For plain black-and-white character art, use jp2a: install it through a package route supported by your operating system, convert the image at a deliberate width, and save the output as text. Prepare an image with ImageMagick first if you need to resize it or change its format. For colored terminal art, use a tool such as chafa instead—but its output depends on terminal support and is not as portable as ordinary text.
Choose the kind of ASCII art you need
Before converting, decide where the result will be used. That choice determines whether plain text or terminal-specific output is the better fit.
| Output | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
Plain ASCII text with jp2a |
Saving, sharing, or displaying character art as ordinary text | Monochrome characters limit detail; width and proportions affect how recognizable the image is |
ANSI or Unicode terminal art with chafa |
A richer display in a compatible terminal | Appearance depends on terminal capabilities and may not transfer as ordinary text |
The Debian jp2a manual documents conversion to ASCII and output dimensions, including support for JPEG, PNG, and WebP. The Debian chafa manual describes ANSI and Unicode character-art output, as well as image data such as animated GIFs. Neither tool guarantees a particular result for every photo.
Make plain ASCII art with jp2a
1. Install jp2a for your system
Use a package manager or installation source that supports your operating system, and check the current package instructions. Installation examples from the Image2Term project cover macOS with Homebrew and Linux with apt or dnf, but these are that project’s instructions; package names and availability can change. Those examples should not be treated as a universal installation guide.
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2. Convert the photo at a deliberate width
Run a command such as:
jp2a --width=80 photo.jpg > photo-ascii.txtThis is an illustrative command pattern, not a tested command or a guarantee for every build. It asks jp2a to create output at a width of 80 characters and redirects the result into photo-ascii.txt. If your installed version uses different options, check its help output. The Debian manual documents width and other output-dimension controls.
3. Check proportions and readability
Open the text file in a monospaced font. If the result looks too small, too large, or distorted, adjust the width or height and convert again. The jp2a manual warns that setting dimensions to match the whole terminal window can disregard the source image’s aspect ratio. Avoid forcing dimensions just to fill the screen; preserve sensible proportions.
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Prepare an image with ImageMagick when needed
If the photo is in a format your installed converter does not accept, or you want to reduce its dimensions before conversion, use ImageMagick to convert or resize it. Its official command-line processing documentation covers those operations. Once prepared, pass the resulting image to jp2a.
ImageMagick’s documentation shows Linux shell examples using a backslash for line continuation. In Windows shell examples, replace that line-continuation backslash with a caret; this is a syntax note, not an installation procedure for jp2a or chafa.
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What to know on Mac, Linux, and Windows
Mac
The Image2Term project documents a Homebrew example that installs ImageMagick, jp2a, and chafa, plus an example script invocation. Follow the project’s current repository instructions if you choose that wrapper; they are not universal macOS setup steps.
Linux
Image2Term provides apt examples for Ubuntu and Debian, and dnf examples for Fedora and RHEL. Distribution package names and versions vary, so verify the package instructions for your distribution. The Ubuntu jp2a manual also notes that ImageMagick can be combined with jp2a for input conversion and image effects.
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Windows
The available documentation does not establish a complete Windows installation route for jp2a or chafa. ImageMagick’s note about using a caret instead of a backslash addresses command-line continuation only; it does not explain how to install or run the ASCII-art tools on Windows. Do not assume the macOS or Linux package commands work in Windows.
Use terminal art when plain text is not enough
chafa is an option when you want ANSI or Unicode character art rather than conventional ASCII text. Its output can look richer, but depends on the terminal’s support for the relevant characters and color behavior. For a text file that should display consistently in ordinary editors and across systems, stick to plain ASCII output.
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The Image2Term project offers a shell-script workflow with jp2a, chafa, and ImageMagick, and describes controls for width, height, styles, and color modes. Those are features described by that project, not a guarantee of image quality for any particular photograph. Check the project’s repository and package instructions before using its workflow.
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