Create a Matrix Digital Rain Effect in Your Terminal with Bash

A while ago, I came across a Matrix-inspired Bash script and thought, this would be a cool project to build from scratch! The result? A lightweight, terminal-based Matrix digital rain effect that you can run instantly on any Linux system.

Whether you’re a Bash beginner looking for a fun scripting challenge or an experienced user interested in terminal animations, this guide will walk you through every step.

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What We’re Building (Live Preview)

Before jumping into the code, here’s what the final effect looks like:

If you want to understand how it works and tweak it yourself, keep reading.

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How the Matrix Effect Works in the Terminal

At its core, the Matrix rain effect is a combination of:

✅ Randomly generated characters (Katakana, alphanumeric, or symbols)

✅ A vertical falling effect using Bash’s tput command to control the cursor

✅ Color manipulation to add a cyberpunk aesthetic

We’ll be using Bash’s ANSI escape codes to control text placement, color, and movement.

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Step 1: Setting Up the Script

Create a new Bash script and open it in your favorite editor:

nano matrix.sh

At the top of the file, add:

#!/bin/bash
clear  # Clears the terminal at the start
tput civis  # Hides the cursor for a cleaner effect

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Step 2: Generate Falling Characters

Let’s define the characters that will fall down the screen:

chars=("ｱ" "ｲ" "ｳ" "ｴ" "ｵ" "ｶ" "ｷ" "ｸ" "ｹ" "ｺ" "ｻ" "ｼ" "ｽ" "ｾ" "ｿ" "0" "1" "2" "3" "4" "5" "6" "7" "8" "9" "A" "B" "C" "D" "E" "F" "G" "H" "I" "J" "K" "L" "M" "N" "O" "P" "Q" "R" "S" "T" "U" "V" "W" "X" "Y" "Z")

To get the terminal dimensions dynamically, use:

rows=$(tput lines)
cols=$(tput cols)

🔹 Why this matters: The script should adapt to different screen sizes dynamically.

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Step 3: Make It Rain

Now, let’s animate the falling characters using an infinite loop:

while true; do
    col=$((RANDOM % cols))  # Pick a random column
    char=${chars[$((RANDOM % ${#chars[@]}))]}  # Pick a random character
    tput cup 0 $col  # Move cursor to the top of the column
    echo -ne "\033[32m$char\033[0m"  # Print the character in green

    for ((i=1; i<rows; i++)); do
        tput cup $i $col
        echo -ne "\033[32m$char\033[0m"
        sleep 0.1
    done
done

🔹 Breakdown of what’s happening:

• The script randomly selects a column and places a random character at the top.
• It moves down the screen, refreshing each position with the next character.
• tput cup is used to position the cursor dynamically.

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Step 4: Restore the Cursor on Exit

When you interrupt the script (Ctrl + C), the cursor might remain hidden. Let’s ensure it restores properly:

trap "tput cnorm; exit" SIGINT

🔹 Why this matters: Prevents terminal glitches when exiting the script.

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Step 5: Running the Script

Save the script (Ctrl + X, then Y, then Enter) and make it executable:

chmod +x matrix.sh
./matrix.sh

🎉 Your terminal should now be streaming Matrix-style digital rain!

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Tweaks & Customization

Once you’ve got the effect running, try modifying the script to customize the rain effect:

1️⃣ Change the Color (Replace \033[32m with other ANSI color codes):

   echo -ne "\033[36m$char\033[0m"  # Cyan rain

2️⃣ Speed Up or Slow Down the Effect (Modify sleep 0.1):

   sleep 0.05  # Faster rain
   sleep 0.2   # Slower rain

3️⃣ Add More Variability (Introduce randomness in delay time):

   sleep $(awk -v min=0.05 -v max=0.2 'BEGIN{srand(); print min+rand()*(max-min)}')

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Next Steps: Expanding the Project

If you enjoyed this project, you might like:

✅ Exploring Matrix scripts like for more optimized versions

✅ Adding interactivity (like pausing or changing colors dynamically)

✅ Converting this into a system screensaver

Let me know in the comments what improvements you’d like to see!

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Final Thoughts

Building the Matrix rain effect in Bash is a fun way to explore terminal animations while improving your scripting skills. This project introduced you to:

✅ Cursor manipulation with tput

✅ Generating random characters dynamically

✅ Controlling terminal colors and output positioning

✅ Creating looping animations in Bash

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Discussion: What’s Your Favorite Bash Animation Trick?

Drop a comment below if you have ideas for improving this script or other cool terminal animations you’ve built!