Terminal ASCII Image Renderer
A fast, terminal-based ASCII art generator written in Go that converts images into beautiful ASCII representations using advanced luminance mapping and edge detection.
- Smart Terminal Fitting: Automatically detects terminal dimensions and scales images to fit perfectly
- Advanced Edge Detection: Uses Sobel filters to enhance image clarity with directional characters
- Aspect Ratio Preservation: Accounts for terminal character proportions to display images correctly
- Multiple Format Support: PNG, JPEG, and GIF (single frame)
- Modular Architecture: Clean, extensible design ready for future enhancements
- Go >= 1.24
go install github.com/kozmaoliver/asciify@latestgit clone git@github.com:kozmaoliver/asciify.git
cd asciify
go installIf you don't want to install it globally, you can just build an executable:
go buildCall asciify or the executable ./path/to/asciify/asciify with an image path argument in the terminal.
# Basic usage
asciify path/to/your/image.png
# With colors
asciify -color colorful_image.jpgThe tool follows a sophisticated pipeline to convert images to ASCII:
Image → Load → Terminal Sizing → Resize → Luminance → Edge Detection → ASCII Mapping → Render
- Image Loading: Supports PNG, JPEG, and GIF formats
- Terminal Detection: Automatically detects your terminal dimensions
- Smart Resizing: Scales image while preserving aspect ratio
- Luminance Analysis: Calculates perceived brightness using L = 0.2126R + 0.7152G + 0.0722*B
- Edge Detection: Applies Sobel filters to detect edges and directions
- Character Mapping: Maps brightness to ASCII characters, uses directional chars for edges
- Terminal Rendering: Outputs the final ASCII art to your terminal
Tip: For best results, use images with good contrast and clear subjects. The edge detection works particularly well with architectural photos and portraits!
A generated ASCII image form my profile picture
Same with colors
