svg-term-cli: Share Terminal Sessions as Razor-Sharp Animated SVGs

Introduction

svg-term-cli is a command-line interface tool designed to convert asciicast recordings into animated SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files. This innovative approach allows developers to share terminal sessions with exceptional clarity and scalability, making them perfect for documentation, presentations, and web content. Unlike traditional GIF recordings, SVGs maintain their sharpness at any zoom level and can be styled with common terminal color profiles.

Key features include:

• Render asciicast to animated SVG.
• Share asciicasts everywhere, without requiring JavaScript players.
• Style output with various terminal color profiles.

Installation

To get started with svg-term-cli, you first need to install asciinema, which is used for recording terminal sessions.

1. Install asciinema: Follow the instructions at https://asciinema.org/docs/installation.
2. Install svg-term-cli: Once asciinema is set up, install svg-term-cli globally via npm:

npm install -g svg-term-cli

Examples

Generating an animated SVG from an existing asciicast is straightforward. Here's an example demonstrating how to create the parrot.svg from asciicast ID 113643, including window decorations:

svg-term --cast=113643 --out examples/parrot.svg --window

You can also pipe asciinema recordings directly into svg-term-cli or specify an input JSON file. The tool offers various options for customization, including output file, dimensions, timeline ranges, and cursor visibility.

Why Use It

The primary rationale behind svg-term-cli is to provide a superior alternative to GIF asciicast recordings, especially in environments where the interactive asciinema player cannot be used. This includes common scenarios like README.md files on GitHub or the npm registry.

GIFs often suffer from pixelation and large file sizes, compromising the readability of terminal text. By contrast, svg-term-cli produces vector-based animations, ensuring that text remains razor-sharp and perfectly legible, even when zoomed in. This significantly enhances the quality and professionalism of your project's documentation.

Links

For more information and related projects, check out these resources:

• asciinema/asciinema: Terminal session recorder, available at https://github.com/asciinema/asciinema
• derhuerst/asciicast-to-svg: Render frames of Asciicasts as SVGs, available at https://github.com/derhuerst/asciicast-to-svg
• marionebl/svg-term: Render asciicast to animated SVG, available at https://github.com/marionebl/svg-term
• marionebl/term-schemes: Parse and normalize common terminal emulator color schemes, available at https://github.com/marionebl/term-schemes