Fireplace Screensaver
Fireplace is a free ambient screensaver that fills your screen with a warm, crackling fire and embers drifting upward. It runs in your browser with nothing to download, and you press ESC at any time to exit. Leave it on for a cosy glow on a spare monitor or TV.
How the Fireplace screensaver works
The fire is drawn with the classic Doom-fire algorithm. A hot source row burns away at the bottom of a small heat grid, flickering frame by frame, and that heat is then propagated upward cell by cell with a touch of randomness so the flames cool, wander sideways and shimmer naturally.
Each heat value is mapped through a colour lookup table, so the hottest cells glow white-hot and cooler ones fade to deep reds — or to blues and greens if you change the palette. The low-resolution heat grid is then scaled up smoothly to fill your screen, which gives the flames their soft, organic edges.
An Intensity setting controls how hot the source row burns and how tall the fire climbs, while the embers toggle sprinkles glowing sparks that rise from the flames, drift on a gentle waver and fade out as they cool.
A worked example
With the defaults — Intensity 5, embers on, Palette: Classic and a near-black background of #070405 — you get a steady orange fire with sparks floating up against the dark. Push Intensity to 10 for a roaring blaze, or switch Palette to Blue or Green for an eerie, colour-shifted flame while keeping the same dark backdrop.
Settings & tips
- Raise the Intensity slider toward 10 for a taller, fiercer fire, or drop it to 1 for low, smouldering embers.
- Switch the Palette between Classic, Blue and Green to recolour the flames from a normal fire to cool, otherworldly tones.
- Turn off the Embers toggle if you want just the flames without the rising sparks.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the fireplace screensaver free?
- Yes. The fireplace screensaver is completely free and runs in your browser with no download, account or install required.
- How do I exit the fireplace screensaver?
- Press the ESC key to exit at any time. Any mouse movement or key press also returns you to the page.
- Can I change the colour of the fire?
- Yes. Use the Palette control to switch between Classic orange flames, Blue and Green. You can also set the background colour behind the fire.
- Can I run the fireplace on a TV or second monitor?
- Yes. Open it full screen in any browser on the screen you want, and it will play a continuous crackling fire. Press ESC to stop it.
- Does the fireplace screensaver have sound?
- No. The fireplace is a silent visual effect of flames and rising embers. You can add your own ambient audio separately if you like.