🚀 Convert images to stunning ANSI art for terminals and browsers
✨ Born from the need to render images in CLI applications with style
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🖼️ High-Quality Images
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🎬 Terminal Animations
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🎮 Game Sprites
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🎯 Use Case Examples
CLI Applications:
- Image previews in file managers
- Logo displays in terminal apps
- Progress indicators with graphics
Web Applications:
- Retro-style image galleries
- ASCII art generators
- Terminal emulators
Creative Projects:
- Digital art installations
- ASCII video players
- Text-based games
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Created specifically for CLI applications requiring rich visual feedback and terminal-based image display |
Optimized algorithms for real-time processing with configurable quality levels |
Works seamlessly across browsers, Node.js, and all major platforms |
🗂️ Click to expand navigation
| Feature | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| 🖼️ High-Quality Conversion | Advanced color quantization with 24-bit support | Crystal-clear ANSI art reproduction |
| 🔄 Multiple Quality Levels | Perfect, High, Medium, Low settings | Balance between quality and performance |
| 📂 Flexible Input Sources | URLs, Files, Buffers, paths, raw pixel data | Works with any image source |
| 🎯 Smart Scaling | Intelligent aspect ratio preservation | Perfect proportions maintained |
| Feature | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| 🎬 Animation Support | Multi-frame conversion for video-to-terminal | Create stunning terminal animations |
| ⏱️ Frame Rate Control | 1-60 FPS configurable playback | Smooth animation control |
| 🌐 Cross-Platform | Browser + Node.js compatibility | Universal deployment |
| 🎨 HTML Rendering | Convert ANSI to styled HTML | Web-friendly display |
| Feature | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| 📟 Printf Generation | Terminal-ready command output | Direct terminal integration |
| 🔧 TypeScript Support | Full type definitions included | Enhanced development experience |
| ⚡ Real-time Processing | Optimized for live applications | Responsive user interfaces |
| 📊 Comprehensive API | Extensive methods for all use cases | Complete functionality coverage |
Interactive Features:
- 📁 Drag & Drop Upload - Simply drag images onto the page
- ⚙️ Real-time Quality Adjustment - See changes instantly
- 🎨 Live ANSI Preview - Rendered terminal output
- 📋 One-click Command Copy - Ready-to-use printf commands
- 🎬 Animation Support - Upload multiple images for animations
- 🔧 Custom Settings - Width, height, and quality controls
🌐 Online Demo: Try it instantly at vibhek.com/img2ansi
💻 Local Setup:
# Clone and try immediately
git clone https://github.com/vibheksoni/img2ansi.git
cd img2ansi
open index.html # Or double-click to open in browser
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src="Lib/img2ansi.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<script>
const img2ansi = new Img2Ansi();
// Ready to use!
