aview ☆

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Description:
ASCII-art image browser and animation viewer

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 1.3.0rc1@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Multimedia

Tags: ascii-art image-viewer terminal cli multimedia

Install: brew install aview

About:
AView is a command-line utility that renders images as ASCII art, converting pixel data into text characters. It supports various image formats and can display animated sequences, making it useful for viewing visual content in terminal environments. The tool leverages the aalib library for high-quality ASCII rendering.

Key Features:

Converts images to ASCII art in real-time
Supports multiple image formats (JPEG, PNG, GIF)
Handles animation playback for GIF files
Works in standard terminal environments
Lightweight with minimal dependencies

Use Cases:

Previewing images on headless servers or via SSH
Creating ASCII art versions of images for text-based documents
Viewing image content in terminal-based workflows
Browsing image directories in console environments

Alternatives:

libcaca – Similar ASCII art rendering but with different rendering algorithms and color support
chafa – Modern alternative with better color accuracy and terminal compatibility

License: GPL-2.0-only

Dependencies: aalib

Bottles available for: arm64_tahoe, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_ventura, arm64_monterey, arm64_big_sur, sonoma, ventura, monterey, big_sur, catalina, arm64_linux, x86_64_linux

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 13, 2025 1:49pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	154871ef