# MrGlockenspiel/activate-linux

The "Activate Windows" watermark ported to Linux

Repository: https://github.com/MrGlockenspiel/activate-linux
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/activate-linux
Language: C
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2026-07-20T21:03:33+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 83/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 93, release rhythm 61, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1631, "days_push": 44, "days_rel": 45, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5928, forks 124 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:32.389234+00:00)

## What it is
A novelty desktop application that displays the Windows 'Activate Windows' watermark on Linux desktops, written in C using cairo. It supports X11 and Wayland and can also be built for Windows via MSYS2.

## Use cases
- show an 'Activate Linux' watermark on my desktop for fun
- prank a friend's Linux desktop with a fake activation watermark
- add a customizable watermark overlay to my screen
- recreate the Windows activation watermark on Linux

## When to choose
- you want the classic 'Activate Windows' watermark joke on a Linux desktop
- you need a lightweight, configurable watermark overlay on X11 or Wayland

## When to avoid
- you need a serious or functional desktop notification system
- you want a watermark tool with a graphical configuration interface

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: gui, graphics
- domain: desktop-applications, operating-systems, entertainment
- platform: cross-platform, windows
- tags: novelty, watermark, x11, wayland, prank, cairo, linux

## Member repositories
- MrGlockenspiel/activate-linux (main) score 83

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:32.389234+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:50:49.238987+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/MrGlockenspiel/activate-linux (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:32.389234+00:00, sha caa2990a3357)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.