</script>
</body>
</html> |
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/vibheksoni/img2ansi.git
cd img2ansi
# Install dependencies
npm install canvas # For enhanced processingconst NodeImg2Ansi = require('./Lib/img2ansi.node');
const img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi(); |
🌐 Browser Usage
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script src="Lib/img2ansi.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<input type="file" id="imageInput" accept="image/*">
<div id="preview"></div>
<script>
// Initialize with default settings
const img2ansi = new Img2Ansi({
escChar: '\u001b',
lineEnding: '\n',
quality: 'high'
});
// Handle file selection
document.getElementById('imageInput').addEventListener('change', async (event) => {
const file = event.target.files[0];
if (file) {
try {
// Convert to ANSI art
const ansiArt = await img2ansi.fromFile(file, {
width: 80,
quality: 'high'
});
// Render to HTML
const previewElement = document.getElementById('preview');
img2ansi.renderToHtml(ansiArt, previewElement);
// Generate terminal command
const printfCommand = img2ansi.toPrintfCommand(ansiArt);
console.log('Terminal command:', printfCommand);
} catch (err) {
console.error('Conversion error:', err);
}
}
});
</script>
</body>
</html>🖥️ Node.js Usage
const NodeImg2Ansi = require('./Lib/img2ansi.node');
// Initialize the converter
const img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi({
escChar: '\u001b',
lineEnding: '\n',
quality: 'high'
});
async function convertImage() {
try {
// Convert from file path
const ansiArt = await img2ansi.fromFilePath('path/to/image.jpg', {
width: 80,
quality: 'high'
});
// Print to console
img2ansi.print(ansiArt);
// Save to file
await img2ansi.saveToFile(ansiArt, 'output.txt');
// Generate printf command
const printfCommand = img2ansi.toPrintfCommand(ansiArt);
console.log('Terminal command:', printfCommand);
} catch (err) {
console.error('Conversion error:', err);
}
}
convertImage();🎬 Animation Example
// Create terminal animation from video frames
async function createAnimation() {
const framePaths = [
'frames/frame_0001.png',
'frames/frame_0002.png',
// ... more frames
];
// Convert frames to ANSI
const frames = await img2ansi.createTerminalAnimation(framePaths, {
width: 60,
height: 30,
quality: 'medium'
});
// Play animation in terminal
const animation = img2ansi.playTerminalAnimation(frames, {
frameRate: 10,
loop: true,
clearScreen: true
});
// Stop after 10 seconds
setTimeout(() => animation.stop(), 10000);
}
createAnimation();| Quality | Color Depth | Scaling | Performance | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌟 Perfect | 24-bit | User-defined exact dimensions | Medium | Pixel-perfect reproduction, precise layouts |
| 🎯 High | 24-bit | Smart aspect ratio preservation | Good | General purpose, best visual quality |
| ⚖️ Medium | Quantized 24-bit | Smart scaling | Fast | Balanced quality/performance |
| ⚡ Low | Heavily quantized | Smart scaling | Very Fast | Real-time processing, simple images |
📋 Quality Comparison Examples
// Perfect Quality - Exact dimensions
const perfect = await img2ansi.fromFile(file, {
width: 80,
height: 40,
quality: 'perfect' // Uses exactly 80x40
});
// High Quality - Smart scaling (recommended)
const high = await img2ansi.fromFile(file, {
width: 80,
quality: 'high' // Maintains aspect ratio
});
// Performance optimized
const fast = await img2ansi.fromFile(file, {
width: 40,
quality: 'low' // Fast processing for real-time apps
});🌐 Browser API (Img2Ansi)
const img2ansi = new Img2Ansi(options);| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
escChar |
String | '\u001b' |
ANSI escape character |
lineEnding |
String | '\n' |
Line ending character(s) |
quality |
String | 'high' |
Default quality setting |
| Method | Description | Returns |
|---|---|---|
convertToAnsi(params) |
Convert image to ANSI art | String |
renderToHtml(ansiString, element, options) |
Render ANSI as HTML | void |
toPrintfCommand(ansiString) |
Generate printf command | String |
| Method | Description | Returns |
|---|---|---|
fromUrl(url, options) |
Convert from URL | Promise<String> |
fromFile(file, options) |
Convert from File object | Promise<String> |
fromMultipleUrls(urls, options) |
Convert multiple URLs | Promise<String[]> |
fromMultipleFiles(files, options) |
Convert multiple files | Promise<String[]> |
| Method | Description | Returns |
|---|---|---|
createAnimationFrames(sources, options) |
Create animation frames | Promise<String[]> |
