A Beautiful macOS Screensaver for Language Learning
Transform your idle screen time into a productive language learning experience with elegant word cards, multi-API translation support, and smart caching.
- 🎨 Beautiful UI - Elegant word cards with gradient backgrounds and smooth animations
- 🌍 Multi-Language Support - English (10+ vocabulary sets), with plans for Chinese, Japanese, French, Korean
- 🔄 Smart Translation - Automatic fallback across Google, Youdao, and Bing Translate APIs
- 💾 Intelligent Caching - LRU cache with disk persistence to minimize API calls
- 📥 Flexible Import - Download curated vocabulary sets or import your own word lists
- 📊 Learning Progress - Track your study journey with built-in statistics
- 🎯 No Repetition - Smart algorithm ensures you see each word once before cycling
- Download the latest
.saverfile from Releases - Double-click to install
- Go to System Preferences → Desktop & Screen Saver → Screen Saver
- Select PolySaver from the list
- Click Screen Saver Options
- Select a vocabulary source (e.g., "CET-4" for English)
- Click Download and wait for completion
- Click Use to activate
- Enjoy learning! 🎉
- CET-4 / CET-6 (Chinese College English Test)
- TOEFL / IELTS / GRE / GMAT / SAT
- Specialized vocabularies (TEM-4, TEM-8)
- 🇨🇳 Chinese HSK (汉语水平考试)
- 🇯🇵 Japanese JLPT (日本語能力試験)
- 🇫🇷 French DELF/DALF
- 🇰🇷 Korean TOPIK (한국어능력시험)
- macOS 12.0+
- Xcode 14.0+
- Swift 5.9+
git clone https://github.com/yourname/PolySaver.git
cd PolySaver
open PolySaver.xcodeprojPress ⌘B to build, then find the .saver file in DerivedData.
PolySaver/
├── Sources/
│ ├── Models/ # Data models
│ ├── Services/ # Translation, Download, Cache
│ ├── Managers/ # Business logic
│ ├── Views/ # UI components
│ ├── Controllers/ # Window controllers
│ ├── Extensions/ # Swift extensions
│ └── Utilities/ # Helper classes
├── Resources/ # Assets and plists
├── Tests/ # Unit tests
└── docs/ # Documentation
See ARCHITECTURE.md for detailed design.
PolySaver supports 3 translation providers with automatic fallback:
| Provider | Free Quota | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Youdao ✅ Recommended | 100/day | Phonetics, Examples |
| Bing | 2M chars/month | Good for batch translation |
| Paid only | High quality |
To configure APIs:
- Get your API keys (guide)
- Open Screen Saver Options
- Enter credentials in API Settings tab
- Multi-API translation with smart fallback
- LRU caching system
- Beautiful gradient UI
- v2.0: Multi-language support (Chinese, Japanese, etc.)
- v2.1: Spaced Repetition Algorithm (SRS)
- v2.2: Text-to-Speech (TTS)
- v3.0: iCloud sync for learning progress
- v3.1: Dark mode detection
We love contributions! Please read our Contributing Guide before submitting PRs.
- 🌐 Add new language support
- 🎨 Design new themes
- 📝 Improve documentation
- 🐛 Fix bugs
See open issues for current tasks.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
- Vocabulary data from kajweb/dict
- Translation APIs: Google Cloud Translation, Youdao AI, Microsoft Azure Translator
- Inspired by macOS's built-in Word of the Day screensaver
Kimi (yshan2028@gmail.com)
I am a Test Development Engineer with 15 years of experience, currently based in Shanghai, China 🇨🇳. This is my first open-source Apple screensaver project.
If you find this project helpful, please give it a ⭐️ on GitHub! Your support keeps me motivated to improve the project.
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Discussions: GitHub Discussions
- Email: yshan2028@gmail.com