OwlGuy Terminal Animate

OwlGuy's terminal animation tool lets you turn .txt files into custom-made animations. It is recommended to use a text editor that is monospaced or the result may look different in the terminal and in the editor.

This package requires Node.js 14 or higher and Python 3. These are developer essentials and should already be installed. If not, download them from the official Python and Node.js websites. Example installation on MacOS with Homebrew:

# If you don't have Node.js and Python3 already then this will install it
brew install node python@3
node -v && npm -v && python3 --version && pip --version
npm install -g owlguy-terminal-animate

Developers should get Typescript 5 or higher. Everyone who has this installed can use the command 'anim ' to run an a txt file as an animation.

Animation syntax

Animations are bundled as simple .txt files but have a custom syntax.

1. FramesPerSec = X: Determines the speed
2. Loops = Y: Determines the amount of repeats
3. WaitAfterRepeat = Z: [Optional] Delays the reset between loops in milliseconds (1000 holds the final frame for 1 second before looping) Defaults to 0

Then the animation is started with %ANIMSTART%. After that, everything is about the animation. You use letters and symbols to make a frame and continue the animation to the next frame with %ANIMCONTINUE%. After the last frame has been drawn, you can use %ANIMEND% to end the animation. !! This is not always the end if it repeats !!

Example

Example animation of a text appearing with a typing effect:

FramesPerSec = 2
Loops = 1
WaitAfterRepeat = 3500

%ANIMSTART%


H
%ANIMCONTINUE%


He
%ANIMCONTINUE%


Hel
%ANIMCONTINUE%


Hell
%ANIMCONTINUE%


Hello
%ANIMCONTINUE%


Hello!
%ANIMEND%