playAnimation(frames, element, options) |
Play HTML animation | Object |
🖥️ Node.js API (NodeImg2Ansi)
| Method | Description | Returns |
|---|---|---|
fromFilePath(filePath, options) |
Convert from file path | Promise<String> |
fromBuffer(buffer, options) |
Convert from buffer | Promise<String> |
saveToFile(ansiString, filePath) |
Save to file | Promise<void> |
print(ansiString) |
Print to console | void |
| Method | Description | Returns |
|---|---|---|
fromMultipleFilePaths(paths, options) |
Convert multiple files | Promise<String[]> |
fromMultipleBuffers(buffers, options) |
Convert multiple buffers | Promise<String[]> |
| Method | Description | Returns |
|---|---|---|
createTerminalAnimation(framePaths, options) |
Create terminal animation | Promise<String[]> |
playTerminalAnimation(frames, options) |
Play in terminal | Object |
⚙️ Options Reference
const options = {
width: 80, // Target width in characters
height: 40, // Target height in rows (optional)
quality: 'high', // Quality level
escChar: '\u001b', // Escape character
lineEnding: '\n' // Line ending
};const animationOptions = {
frameRate: 10, // Frames per second (1-60)
loop: true, // Whether to loop
clearScreen: true // Clear screen between frames
};🎬 Video to Terminal Animation
# Using ffmpeg to extract frames
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fps=10,scale=80:40" frame_%04d.pngconst img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi();
async function createVideoAnimation() {
// Get all frame files
const framePaths = [
'frames/frame_0001.png',
'frames/frame_0002.png',
// ... more frames
];
// Convert to ANSI frames
const ansiFrames = await img2ansi.createTerminalAnimation(framePaths, {
width: 80,
height: 40,
quality: 'medium'
});
// Play animation
const animation = img2ansi.playTerminalAnimation(ansiFrames, {
frameRate: 10,
loop: true,
clearScreen: true
});
return animation;
}🌀 Loading Animations
// Create a spinner animation
async function createSpinner() {
const spinnerFrames = ['⠋', '⠙', '⠹', '⠸', '⠼', '⠴', '⠦', '⠧', '⠇', '⠏'];
// Convert each character to ANSI
const ansiFrames = spinnerFrames.map(char =>
`\u001b[2J\u001b[H${char} Processing...`
);
const animation = img2ansi.playTerminalAnimation(ansiFrames, {
frameRate: 8,
loop: true
});
return animation;
}🎮 Interactive Animations
// Animation with user controls
class AnimationController {
constructor(frames) {
this.frames = frames;
this.animation = null;
}
play() {
this.animation = img2ansi.playTerminalAnimation(this.frames, {
frameRate: 12,
loop: true
});
return this;
}
stop() {
if (this.animation) {
this.animation.stop();
}
return this;
}
pause() {
// Implementation for pause functionality
return this;
}
}🎨 Custom Color Mapping
// Advanced color configuration
const img2ansi = new Img2Ansi({
escChar: '\u001b',
lineEnding: '\n',
quality: 'high'
});
// High contrast settings for better visibility
const highContrastOptions = {
width: 80,
quality: 'high',
brightness: 1.3, // Boost brightness
contrast: 1.2 // Increase contrast
};
const ansiArt = await img2ansi.fromFile(file, highContrastOptions);⚡ Performance Optimization
// Real-time processing configuration
const realtimeConfig = {
quality: 'low', // Fast processing
width: 40, // Smaller dimensions
colorDepth: 16 // Reduced color palette
};
// Batch processing optimization
const batchConfig = {
quality: 'medium', // Balanced quality
width: 60,
concurrent: 4 // Process 4 images simultaneously
};
// Memory-efficient processing
const memoryEfficientConfig = {
quality: 'low',
width: 30,
streaming: true // Process in chunks
};🔧 CLI Integration
// CLI tool implementation
#!/usr/bin/env node
const NodeImg2Ansi = require('./Lib/img2ansi.node');
const path = require('path');
class CLI {
constructor() {
this.img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi();
}
async processFile(inputPath, options = {}) {
try {
const ansiArt = await this.img2ansi.fromFilePath(inputPath, {
width: options.width || 80,
quality: options.quality || 'high'
});
if (options.output) {
await this.img2ansi.saveToFile(ansiArt, options.output);
console.log(`✅ Saved to ${options.output}`);
} else {
this.img2ansi.print(ansiArt);
}
if (options.printf) {
const command = this.img2ansi.toPrintfCommand(ansiArt);
console.log('\n📋 Printf command:');
console.log(command);
}
} catch (error) {
console.error('❌ Error:', error.message);
process.exit(1);
}
}
}
// Usage: node cli.js image.jpg --width 80 --output result.txt --printf🌐 Web Application Integration
// React component example
