lolcat
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Description:
Rainbows and unicorns in your console!
Type: Formula  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Developer tools
Tags: cli terminal rainbow utility ansi
Install: brew install lolcat
About:
Lolcat is a command-line utility that processes text input to add rainbow coloring. It applies ANSI color codes to each character, creating a vibrant, rainbow-striped output. This tool is commonly used to enhance terminal output, add flair to scripts, or for humorous visual effects in the console.
Key Features:
  • Applies rainbow coloring to text streams
  • Supports customizable animation speed and duration
  • Parses standard input and command-line arguments
  • Compatible with Unix-like operating systems
Use Cases:
  • Adding visual flair to shell scripts and command output
  • Creating rainbow-colored text for terminal greetings or banners
  • Pranks or fun visual enhancements in shared terminal sessions
Alternatives:
  • cowsay – Generates ASCII art of a cow with a message, whereas lolcat focuses on rainbow text styling.
  • figlet – Creates large letters from text using ASCII characters, without the rainbow coloring effect.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Sep 14, 2025 8:25pm 0 VERSION_BUMP fd488a25