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Stack Overflow Screensaver

The Stack Overflow screensaver is a live feed of brand-new programming questions posted to Stack Overflow this minute — title, tags and score — ticking past from the key-less Stack Exchange API. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

Live preview

Stack Overflow screensaver — Live questions from developers.

Press ESC to leave fullscreen. Settings are saved in your browser only.

How the Stack Overflow screensaver works

The saver reads the Stack Exchange API for the newest questions posted to Stack Overflow, sorted by creation time.

Each question scrolls past with its title, its tags as little chips, and its score and answer count.

You can narrow the feed to a single tag — say python or javascript — to watch questions in just that topic.

It refreshes gently every minute and feeds new questions in as they're asked.

The Q&A site that changed how programmers learn

Stack Overflow is a question-and-answer site for programming, created in 2008 by Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky, with a public beta announced on 15 September 2008. It is the flagship site of the Stack Exchange network, which applies the same model to other subjects, and it was sold to Prosus in 2021. Users earn reputation points when their questions or answers are upvoted, and reputation unlocks privileges such as voting, commenting and editing other people's posts.

Every question carries up to five tags that classify its topic, such as a language, library or tool, and the tag system is what lets a feed be narrowed to one technology. The score reflects community votes and the answer count says how many replies have been posted. For a question that was just asked, both are usually small, because votes and answers take time to arrive.

Not every new question stays. The site only accepts questions about programming that are tightly focused on a specific problem, so broader or opinion-based questions are usually closed by users, and a title that scrolls past may be closed later. The stream is a picture of what developers are currently asking, but it is not a vetted source of answers.

A worked example

A steady stream rolls by — How do I center a div? [css] [flexbox], Pandas merge on multiple keys [python] [pandas] — the real questions developers are posting right now, tags and all.

Settings & tips

Frequently asked questions

Are the questions live?
Yes. They come from the Stack Exchange API, newest first, refreshed every minute, so you see questions as they're posted.
Can I focus on one language?
Yes. Enter a tag like python, rust or sql and only questions carrying that tag will scroll through.
Does it need a key?
No. The Stack Exchange API is key-less for light use; the saver refreshes gently to stay within limits.
Can I open the questions?
It's a display-only feed, so it shows titles, tags and scores rather than opening links.
Is it free?
Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
What does the score on a question mean?
It reflects community votes on the question. Brand-new questions usually have a low score because the community has not yet had time to vote.
Why do some questions get closed?
The site only accepts questions about programming that are tightly focused on a specific problem. Broader or opinion-based questions are usually closed by users.
Who writes the answers?
Other members of the community, who earn reputation points when their answers are upvoted. Quality varies, so an answer should be checked before it is relied on.

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