import React, { useState, useCallback } from 'react';
const AnsiArtConverter = () => {
const [ansiArt, setAnsiArt] = useState('');
const [isProcessing, setIsProcessing] = useState(false);
const handleFileUpload = useCallback(async (file) => {
setIsProcessing(true);
try {
const img2ansi = new window.Img2Ansi({
quality: 'high'
});
const result = await img2ansi.fromFile(file, {
width: 80,
quality: 'high'
});
setAnsiArt(result);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Conversion failed:', error);
} finally {
setIsProcessing(false);
}
}, []);
return (
<div className="ansi-converter">
<input
type="file"
onChange={(e) => handleFileUpload(e.target.files[0])}
accept="image/*"
/>
{isProcessing && <div>Processing...</div>}
{ansiArt && (
<pre className="ansi-output">{ansiArt}</pre>
)}
</div>
);
};
// Optimized for speed
const fastConfig = {
quality: 'low',
width: 40,
height: 20
};
// Process with minimal delay
const ansiArt = await img2ansi.fromFile(file, fastConfig);Performance Tips:
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// Process multiple images efficiently
const images = [...fileList];
const options = { width: 80, quality: 'medium' };
// Parallel processing
const results = await Promise.all(
images.map(file => img2ansi.fromFile(file, options))
);
// Sequential processing (memory-friendly)
const results = [];
for (const file of images) {
results.push(await img2ansi.fromFile(file, options));
}Optimization Strategies:
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| 🌐 Browsers | 🖥️ Node.js | 💻 Operating Systems |
|---|---|---|
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| Image Size | Quality | Processing Time | Output Size | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920x1080 | Low | ~150ms | 80x40 chars | Real-time preview |
| 1920x1080 | High | ~300ms | 80x40 chars | Standard display |
| 4K (3840x2160) | Perfect | ~800ms | 120x60 chars | High-quality output |
| GIF Animation (10 frames) | Medium | ~1.2s | 60x30 chars | Terminal animation |
📊 Benchmark Details
Test Environment:
- Node.js 18.17.0
- 16GB RAM, Intel i7-10700K
- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Performance Tips:
- Use
lowquality for real-time applications (< 100ms) - Use
mediumquality for balanced performance (< 250ms) - Use
highquality for best visual results (< 500ms) - Use
perfectquality for pixel-perfect reproduction
🛠️ Local Development
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/vibheksoni/img2ansi.git
cd img2ansi
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Run examples
node examples/node-example.js
# Open browser example
open examples/browser-example.html
# Run the main demo
open index.html🧪 Testing
# Run all tests
npm test
# Test specific functionality
node test/quality-test.js
node test/animation-test.js
node test/performance-test.js
# Browser testing
npm run test:browser📦 Building
# Build for production
npm run build
# Minify library
npm run minify
# Generate documentation
npm run docs🎮 Game Development
// ASCII art game sprites
class GameSprite {
constructor(imagePath) {
this.ansiArt = null;
this.load(imagePath);
}
async load(imagePath) {
const img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi();
this.ansiArt = await img2ansi.fromFilePath(imagePath, {
width: 16,
height: 16,
quality: 'perfect'
});
}
render(x, y) {
// Position cursor and render sprite
process.stdout.write(`\u001b[${y};${x}H${this.ansiArt}`);
}
}📊 Data Visualization
// Terminal dashboard with images
class Dashboard {
constructor() {
this.img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi();
}
async renderChart(chartImagePath) {
const ansiChart = await this.img2ansi.fromFilePath(chartImagePath, {
width: 80,
quality: 'high'
});
console.clear();
console.log('📊 System Performance Dashboard');
console.log('═'.repeat(80));
this.img2ansi.print(ansiChart);
console.log('═'.repeat(80));
}
}🎨 Creative Applications
// ASCII art generator with effects
class ArtGenerator {
constructor() {
this.img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi();
}
async createAsciiPortrait(imagePath) {
// High quality for portraits
const portrait = await this.img2ansi.fromFilePath(imagePath, {
width: 120,
quality: 'perfect'
});
// Add artistic border
const border = '█'.repeat(124);
return `${border}\n${portrait}\n${border}`;
}
async createPixelArt(imagePath) {
// Low quality for pixel effect
return await this.img2ansi.fromFilePath(imagePath, {
width: 40,
quality: 'low'
});
}
}❓ How do I choose the right quality setting?
