A simple Python script that fetches a picture from Bing or Picsum daily, and converts it to colorful ASCII art using ascii-image-converter.
Download the latest release for your platform from Releases page:
- Windows:
greetings-windows.exe - macOS:
greetings-macos - Linux:
greetings-linux
After downloading:
-
Make the file executable (Linux/macOS):
chmod +x greetings-linux # or greetings-macos -
Run the executable:
# Windows .\greetings-windows.exe
Note
On Windows, the installer must be executed with administrator privileges. These privileges are not required for the application to run after installation.
# Linux/macOS
./greetings-linux # or ./greetings-macosNote
The binaries will be moved to ~/.local/bin. Make sure you add it to your PATH if not already added.
Requirements:
The program will automatically download and install the required ascii-image-converter binary for your system on first run.
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/widkit/greetingscd into greetings:
cd greetingsInstall dependencies via poetry:
poetry installpython3 src/greetings/main.pypyinstaller --onefile src/greetings/main.pyCreate and edit a PowerShell profile:
notepad $PROFILE
Add the following line at the top:
# If using pre-built executable:
& "PATH-TO-EXECUTABLE/greetings-windows.exe"
# If using Python script:
python "PATH-TO-SCRIPT/src/main.py"
Replace the path with the absolute path to the executable or script.
Add line to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.):
# If using pre-built executable:
greetings
# If using Python script:
python "/path/to/src/main.py"- You can save the daily images by setting
save_images = Truein ~/.config/greetings/greetings.yaml - Images are cached in ~/.config/greetings/ to avoid unnecessary downloads.
The program can be customized through the configuration file located at ~/.config/greetings/greetings.yaml. Here's an example configuration:
save_images: false
flags:
- -C
- --color-bg
- -b
# To enable additional flags, uncomment and move them above this line
# - -n
# - -x
# - -d
# - 60,30-C: Display ASCII art with original colors--color-bg: Use color on character background instead of foreground-b: Use braille characters instead of ASCII-g: Display grayscale ASCII art-c: Use more ASCII characters for higher quality-f: Use largest dimensions that fill the terminal width-n: Display ASCII art in negative colors-x: Flip ASCII art horizontally-y: Flip ASCII art vertically
These flags require two separate lines in the configuration:
- -d
- 60,30
-d: Set width and height for ASCII art (e.g., 60,30)-W: Set width for ASCII art (height adjusts automatically)-H: Set height for ASCII art (width adjusts automatically)-m: Custom ASCII characters (ordered from darkest to lightest)
- The configuration file is created automatically on first run
- Changes to the configuration take effect immediately
- Some flags may not work well together (e.g.,
-Coverrides-g) - Terminal must support the selected output options (e.g., colors, braille)
Click to expand full ascii-image-converter manual
ascii-image-converter [image paths/urls or piped stdin] [flags]
Flags:
-C, --color Display ascii art with original colors
If 24-bit colors aren't supported, uses 8-bit
(Inverts with --negative flag)
(Overrides --grayscale and --font-color flags)
--color-bg If some color flag is passed, use that color
on character background instead of foreground
(Inverts with --negative flag)
(Only applicable for terminal display)
-d, --dimensions ints Set width and height for ascii art in CHARACTER length
e.g. -d 60,30 (defaults to terminal height)
(Overrides --width and --height flags)
-W, --width int Set width for ascii art in CHARACTER length
Height is kept to aspect ratio
e.g. -W 60
-H, --height int Set height for ascii art in CHARACTER length
Width is kept to aspect ratio
e.g. -H 60
-m, --map string Give custom ascii characters to map against
Ordered from darkest to lightest
e.g. -m " .-+#@" (Quotation marks excluded from map)
(Overrides --complex flag)
-b, --braille Use braille characters instead of ascii
Terminal must support braille patterns properly
(Overrides --complex and --map flags)
--threshold int Threshold for braille art
Value between 0-255 is accepted
e.g. --threshold 170
(Defaults to 128)
--dither Apply dithering on image for braille
art conversion
(Only applicable with --braille flag)
(Negates --threshold flag)
-g, --grayscale Display grayscale ascii art
(Inverts with --negative flag)
(Overrides --font-color flag)
-c, --complex Display ascii characters in a larger range
May result in higher quality
-f, --full Use largest dimensions for ascii art
that fill the terminal width
(Overrides --dimensions, --width and --height flags)
-n, --negative Display ascii art in negative colors
-x, --flipX Flip ascii art horizontally
-y, --flipY Flip ascii art vertically
-s, --save-img string Save ascii art as a .png file
Format: <image-name>-ascii-art.png
Image will be saved in passed path
(pass . for current directory)
--save-txt string Save ascii art as a .txt file
Format: <image-name>-ascii-art.txt
File will be saved in passed path
(pass . for current directory)
--save-gif string If input is a gif, save it as a .gif file
Format: <gif-name>-ascii-art.gif
Gif will be saved in passed path
(pass . for current directory)
--save-bg ints Set background color for --save-img
and --save-gif flags
Pass an RGBA value
e.g. --save-bg 255,255,255,100
(Defaults to 0,0,0,100)
--font string Set font for --save-img and --save-gif flags
Pass file path to font .ttf file
e.g. --font ./RobotoMono-Regular.ttf
(Defaults to Hack-Regular for ascii and
DejaVuSans-Oblique for braille)
--font-color ints Set font color for terminal as well as
--save-img and --save-gif flags
Pass an RGB value
e.g. --font-color 0,0,0
(Defaults to 255,255,255)
--only-save Don't print ascii art on terminal
if some saving flag is passed
--formats Display supported input formats
-h, --help Help for ascii-image-converter
-v, --version Version for ascii-image-converter