| Gothic | `gothic` | Dramatic text |
使用技巧
Preview 2-3 fonts and let the user pick their favorite
Short text (1-8 chars) works best with detailed fonts like doom or block
Long text works better with compact fonts like small or mini
Tool 2: Text Banners (asciified API — remote, no install)
Free REST API that converts text to ASCII art. 250+ FIGlet fonts. Returns plain text directly — no parsing needed. Use this when pyfiglet is not installed or as a quick alternative.
使用方式 (via terminal curl)
# Basic text banner (default font)
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/ascii?text=Hello+World"
# With a specific font
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/ascii?text=Hello&font=Slant"
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/ascii?text=Hello&font=Doom"
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/ascii?text=Hello&font=Star+Wars"
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/ascii?text=Hello&font=3-D"
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/ascii?text=Hello&font=Banner3"
# List all available fonts (returns JSON array)
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/fonts"
使用技巧
URL-encode spaces as + in the text parameter
The response is plain text ASCII art — no JSON wrapping, ready to display
Font names are case-sensitive; use the fonts endpoint to get exact names
Works from any terminal with curl — no Python or pip needed
Tool 3: Cowsay (Message Art)
Classic tool that wraps text in a speech bubble with an ASCII character.
安装配置
sudo apt install cowsay -y # Debian/Ubuntu
# brew install cowsay # macOS
使用方式
cowsay "Hello World"
cowsay -f tux "Linux rules" # Tux the penguin
cowsay -f dragon "Rawr!" # Dragon
cowsay -f stegosaurus "Roar!" # Stegosaurus
cowthink "Hmm..." # Thought bubble
cowsay -l # List all characters
Available characters (50+)
beavis.zen, bong, bunny, cheese, daemon, default, dragon,
dragon-and-cow, elephant, eyes, flaming-skull, ghostbusters,
hellokitty, kiss, kitty, koala, luke-koala, mech-and-cow,
meow, moofasa, moose, ren, sheep, skeleton, small,
stegosaurus, stimpy, supermilker, surgery, three-eyes,
turkey, turtle, tux, udder, vader, vader-koala, www
Eye/tongue modifiers
cowsay -b "Borg" # =_= eyes
cowsay -d "Dead" # x_x eyes
cowsay -g "Greedy" # $_$ eyes
cowsay -p "Paranoid" # @_@ eyes
cowsay -s "Stoned" # *_* eyes
cowsay -w "Wired" # O_O eyes
cowsay -e "OO" "Msg" # Custom eyes
cowsay -T "U " "Msg" # Custom tongue
Tool 4: Boxes (Decorative Borders)
Draw decorative ASCII art borders/frames around any text. 70+ built-in designs.
安装配置
sudo apt install boxes -y # Debian/Ubuntu
# brew install boxes # macOS
使用方式
echo "Hello World" | boxes # Default box
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d stone # Stone border
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d parchment # Parchment scroll
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d cat # Cat border
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d dog # Dog border
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d unicornsay # Unicorn
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d diamonds # Diamond pattern
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d c-cmt # C-style comment
echo "Hello World" | boxes -d html-cmt # HTML comment
echo "Hello World" | boxes -a c # Center text
boxes -l # List all 70+ designs
Combine with pyfiglet or asciified
python3 -m pyfiglet "HERMES" -f slant | boxes -d stone
# Or without pyfiglet installed:
curl -s "https://asciified.thelicato.io/api/v2/ascii?text=HERMES&font=Slant" | boxes -d stone
Tool 5: TOIlet (Colored Text Art)
Like pyfiglet but with ANSI color effects and visual filters. Great for terminal eye candy.
安装配置
sudo apt install toilet toilet-fonts -y # Debian/Ubuntu
# brew install toilet # macOS
使用方式
toilet "Hello World" # Basic text art
toilet -f bigmono12 "Hello" # Specific font
toilet --gay "Rainbow!" # Rainbow coloring
toilet --metal "Metal!" # Metallic effect
toilet -F border "Bordered" # Add border
toilet -F border --gay "Fancy!" # Combined effects
toilet -f pagga "Block" # Block-style font (unique to toilet)
toilet -F list # List available filters
Filters
crop, gay (rainbow), metal, flip, flop, 180, left, right, border
Note: toilet outputs ANSI escape codes for colors — works in terminals but may not render in all contexts (e.g., plain text files, some chat platforms).
