Start OS X ScreenSaver from Terminal Command Line

I wanted a fast way to start the OS X Screen Saver, because I have been using RescueTime to track all my activity and monitor productivity. I have been using RescueTime for awhile, but lately I have been even more obsessed with mining my personal data exhaust and had a renewed interest in tuning the app. Hence, I want to accurately disable monitoring when I’m not work, so that if I walk away from the computer for a few minutes I don’t log an extra few minutes of Textmate or Terminal.

Here’s how I implemented a Terminal shortcut for launching the OS X screensaver. I created an alias in my ~/.bash_profile

alias SaveScreen=‘/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine’

Alternatively, you could just run this command straight in terminal, but that seems a bit tedious to repeat:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine

Diligently using the screensaver has definitely improved RescueTime’s accuracy in tracking my productivity (or lack there of).