Quality Selection Guide:
- Perfect: When you need exact dimensions and pixel-perfect reproduction
- High: For general use with automatic aspect ratio preservation (recommended)
- Medium: When you need good quality but faster processing
- Low: For real-time applications or when speed is critical
❓ What image formats are supported?
Supported Formats:
- Browser: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG, BMP
- Node.js: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, TIFF
- Input Sources: File objects, URLs, Buffers, file paths, raw pixel data
❓ How do I optimize for terminal display?
Terminal Optimization Tips:
// Standard terminal (80 columns)
const terminalOptions = {
width: 80,
quality: 'high'
};
// Wide terminal (120+ columns)
const wideTerminalOptions = {
width: 120,
quality: 'high'
};
// Mobile terminal (narrow)
const mobileOptions = {
width: 40,
quality: 'medium'
};❓ Can I create custom color palettes?
The library uses standard ANSI color codes. You can post-process the output to use custom color mappings or modify the quantization algorithms in the source code for specialized color palettes.
❓ How do I handle large images?
Large Image Strategies:
// Reduce dimensions for large images
const largeImageOptions = {
width: 60, // Smaller width
quality: 'medium', // Balanced processing
timeout: 30000 // Longer timeout
};
// Progressive loading for very large images
const progressiveOptions = {
width: 80,
quality: 'low', // Start with low quality
streaming: true // Process in chunks
};🔧 Common Issues and Solutions
// Problem: CORS error when loading external images
// Solution: Use proper CORS headers or proxy
const img = new Image();
img.crossOrigin = 'anonymous'; // Enable CORS
img.src = 'https://example.com/image.jpg';# Problem: Canvas module installation fails
# Solution: Install build tools
# Windows
npm install --global windows-build-tools
# macOS
xcode-select --install
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install build-essential libcairo2-dev libpango1.0-dev libjpeg-dev libgif-dev librsvg2-dev// Problem: Out of memory with large images
// Solution: Reduce dimensions or process in chunks
const safeOptions = {
width: Math.min(originalWidth, 100),
height: Math.min(originalHeight, 100),
quality: 'low'
};// Problem: Slow processing
// Solution: Optimize settings
const optimizedOptions = {
width: 60, // Reduce size
quality: 'low', // Faster processing
concurrent: 1 // Reduce parallelism
};🐞 Debug Mode
// Enable detailed logging
const img2ansi = new NodeImg2Ansi({
debug: true,
verbose: true
});
// Check processing stats
const stats = await img2ansi.getProcessingStats();
console.log('Processing time:', stats.processingTime);
console.log('Memory usage:', stats.memoryUsage);
console.log('Image dimensions:', stats.dimensions);|
Found an issue? Create an Issue |
Have an idea? Start a Discussion |
Ready to contribute? Submit a PR |
🛠️ Development Guidelines
- Follow existing code style
- Add tests for new features
- Update documentation
- Use meaningful commit messages
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make your changes
- Add tests and documentation
- Submit a pull request
- Unit tests for new functionality
- Browser compatibility testing
- Performance impact assessment
- Documentation updates
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