Tool 6: Image to ASCII Art
Convert images (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WEBP) to ASCII art.
Option A: ascii-image-converter (recommended, modern)
# Install
sudo snap install ascii-image-converter
# OR: go install github.com/TheZoraiz/ascii-image-converter@latest
ascii-image-converter image.png # Basic
ascii-image-converter image.png -C # Color output
ascii-image-converter image.png -d 60,30 # Set dimensions
ascii-image-converter image.png -b # Braille characters
ascii-image-converter image.png -n # Negative/inverted
ascii-image-converter https://url/image.jpg # Direct URL
ascii-image-converter image.png --save-txt out # Save as text
Option B: jp2a (lightweight, JPEG only)
sudo apt install jp2a -y
jp2a --width=80 image.jpg
jp2a --colors image.jpg # Colorized
Tool 7: Search Pre-Made ASCII Art
Search curated ASCII art from the web. Use terminal with curl.
Source A: ascii.co.uk (recommended for pre-made art)
Large collection of classic ASCII art organized by subject. Art is inside HTML
URL pattern: https://ascii.co.uk/art/{subject}
Step 1 — Fetch the page:
curl -s 'https://ascii.co.uk/art/cat' -o /tmp/ascii_art.html
Step 2 — Extract art from pre tags:
import re, html
with open('/tmp/ascii_art.html') as f:
text = f.read()
arts = re.findall(r']*>(.*?)
', text, re.DOTALL)
for art in arts:
clean = re.sub(r']+>', '', art)
clean = html.unescape(clean).strip()
if len(clean) > 30:
print(clean)
print('n---n')
Available subjects (use as URL path):
Animals: cat, dog, horse, bird, fish, dragon, snake, rabbit, elephant, dolphin, butterfly, owl, wolf, bear, penguin, turtle
Objects: car, ship, airplane, rocket, guitar, computer, coffee, beer, cake, house, castle, sword, crown, key
Nature: tree, flower, sun, moon, star, mountain, ocean, rainbow
Characters: skull, robot, angel, wizard, pirate, ninja, alien
Holidays: christmas, halloween, valentine
Tips:
Preserve artist signatures/initials — important etiquette
Multiple art pieces per page — pick the best one for the user
Works reliably via curl, no JavaScript needed
Source B: GitHub Octocat API (fun easter egg)
Returns a random GitHub Octocat with a wise quote. No auth needed.
curl -s https://api.github.com/octocat
Tool 8: Fun ASCII Utilities (via curl)
These free services return ASCII art directly — great for fun extras.
QR Codes as ASCII Art
curl -s "qrenco.de/Hello+World"
curl -s "qrenco.de/https://example.com"
Weather as ASCII Art
curl -s "wttr.in/London" # Full weather report with ASCII graphics
curl -s "wttr.in/Moon" # Moon phase in ASCII art
curl -s "v2.wttr.in/London" # Detailed version
Tool 9: LLM-Generated Custom Art (Fallback)
When tools above don't have what's needed, generate ASCII art directly using these Unicode characters:
Character Palette
Box Drawing: ╔ ╗ ╚ ╝ ║ ═ ╠ ╣ ╦ ╩ ╬ ┌ ┐ └ ┘ │ ─ ├ ┤ ┬ ┴ ┼ ╭ ╮ ╰ ╯
Block Elements: ░ ▒ ▓ █ ▄ ▀ ▌ ▐ ▖ ▗ ▘ ▝ ▚ ▞
Geometric & Symbols: ◆ ◇ ◈ ● ○ ◉ ■ □ ▲ △ ▼ ▽ ★ ☆ ✦ ✧ ◀ ▶ ◁ ▷ ⬡ ⬢ ⌂
Rules
Max width: 60 characters per line (terminal-safe)
Max height: 15 lines for banners, 25 for scenes
Monospace only: output must render correctly in fixed-width fonts
Decision Flow
Text as a banner → pyfiglet if installed, otherwise asciified API via curl
Wrap a message in fun character art → cowsay
Add decorative border/frame → boxes (can combine with pyfiglet/asciified)
Art of a specific thing (cat, rocket, dragon) → ascii.co.uk via curl + parsing
Convert an image to ASCII → ascii-image-converter or jp2a
QR code → qrenco.de via curl
Weather/moon art → wttr.in via curl
Something custom/creative → LLM generation with Unicode palette
Any tool not installed → install it, or fall back to next option
