bangen

ascii banners with gradients, effects, and a live terminal editor.

live tui · 30 composable effects · multi-stop gradients · presets · txt / png / gif export · screensaver mode

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quick look

bangen "system ready" --font slant --gradient "#7c3aed:#06b6d4" --effect glow --effect wave

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install

git clone https://github.com/programmersd21/bangen.git
cd bangen
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

or via aur:

yay -S bangen-bin

thanks to @dominiquini for aur help.

or grab a prebuilt binary from releases.

requires python 3.11+. pillow ships in the base install.

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use

launch the editor:

bangen

render from the cli:

bangen "hello"
bangen "hello" --font slant --gradient "#ff00ff:#00ffff"
bangen "hello" --effect wave --effect glow --effect pulse --speed 1.5 --amplitude 2.0

export:

bangen "hello" --export-txt banner.txt
bangen "hello" --export-png banner.png
bangen "hello" --effect wave --effect glow --export-gif banner.gif --gif-duration 3 --gif-fps 20

screensaver:

bangen "hello" --screensaver

animate in the terminal (great for wipe / typewriter):

bangen "hello" --effect wipe --animate --animate-duration 5

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tui keys

key	does
↑↓	move
←→	tweak
enter	edit / toggle
ctrl+v	paste in text fields
e	export dialog
l	load preset
s	save preset
a	auto-size info
c	changelog
i	report issue
q	quit

press e in the tui for the exporter: toggle gif / png / txt, edit the path, tweak duration / fps, live progress included.

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cli

bangen --version
bangen --help

# discover
bangen main --list-effects
bangen main --list-fonts
bangen main --list-presets

# presets + ai
bangen "hello" --preset cyberpunk
bangen "system" --preset matrix
bangen "hello" --preset-file ./my_preset.json
bangen "hello" --ai "retro crt hacker title"

# sizing (on by default, disable with --no-auto-size)
bangen "hello" --auto-size --export-gif banner.gif --gif-duration 3 --gif-fps 20

exports show a live bar with percent, elapsed, eta, and stage.

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effects

30 effects in 5 tiers. order matters — they compose top to bottom.

tier	effects
motion	wave vertical_wave bounce scroll drift shake
visual	gradient_shift pulse rainbow_cycle glow flicker scanline
temporal	typewriter fade_in wipe stagger loop_pulse
distortion	glitch chromatic_aberration noise_injection melt warp fragment
signature	matrix_rain fire electric vhs_glitch neon_sign wave_interference particle_disintegration

favorite stacks:

vibe	stack
cyberpunk	glitch + chromatic_aberration + pulse
neon	glow + pulse
matrix	matrix_rain + typewriter
retro	scanline + flicker
fire	fire + melt
electric	electric + glow

banner.apply(build_effect("wave", config=cfg))
banner.apply(build_effect("chromatic_aberration", config=cfg))
banner.apply(build_effect("pulse", config=cfg))

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gradients + presets

colon-separated hex stops, horizontal or vertical:

#ff00ff:#00ffff
#ff0000:#ffff00:#00ff00

bangen "hello" --gradient "#ff00ff:#00ffff" --gradient-dir vertical

presets live in ~/.bangen/presets/*.json — save from the tui with s, or from the cli with --save-preset name:

{
  "name": "my_preset",
  "font": "ansi_shadow",
  "gradient": "#ff00ff:#00ffff",
  "gradient_direction": "horizontal",
  "effects": ["wave", "glow", "pulse"],
  "effect_config": {
    "wave": { "speed": 1.8, "amplitude": 2.0, "frequency": 0.7 },
    "pulse": { "speed": 1.2, "min_brightness": 0.55 },
    "glow": {}
  }
}

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layout

bangen/
├── effects/      # motion, visual, temporal, distortion, signature
├── export/       # txt, png, gif
├── gradients/    # multi-stop rgb engine
├── presets/      # built-ins + user store
├── rendering/    # pyfiglet engine, banner pipeline, auto-size
├── cli/          # typer commands, screensaver
├── ai/           # prompt → style suggester
└── tui/          # live editor, export + preset dialogs

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star history

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license

mit. see LICENSE.