A feature-rich media-to-ASCII converter written in C++

• Convert media files to ASCII art with customizable character sets
• URL support for downloading images and videos directly from web URLs
• Real-time video playback with smooth frame-by-frame ASCII conversion
• Auto-fit by default to terminal size for optimal viewing experience
• Supports grayscale and ANSI-colored output for all media types
• Adjustable brightness, scaling, and aspect ratio correction
• Edge detection using the Sobel filter for enhanced details
• Option to invert brightness for different visual effects
• Automatic frame rate detection and matching for smooth video playback
• Efficient media handling with optimized terminal rendering
• Utilizes stb_image libraries for robust media loading and OpenCV for video processing

Ensure you have the following installed:

• C++17 or later
• CMake (>= 3.10)
• OpenCV (>= 4.0) for video and GIF support
• curl or wget for URL download support
• stb_image.h, stb_image_write.h, and stb_image_resize2.h (already included)

# Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt-get install libopencv-dev curl # macOS (with Homebrew) brew install opencv curl # Windows (with vcpkg) vcpkg install opencv # curl is usually pre-installed on Windows 10+

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/ashish0kumar/pixcii.git cd pixcii # Quick build (recommended) chmod +x build.sh ./build.sh # Or manual build mkdir build && cd build cmake .. make -j$(nproc) # Run the program ./build/pixcii --help

mv build/pixcii ~/.local/bin/ # If ~/.local/bin/ is not in `$PATH: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" # Usage pixcii --help

Images: JPG, PNG, BMP, TGA, GIF (static)
Videos: MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, WEBM, M4V, WMV, FLV
Animated: GIF
Input Sources: Local files and web URLs

# Convert image pixcii -i image.jpg # Video playback with color pixcii -i video.mp4 -c # GIF with edge detection pixcii -i animation.gif -e

# Process image from URL pixcii -i https://example.com/image.jpg -c # Process video from URL pixcii -i https://example.com/video.mp4 -e # URLs without extensions (auto-detects content type) pixcii -i "https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR..." -c # Download and save ASCII art from URL pixcii -i https://example.com/photo.png -o downloaded_ascii.txt

# Display at original resolution pixcii -i image.jpg -g # Original size with scaling pixcii -i large_image.png -g -s 0.5 # Save ASCII art to file pixcii -i image.jpg -o artwork.txt

# Edge detection with color and brightness adjustment pixcii -i image.jpg -e -c -b 1.5 # Custom frame delay for videos pixcii -i video.mp4 -d 150 # Custom character set pixcii -i video.mp4 -m " .:-=+*#%@" -c

• Ctrl+C - Stop video playback and exit
• Terminal zoom (Ctrl +/-) - Adjust display size during playback
• Videos automatically match original frame rate for smooth playback

Normal	Colored	Edges

• Automatically detect the terminal size and scale the output to fit
• Media support with real-time playback
• Auto-fit by default with original size option
• URL support with smart content-type detection
• Implement different character sets optimized for different scenarios
• Allow users to save and load parameter presets via config files
• Performance optimizations for high-resolution media
• Export ASCII animations to various formats

Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to improve the project, follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Commit your changes with a clear message.
4. Push your branch and create a pull request.

Before submitting, ensure your code follows the project's coding style and is well documented.

© 2025-present Ashish Kumar