CatchEm

Catch Bytlings while you code.

Every coding session has a chance to spawn a Bytling. No buttons, no menus — just code and they come to you.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/597036c0-8a17-468e-b2ce-56aa5f556b22

How It Works

1. Install — npm install -g catchem
2. Setup — catchem setup detects your platform and installs hooks
3. Code — Bytlings appear passively as you work
4. Collect — browse your collection with an interactive terminal UI

That's it. No prompts, no menus, no energy systems. Just code and catch.

Installation

npm install -g catchem

Setup runs automatically after install. To manually set up or reconfigure:

catchem setup

Passive Catching

At the end of each coding session, there's a chance a Bytling appears:

✨ You caught a Blazard! (x3)
[Lv.2] ████░░░░░░ 5/7
         ╱╲╱╲
   ╱══╲ ╱╱╱╱
  ╱ ◆◆ ╲╱╱
  ╲ ── ╱═╗
   ╲══╱  ║
    ╚═╝~🔥╝
"A TOWN?! Finally, somewhere to overheat besides your CPU fan."

Bytlings

91 Bytlings inspired by your favorite characters from:

| Theme | Inspired By | |-------|------------| | Elemental Beasts | Pokemon | | Galactic Warriors | Star Wars | | Marvel Heroes | Marvel | | Legends Arena | League of Legends | | LOTR Legends | Lord of the Rings | | Greek Myths | Greek Mythology | | Egyptian Myths | Egyptian Mythology | | Undead Horror | Horror |

All Bytlings are original characters with unique ASCII art and coding-themed descriptions.

Rarity System

| Tier | Chance | Color | |------|--------|-------| | Common | 50% | ⬜ White | | Uncommon | 25% | 🟩 Green | | Rare | 12% | 🟦 Blue | | Epic | 7% | 🟪 Purple | | Legendary | 4% | 🟧 Orange | | Mythic | 2% | 🟥 Red |

Leveling

Catch duplicates to level up your Bytlings. 13 levels with escalating thresholds.

Collection Viewer

Browse your collection in an interactive terminal UI with:

• Scrollable 3-column grid with windowed viewport
• Animated ASCII art (idle blinking, breathing, energy pulses)
• Rarity-colored borders and Bytling names
• Undiscovered Bytlings shown as masked silhouettes
• Detail view with full stats on Enter
• Level progress bars
• Discovery counter

Run it with:

catchem collection

Or use the /catchem-collection skill in Claude Code.

Supported Platforms

| Platform | Status | Tested | |----------|--------|--------| | Claude Code | Supported | ✅ | | Cursor | Supported | ❌ | | GitHub Copilot | Supported | ❌ | | Codex CLI | Supported | ❌ | | OpenCode | Supported | ❌ | | Gemini CLI | Supported | ❌ |

Commands

| Command | What it does | |---------|-------------| | catchem setup | Detect platforms, install hooks and skills | | catchem setup --auto | Silent setup (used by postinstall) | | catchem collection | Open interactive TUI collection viewer | | catchem help | Show help message |

Auto-Updates

During setup, you can opt in to daily auto-updates. When enabled, a background check runs once per day and updates CatchEm silently via npm update -g catchem.

Contributing

Found a bug? Have an idea for a new Bytling or theme? Open an issue.

Start catching Bytlings today.

Install | Issues | Changelog

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