chafa

terminal image viewer using character art

TLDR

Display image in terminal

$ chafa [image.png]

Specify output size

$ chafa -s [80x40] [image.jpg]

Use sixel graphics

$ chafa --format sixels [image.png]

Use kitty graphics protocol

$ chafa --format kitty [image.gif]

Limit colors

$ chafa --colors [256] [image.png]

Display animated GIF

$ chafa --animate [animation.gif]

ASCII only output

$ chafa --symbols ascii [image.jpg]

chafa converts images to character art for display directly in the terminal. It uses Unicode block characters, braille patterns, and ASCII art to approximate images at the resolution of the terminal grid.For terminals with advanced graphics support, chafa can output using the Sixel, Kitty, or iTerm2 graphics protocols, producing much higher fidelity results. It handles a wide range of image formats including JPEG, PNG, GIF (with animation), AVIF, SVG, WebP, TIFF, and JPEG XL.Output can be tuned by adjusting size, color depth, symbol sets, and animation speed. chafa automatically detects terminal capabilities and selects the best available output mode.

PARAMETERS

-s, --size WxH

Output size in characters

-f, --format format

Output format: symbols, sixels, kitty, iterm

-c, --colors n

Color mode: none, 2, 8, 16, 256, full

--symbols set

Symbol set: all, ascii, block, braille

--fg color

Foreground color

--bg color

Background color

--animate

Enable animation for GIFs

--duration secs

Animation duration

--speed factor

Animation speed multiplier

-w, --watch

Watch file for changes

--font-ratio ratio

Font width/height ratio

SUPPORTED FORMATS

JPEG, PNG, GIF, AVIF, SVG, TIFF, WebP, JPEG XL, QOI, XWD

INSTALL

sudo apt install chafa

sudo dnf install chafa

sudo pacman -S chafa

sudo apk add chafa

sudo zypper install chafa

brew install chafa

nix profile install nixpkgs#chafa

CAVEATS

Output quality depends on terminal capabilities. Sixels require compatible terminal. Best results with Truecolor support.

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage