name: ascii-art

description: Generate ASCII art using pyfiglet (571 fonts), cowsay, boxes, toilet, image-to-ascii, remote APIs (asciified, ascii.co.uk), and LLM fallback. No API keys required.

version: 4.0.0

author: 0xbyt4, Hermes Agent

license: MIT

dependencies: []

metadata:

hermes:

tags: [ASCII, Art, Banners, Creative, Unicode, Text-Art, pyfiglet, figlet, cowsay, boxes]

related_skills: [excalidraw]

ASCII Art Skill

Multiple tools for different ASCII art needs. All tools are local CLI programs or free REST APIs — no API keys required.

Tool 1: Text Banners (pyfiglet — local)

Render text as large ASCII art banners. 571 built-in fonts.

Setup

`bash

pip install pyfiglet --break-system-packages -q

Usage

`bash

python3 -m pyfiglet "YOUR TEXT" -f slant

python3 -m pyfiglet "TEXT" -f doom -w 80 # Set width

python3 -m pyfiglet --list_fonts # List all 571 fonts

Recommended fonts

Style	Font	Best for
-------	------	----------
Clean & modern	`slant`	Project names, headers
Bold & blocky	`doom`	Titles, logos
Big & readable	`big`	Banners
Classic banner	`banner3`	Wide displays
Compact	`small`	Subtitles
Cyberpunk	`cyberlarge`	Tech themes
3D effect	`3-d`	Splash screens
Gothic	`gothic`	Dramatic text

Tips

- 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.

Usage (via terminal curl)

`bash

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"

Tips

- 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.

Setup

`bash

sudo apt install cowsay -y # Debian/Ubuntu

brew install cowsay # macOS

Usage

`bash

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

`bash

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.

Setup

`bash

sudo apt install boxes -y # Debian/Ubuntu

brew install boxes # macOS

Usage

`bash

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

`bash

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.

Setup

`bash

sudo apt install toilet toilet-fonts -y # Debian/Ubuntu

brew install toilet # macOS

Usage

`bash

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)

`bash

Install

sudo snap install ascii-image-converter

OR: go install github.com/TheZoraiz/ascii-image-converter@latest

`bash

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)

`bash

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

 tags. Fetch the page with curl, then extract art with a small Python snippet.
URL pattern: https://ascii.co.uk/art/{subject}
Step 1 — Fetch the page:
`bash
curl -s 'https://ascii.co.uk/art/cat' -o /tmp/ascii_art.html
`
Step 2 — Extract art from pre tags:
`python
import re, html
with open('/tmp/ascii_art.html') as f:
    text = f.read()
arts = re.findall(r']>(.?)

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.

`bash

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

`bash

curl -s "qrenco.de/Hello+World"

curl -s "qrenco.de/https://example.com"

Weather as ASCII Art

`bash

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

1. Text as a banner → pyfiglet if installed, otherwise asciified API via curl

2. Wrap a message in fun character art → cowsay

3. Add decorative border/frame → boxes (can combine with pyfiglet/asciified)

4. Art of a specific thing (cat, rocket, dragon) → ascii.co.uk via curl + parsing

5. Convert an image to ASCII → ascii-image-converter or jp2a

6. QR code → qrenco.de via curl

7. Weather/moon art → wttr.in via curl

8. Something custom/creative → LLM generation with Unicode palette

9. Any tool not installed → install it, or fall back to next option