CRT Retro Effects
Add retro CRT monitor effects like scanlines, curvature, and glow.
Overview
vmux can overlay retro CRT monitor effects on your windows — scanlines, barrel distortion, phosphor glow, and more. All effects are applied to the entire window, including overlays and UI elements, for an authentic retro feel.
CRT effects are off by default.
Enabling CRT Mode
You can toggle CRT effects in three ways:
- Keyboard shortcut: Press Cmd + Shift + R
- Command Palette: Search for CRT Effect and toggle it on
- Settings: Enable CRT in Settings
Once enabled, you can fine-tune each effect individually.
Adjusting Effects
All CRT parameters are adjustable through the Command Palette. Search for any effect by name (e.g., "scanlines", "bloom", "curvature") to get a slider you can drag to dial in the look you want.
Basic Effects
| Setting | Description | Default | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scanlines | Horizontal line pattern across the screen | 0.70 | 0 – 1 |
| Vignette | Darkened edges around the screen | 0.50 | 0 – 1 |
| Barrel | Curved screen distortion, like an old CRT tube | 0.30 | 0 – 1 |
| Chromatic | Color fringing at the edges of the image | 0.50 | 0 – 1 |
| Flicker | Subtle brightness variation over time | 0.00 | 0 – 1 |
| Noise | Random grain/static overlay | 0.00 | 0 – 1 |
| Tint | Green phosphor color tint | 0.00 | 0 – 1 |
Advanced Effects
| Setting | Description | Default | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloom | Glow intensity around bright areas | 0.00 | 0 – 1 |
| Bloom Threshold | Brightness level required to trigger bloom | 0.50 | 0 – 1 |
| Bloom Radius | How far the bloom glow spreads | 0.40 | 0 – 1 |
| Phosphor Decay | Ghosting trail behind moving content | 0.00 | 0 – 1 |
| Shadow Mask | Subpixel grid pattern, like a real CRT's aperture grille | 0.00 | 0 – 1 |
Toggle
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Interlace | Alternating scanline rendering, mimicking interlaced video | Off |
Recommended Presets
Here are some starting points to experiment with:
- Subtle retro: Keep defaults — the scanlines, vignette, barrel, and chromatic aberration give a gentle CRT feel without being distracting.
- Full nostalgia: Turn up tint to ~0.3, enable interlace, add bloom at ~0.4, and increase phosphor decay to ~0.3 for a green-screen terminal look.
- Clean with glow: Set scanlines and vignette to 0, keep barrel at 0.3, and add bloom at ~0.5 for a modern-but-glowy aesthetic.
Performance
Most CRT effects have minimal impact on performance. Effects that animate over time — flicker, noise, and phosphor decay — require continuous rendering and use slightly more energy. When all three are set to 0, the renderer only updates when content changes.