Why is the result stretched vertically?

Monospace characters are roughly twice as tall as they are wide, so the converter halves the vertical sampling rate to keep the aspect ratio close to the original.

What character ramp is used?

A 10-character ramp from space to '@' (" .:-=+*#%@"), brightest pixels at the right end. Invert flips the mapping.

ascii · text art · luminance · local

Turn images into ASCII art

Downscale your image, compute per-pixel luminance, and map to a character ramp. Adjust width and inversion for the perfect retro look. Runs locally.

Image to ASCII Art

Width

120

chars

Lines

—

rows

Ramp

default

Status

waiting

pick file

input · image

image/* · runs locally · nothing uploaded

output · preview

ASCII art appears here

Quick Start

How it works

Pick an image, tune the options, then download the result. Everything runs in your browser.

01
Pick image
Anything decodable: PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF.
Files stay in memory as an HTMLImageElement — the original bytes are never uploaded, and EXIF metadata is preserved until you explicitly transform it.
inputuploadcanvaslocaldecode
input · bytesimage · loaded
```
load: image/*
```
loaded · decodedcanvas · ready
02
Downscale
Image is shrunk to your chosen character width × half the aspect (chars are ~2x taller than wide).
Encoder quality is exposed where the format supports it — JPEG and WebP get a 0–1 quality slider; PNG is lossless. Options re-render the canvas immediately.
resizeoptionslive previewencoderquality
size · tunable120 · live
```
canvas = 120 × (h·0.5)
```
options applied · liveencoder · live
03
Map to ramp
Each pixel's luminance picks a character from the ramp .:-=+*#%@.
Pixel work runs on the Canvas 2D context — drawImage resamples with the browser’s bilinear filter and getImageData/putImageData back per-pixel passes.
ramprenderCanvas 2Dpreviewpx-perfect
ramp · resamplednormal · px-perfect
```
lum → " .:-=+*#%@"
```
preview · livepx-perfect
04
Copy or save
Drop the result into a code comment, a README, or save as .txt.
Downloads ship via a hidden anchor with an object URL — no server round-trip, and the file on disk is untouched. The output filename inherits a sensible suffix.
exportdownloadblobclient-sideobject URL
ok · blobready · saved
```
ascii.txt
```
shipped · ready to shipsuccess

Pro tips

Browser-only image work that scales

Convert with quality control

JPEG/WebP let you pick a 0–1 quality. Default 0.92 is a good compromise of size and visible quality.

PNG isn’t free

Use PNG only for transparency or sharp edges. For photos, WebP is smaller at the same perceived quality.

Strip EXIF for privacy

Photo EXIF often contains GPS, camera model, and timestamps. Strip before sharing public uploads.

Watch the colour profile

Convert to sRGB before web export. Wide-gamut images render oversaturated in non-managed browsers.

AVIF when it’s available

AVIF beats WebP on size at the same quality. Detect support via <picture> with fallbacks.

Lazy-load below the fold

Add loading="lazy" on <img>. The browser handles scheduling — no IntersectionObserver needed.

Use Cases

When to use this tool

Common workflows it speeds up.

README banners

Old-school text art in repo README files. Decoded into a Canvas 2D context — original bytes never leave the tab, so you can process customer-uploaded photos, internal screenshots, or sensitive diagrams without privacy concerns.

px-perfect

Terminal welcome

Logo for shell motd or login messages. Encoders expose quality 0–1 where the format supports it (JPEG, WebP); PNG and AVIF stay perceptually lossless. Pick 0.85 for web, 0.95 for archival, 0.7 for thumbnails.

quality-tunable

ASCII signatures

Personal sigs for email or forum posts. Pair with the EXIF Stripper before sharing user-uploaded photos publicly. Camera serial numbers, GPS coordinates, and timestamps often hide in image metadata and leak more than the picture itself.

format-aware

Print debugging

Embed visual cues in monospace logs. Output preserves colour profile (sRGB) so it renders consistently across browsers, monitors, and print pipelines. Wide-gamut workflows can opt into Display P3 for modern Apple devices.

EXIF-safe

Retro aesthetics

BBS, demoscene, 80s-style banners. Re-runs only on option changes, never on window resize, so the canvas stays responsive on large images. drawImage uses the browser's bilinear filter for fast resampling.

client-side

Plain-text art

Share images where images aren't allowed. Downloads as .png, .jpg, .webp, or .avif with the correct MIME so editors apply native handling on save. The filename inherits a sensible suffix derived from the input.

compression-ready

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why does my output look squished?

Characters are ~2x taller than wide, so we halve the row count. If it still looks squashed, lower the width.

When should I invert?

If you'll display on a dark background. The default ramp assumes light terminal.

Can I change the ramp?

Not in the UI — but the source is 10 chars from space to '@'. Edit and rebuild if you want a custom ramp.

Why luminance instead of grayscale?

Same thing — we use Rec.601 weights, equivalent to the grayscale converter.

Is anything uploaded?

No. Everything runs locally in your browser.

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