asciiquarium

Start asciiquarium

$ asciiquarium

$ asciiquarium | lolcat

$ <p>

$ <r>

$ <q>

asciiquarium

asciiquarium is a delightful and whimsical Linux command that transforms your terminal into a vibrant, animated ASCII art aquarium. Developed as a Perl script, it brings a peaceful underwater scene directly to your command line, complete with swimming fish, swaying seaweed, bubbles, and other marine life, all rendered using standard ASCII characters. It provides a unique blend of retro computing aesthetics and soothing visual entertainment. Perfect for a momentary escape during a coding session or just to add a touch of whimsy to your workstation, asciiquarium requires no complex setup. Simply execute the command, and your terminal will instantly become a living, breathing digital fish tank. It leverages the capabilities of modern terminals to display smooth, continuous animation, offering a charming visual break without leaving the console environment.

asciiquarium relies on a VT100 compatible terminal and sufficient terminal emulator capabilities to render its animations smoothly. Performance might vary on older or less capable terminals, or over slow SSH connections. It is a full-screen application and will take over your terminal until exited (usually by pressing Ctrl+C). Ensure your terminal supports a wide range of ASCII characters and colors for the best experience. While generally lightweight, continuous animation will consume some CPU cycles.

asciiquarium is typically available through most Linux distribution's package managers (e.g., apt install asciiquarium on Debian/Ubuntu, pacman -S asciiquarium on Arch, or dnf install asciiquarium on Fedora). It can also be installed manually via CPAN if the Perl environment is set up.

To exit the asciiquarium animation and return to your command prompt, simply press Ctrl+C.

asciiquarium originated as a Perl script by Kirk Baucom, leveraging the `Term::Animation` module. Its simplicity and charm quickly made it a popular terminal utility, especially among Linux and Unix enthusiasts looking for a lighthearted way to personalize their command-line environment. It became a staple in many package repositories, often installed as part of a collection of "amusement" utilities, demonstrating the enduring appeal of ASCII art and terminal-based entertainment in the modern computing landscape.

cowsay(6), sl(6), fortune(6), figlet(6)