✰ArtSCII✰ CLI (previously ✰ArtSCII✰)

A fast, feature-rich command-line tool to convert images to ASCII art.

Features

• Multiple dithering algorithms: Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson, and Riemersma
• Color support: ANSI colors for terminal, RGB for HTML output
• Multiple output formats: Terminal, plain text, and styled HTML
• Image adjustments: Resolution, contrast, and brightness controls
• Wide format support: PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, WebP, and more

Installation

Prebuilt Binaries

Download prebuilt binaries for your platform from the latest release:

• Linux x86_64: artscii-linux-x86_64
• Linux ARM64: artscii-linux-aarch64
• macOS x86_64: artscii-macos-x86_64
• macOS ARM64: artscii-macos-aarch64
• Windows x86_64: artscii-windows-x86_64.exe

After downloading, make it executable (on Unix):

chmod +x artscii-linux-x86_64
./artscii-linux-x86_64

From Cargo

Install from source using Cargo, clone the repository, and on the root of the project run:

cargo install --path .

Build Manually

Clone the repository and build:

cargo build --release # Binary will be at ./target/release/artscii

Usage

Options

Flag	Long	Description	Default
-o	--output	Output file path	stdout
-f	--format	Output format (terminal/text/html)	auto
-r	--resolution	Scale factor (0.01-1.0)	0.3
	--contrast	Contrast (0.1-3.0)	1.0
-b	--brightness	Brightness (0.1-3.0)	1.0
-i	--invert	Invert character mapping	false
-c	--color	Enable colored output	false
-d	--dithering	Dithering algorithm	none
-q	--quiet	Suppress info messages	false

Example Commands

# Basic usage - display in terminal
artscii image.png

# With colors
artscii image.png -c

# Save as plain text
artscii image.png -o output.txt

# Save as styled HTML with colors
artscii image.png -o output.html -c

# Higher resolution with Atkinson dithering
artscii image.png -r 0.5 -d atkinson

# Adjust contrast and brightness
artscii image.png --contrast 1.5 -b 0.8

# Invert characters (for light backgrounds)
artscii image.png -i

# Quiet mode (only output the art)
artscii image.png -q

And what I think is the best result for the example image:

artscii image.png -c -b 1.5 -r 0.26 -d atkinson -o img.html

Dithering Algorithms

• none: No dithering (default)
• floyd-steinberg: Classic error-diffusion dithering
• atkinson: Sharper dithering (preserves more contrast)
• riemersma: Space-filling curve dithering

Sponsor

If you like this project, consider supporting me by buying me a coffee.