Text / ASCII art
ASCII Art Generator
Turn a picture or a word into ASCII art: choose the width, the characters, and light or dark background, then copy it or download it as a text file.
ASCII Art Generator: The picture, or the text drawn in a heavy font, is divided into a grid of cells twice as tall as they are wide, the shape of a character. Each cell's brightness picks a character from a ramp, from light marks such as dots and colons to dense ones such as # and @. Because the text is drawn by your browser first, banners work in any script, Japanese included, without a special font. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
- Category
- Text tools
- Runs
- In your browser
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
Where ASCII art is used
Banners in README files and code comments, signatures in plain-text email, terminal startup messages, and retro decoration in chats and forums. Keep banners narrow, about 60 to 80 characters, so they fit a standard terminal.
For styled letters that work in any font, such as on social profiles, use the fancy text generator instead.
Getting a clean result
Crop the picture to the subject first and raise the contrast, and choose the detailed character set for photos or blocks for logos. The two-tone set gives the crispest outlines for text banners.
How to use it
- Choose a text banner or a picture.
- Type the text, or choose a picture, and set the width in characters.
- Pick the character set, then copy the art or download it as a .txt file.
Privacy & limitations
Everything runs in your browser; your pictures are not uploaded.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Why does my ASCII art look wrong when I paste it?
ASCII art needs a fixed-width font, where every character is the same width. Paste it into a code block, a terminal, or plain-text email; in a proportional font the lines no longer line up.
Which pictures work best?
Pictures with strong contrast and a simple subject, such as a logo, a silhouette, or a face in good light. Busy photos turn into noise at small widths; increase the width to keep more detail.
What is the dark background option for?
On a light page dark parts of the picture get dense characters. On a dark terminal it is the other way round, so the option swaps them.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required