TerminalImageViewer

Small Java program to display images in a (modern) terminal using RGB ANSI codes and unicode block graphic characters

Algorithm (for each 4x8 pixel cell mapped to a unicode block graphics character):

Find the color channel (R, G or B) that has the biggest range of values for the current cell
Split this range in the middle
Average the colors above and below and create a corresponding bitmap for the cell
Compare the bitmap to the assumed bitmaps for various unicode block graphics characters

Usage:

javac TerminalImageViewer.java

java TerminalImageViewer [-w <width-in-characters>] <image-filename-or-url>

Common problems:

If you see strange horizontal lines, the characters don't fully fill the character cell. Remove additional line spacing in your terminal app
Wrong colors? Try -256 to use a 256 color palette instead of 24 bit colors

Examples:

If multiple images match the filename spec, thumbnails are shown.