone. The creases run across the direction of motion and pick up a soft shadow at the peak of the fold, so the window looks like a sheet of paper tucking into the slot and opening out again once it lands.
geometryvertex 0 params
PlasmaZones
phosphor-stream preview pending
Phosphor Stream The window pours into its zone as separated luminous streams. Each stream runs on its own slightly offset clock and bows apart mid flight, carrying a different stop of the brand gradient, with ember sparks shed in the wake. The streams reunite exactly at the destination, so the settled window carries no residue.
geometryvertex 10 params
PlasmaZones
ripple-snap preview pending
Ripple Snap Geometry move and resize transition where the window flies into its destination zone and a wave ripples across it from the edge that lands first, like a sheet snapping taut. The ripple fades out as the window settles flat into the slot.
geometryvertex 0 params
PlasmaZones
stretch preview pending
Stretch Geometry move and resize transition with an elastic, rubber-band feel. The leading edge springs into the destination zone first while the rest of the window lags and stretches taut behind it, thinning slightly as it travels, then snaps to fit with a single overshoot before settling.
geometryvertex 0 params
PlasmaZones
tab-flip preview pending
Tab Flip Turns the column over like a card. The tab you left narrows to its edge, and the one you picked opens out from that edge to fill the column again. Shading darkens the turn at its steepest so the card reads as solid.
tab 2 params
PlasmaZones
window-morph preview pending
Window Morph Geometry move and resize transition. The window jumps to its destination instantly, and this shader animates the drawn rect from the old geometry to the new one. The content is drawn at its final size the whole way, so a snap, tile or reflow slides and crops into place with the window's pixels staying exactly as sharp as they are when it settles.
geometryvertex 0 params
PlasmaZones

Distortion

Lens and wave effects applied to the surface in flight, including the motion blur and chromatic trails the scrolling strip uses.

apparition preview pending
Apparition Window violently sucks into a swirling void with shake, twirl, and suction distortion
6 params
PlasmaZones
flyeye preview pending
Flyeye Faceted-lens distortion. The UV oscillates on a cosine/sine grid and settles as the surface fades.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
morph preview pending
Morph Smooth warping morph transition using displacement fields
vertex 2 params
PlasmaZones
ripple preview pending
Ripple An outward radial ripple using sin-modulated UV displacement with a seed-stable per-instance phase. The envelope and alpha curves differ between open and close.
2 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)
strip-carousel preview pending
Strip Carousel The strip tilts like a spinning drum while it scrolls. The side the content slides toward leans away with a gentle perspective and shade, and the strip flattens back out as it settles.
strip 3 params
PlasmaZones
strip-chromatic preview pending
Strip Chromatic Chromatic aberration while the strip scrolls. The red and blue channels pull apart along the direction of travel, further the faster you scroll, and snap back together as the strip settles.
strip 2 params
PlasmaZones
strip-motion-blur preview pending
Strip Motion Blur Motion blur on the scrolling strip. The blur follows the scroll speed and fades out as the strip settles.
strip 2 params
PlasmaZones

Pixelation

Resolution collapse. The window degrades to blocks and back, Doom-melt included.

doom preview pending
Doom Pixel columns melt downward at noise-randomized speeds, sliding off the bottom edge
3 params
PlasmaZones
pixel-wheel preview pending
Pixel Wheel A pixelated clockwise spoke dissolve. Pixels fade away in spinning wedge sectors around the window centre
2 params
PlasmaZones
pixel-wipe preview pending
Pixel Wipe Pixelated radial dissolve emanating from a configurable origin point
3 params
PlasmaZones
pixelate preview pending
Pixelate Progressive pixelation transition that dissolves into blocks
1 param
PlasmaZones
pixelfade-wave preview pending
Pixelfade Wave Wave-front pixelation where block size pulses along a diagonal wave that sweeps across the surface.
3 params
PlasmaZones (ported from liixini/shaders, https://github.com/liixini/shaders)

Zoom

Scale-driven transitions, used most often for tab switches and desktop cross-zooms.

desktop-crosszoom preview pending
Desktop Cross Zoom Zooms and blurs the outgoing desktop into the incoming one for a cinematic switch.
desktop 1 param
PlasmaZones (ported from GL-Transitions CrossZoom by rectalogic, MIT)
peek-recede preview pending
Peek Recede Shrinks the windows toward a chosen point and fades them out as they darken, so they recede into depth and reveal the desktop behind them.
desktop 4 params
PlasmaZones
tab-zoom preview pending
Tab Zoom Pulls the tab you left toward you as it fades, while the one you picked rises from just behind it. The two are always at different depths, so the swap reads as a change of focus rather than a change of place.
tab 2 params
PlasmaZones

Dissolve

Noise-threshold dissolves between two surfaces.

desktop-dissolve preview pending
Desktop Dissolve Dissolves the outgoing desktop into the incoming one through a field of random speckles.
desktop 2 params
PlasmaZones
tab-dissolve preview pending
Tab Dissolve Every speckle of the column turns over from one tab to the other at its own moment, so the tab you left grains away into the one you picked. Raise the density for a finer grain and the fade width for a softer speckle.
tab 2 params
PlasmaZones

Physics

Spring-driven deformation that follows the pointer or the strip — wobbly windows and jelly scrolling.

strip-jelly preview pending
Strip Jelly The strip wobbles like a soft body while it scrolls. The rows to either side of the strip's middle lag behind it, so the content bows in the direction of travel and relaxes straight as the strip settles.
strip 2 params
PlasmaZones
wobble preview pending
Wobbly Move Drag transition that turns the window into a sheet of fabric held at the point you grab, so the rest drapes and trails behind, driven by a neighbour-coupled spring simulation. Every physics knob is exposed so the feel can be dialled from taut cloth to loose jelly.
movevertex 6 params
PlasmaZones

Other

Custom categories registered by packs outside the built-in set.

desktop-cube preview pending
Desktop Cube Rotates the two desktops past each other like the faces of a spinning cube. This is the classic desktop switcher look.
desktop 4 params
PlasmaZones (ported from GL-Transitions cube by gre, MIT) · Cube
desktop-pixelate preview pending
Desktop Pixelate Cross-fades between desktops through a mosaic of pixel blocks that grow then shrink.
desktop 1 param
PlasmaZones (ported from GL-Transitions pixelize by gre, MIT) · Pixelate

Using animations

Shader authoring guide → GLSL 450 contract, uniform block, metadata schema, multipass, audio reactivity.
phosphor-animation → The library behind these packs: effect loading, event paths, motion profiles.
Surface shaders → The sibling family that draws blur, glass, and borders on the windows themselves.
Bundled pack sources on GitHub → Every pack listed here, complete with GLSL source for reference.