That sounds like an XOR pointer, which did used to be a standard feature in Windows. There were patents on it and xorg were threatened with legal action by the patent holder, so I don’t think it was ever added to X. Those patents have probably expired now, so it may be possible to do.
this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2025
44 points (100.0% liked)
Linux
58997 readers
993 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
https://github.com/jinliu/kwin-effect-xorcursor
Kwin won't load C++ plugins from your home directory, so you have to install it to /usr
This sounds cool but the wife in question uses Cinnamon.
Yes, this is also the only implementation of this I could find. I'm not sure if the cinnamon js api is capable of something similar.
Yeah, unfortunately there's no inverse mouse cursor theme. I loved it on windows as well. What I'm using now is this "Hackneyed high contrast cursors" theme, the green one to be specific, and I absolutely love it.
Example.
I don't actually know, but I assume mouse themes are universal? Or does KDE mouse themes now work with Cinnamon?
I read that there's an extension for Cinnamon that does the same, although I also saw a bug report that it might be broken, idk. Worth a shot. Here's how to enable it.In KDE Plasma there's also a setting where you can shake your cursor to make it bigger, although I don't feel like I need it.
In KDE if you furiously move the mouse pointer in frustration, as one would when they can't find it, the pointer will grow in size. Brighter minds than mine might be able to port that into Cinnamon.
I read the title and for some reason thought you'd mean that the whole screen is black except for the cursor, which would let the what ever was under it shine through.
Sort of like when a fps has a torch only level.
That'd be interesting!
