carbon-now

Create an image from a file using default settings

$ carbon-now [path/to/file]

$ carbon-now --from-clipboard

$ [input] | carbon-now --to-clipboard

$ carbon-now [[-i|--interactive]] [path/to/file]

$ carbon-now [[-p|--preset]] [preset] [path/to/file]

$ carbon-now [[-s|--start]] [line] [path/to/file]

$ carbon-now [[-e|--end]] [line] [path/to/file]

$ carbon-now --open [path/to/file]

carbon-now [options] [file|stdin]

-c, --code <code>
    Inline code snippet to render

-f, --file <file>
    Path to file containing code

-l, --language <lang>
    Programming language (auto-detected if omitted)

-t, --theme <theme>
    Carbon theme name (e.g. 'one-dark')

--font <font>
    Font family (e.g. 'Fira Code')

--bg.color <color>
    Background color (e.g. '#000')

--line <range>
    Line range to show (e.g. '1-10')

--first-line <num>
    Starting line number

-p, --preset <preset>
    Load saved preset

--config
    Interactive configuration mode

--config-save
    Save current config as preset

--save-to <path>
    Save image to file

--copy
    Copy image to clipboard

--upload
    Upload to Imgur and print URL

--open
    Open generated image

-h, --help
    Show help

-v, --version
    Show version

carbon-now is a powerful command-line interface to the popular Carbon.now.sh web service, enabling users to generate stunning, customizable images of source code directly from the terminal. It supports rendering code from files, stdin, or inline strings with syntax highlighting, multiple themes, fonts, backgrounds, and line selections. Ideal for documentation, social media, blogs, or presentations, it produces shareable PNG images with professional styling.

Simply invoke with a file path to interactively configure and export, or use flags for automation. Features include saving locally, copying to clipboard, uploading to Imgur, or opening in the default viewer. Presets and config saving streamline repeated use. Requires Node.js and an internet connection to the Carbon API.

Requires Node.js ≥14 and npm; internet access for Carbon API. No offline mode. Large code blocks may hit API limits.

npm i -g carbon-now-cli
Or npx carbon-now for one-off use.

carbon-now example.js (interactive)
cat foo.py | carbon-now --language python --theme dracula --save-to image.png
carbon-now --code 'console.log("hi");' --copy

Released in 2019 as carbon-now-cli on npm by Jake Lovett. Inspired by Carbon.now.sh (2018). Actively maintained on GitHub with 5k+ stars; supports latest Carbon features.

bat(1), glow(1), chafa(1)