Where do the gold and silver prices come from?

They come from content/metals.json, a file the included automation pipeline fills with recent gold and silver prices and history. The chart re-reads it as it refreshes.

Is this gold and silver screensaver financial advice?

No. The prices are display-only and delayed, shown for ambient decoration only. Nothing here is financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell.

Does the screensaver work offline?

It needs internet to load fresh prices. When the file cannot be reached it shows a metals.json unavailable notice instead of breaking.

How often do the metal prices update?

The chart re-fetches on the refresh interval you set, so updates appear whenever the pipeline rewrites content/metals.json on the server.

Is it free and how do I exit it?

Yes, it is free and runs entirely in your browser with nothing to install. Press ESC at any time to exit.

What is a troy ounce?

A unit of mass used for precious metals, equal to 31.1035 grams, about 10 percent heavier than the standard avoirdupois ounce.

Why is the price in shops higher than spot?

Retail prices add fabrication costs and dealer margins, and sometimes taxes, on top of the spot rate.

How often are the London benchmark prices set?

The LBMA Gold Price is set twice a day and the LBMA Silver Price once a day, by auction.

Gold & Silver Price Screensaver

The Gold & Silver screensaver shows large price panels for gold and silver, each with the latest value, percent change and an animated chart of recent history. It reads prices from a content file that the included automation pipeline fills, so when the page is hosted online the figures stay current. It needs internet for live data and shows a clear notice when the file is unavailable. The prices are display-only and delayed, not financial advice; it is free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Gold & Silver screensaver works

On start the saver fetches content/metals.json, a file the bundled pipeline fills with the latest gold and silver prices plus a short price history for each. It takes the first two series and draws one stacked panel per metal.

Each panel shows the metal's name, current price and a green or red percent change, then animates its history into a line chart that draws in from left to right with a soft gradient fill beneath. Gold renders in a warm gold tone and silver in a cool grey, and a corner stamp shows the date and update time.

The chart re-fetches on the Refresh every interval, so scheduled pipeline updates appear without a reload. If content/metals.json cannot be loaded — for example offline or opened from a file — it shows a plain “metals.json unavailable” message rather than failing.

What a spot price for gold and silver means

The spot price of a precious metal is the price for immediate delivery, quoted in US dollars per troy ounce. A troy ounce is about 31.1 grams (31.1035 g), roughly 10 percent heavier than the avoirdupois ounce of about 28.35 grams used for food. Gold and silver trade across major financial centres through a mix of dealers, exchanges and futures contracts, so a quoted figure is a market quote and not a single official price.

There are also benchmark prices such as those from the London Bullion Market Association, administered by ICE Benchmark Administration. The LBMA Gold Price is set twice a day, at auctions starting at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, while the LBMA Silver Price is set once a day, at an auction starting at noon. A live price on a ticker is a continuously updating quote and can differ from these fixes.

Quotes here come through a data pipeline rather than a direct exchange feed, so there can be a delay. The price a shop charges for coins or bars is normally above spot because of fabrication costs and dealer margins. This display describes market prices and is not a recommendation to buy or sell.

A worked example

With the defaults — gradient fill on, a 120-second refresh and the gold accent (#f4c145) on a dark background — the screen stacks two panels: gold on top in warm gold and silver below in cool grey, each with its price, percent change and a line chart that sweeps in from the left, while the corner reads “● LIVE” with today's date.

Settings & tips

Turn off the Fill toggle for clean line charts without the shaded gradient under each curve.
Lower the Refresh every seconds to pull new prices more often on a hosted display, or raise it to ease network use.
Set the Accent color to taste — it is used as the chart tone for metals that are not the standard gold or silver.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the gold and silver prices come from?: They come from content/metals.json, a file the included automation pipeline fills with recent gold and silver prices and history. The chart re-reads it as it refreshes.
Is this gold and silver screensaver financial advice?: No. The prices are display-only and delayed, shown for ambient decoration only. Nothing here is financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell.
Does the screensaver work offline?: It needs internet to load fresh prices. When the file cannot be reached it shows a metals.json unavailable notice instead of breaking.
How often do the metal prices update?: The chart re-fetches on the refresh interval you set, so updates appear whenever the pipeline rewrites content/metals.json on the server.
Is it free and how do I exit it?: Yes, it is free and runs entirely in your browser with nothing to install. Press ESC at any time to exit.
What is a troy ounce?: A unit of mass used for precious metals, equal to 31.1035 grams, about 10 percent heavier than the standard avoirdupois ounce.
Why is the price in shops higher than spot?: Retail prices add fabrication costs and dealer margins, and sometimes taxes, on top of the spot rate.
How often are the London benchmark prices set?: The LBMA Gold Price is set twice a day and the LBMA Silver Price once a day, by auction.

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