chb

Finally, the solution to the problem everyone has: how to display high quality images over text mode connections like ssh!

libchb is a library that converts images to a half block unicode representation with ANSI coloring: Colored Half Blocks. It supports color bit depths of: 3, 4, 8, and 24.

Download

A beta version of the API and implementation is available: libchb.0.9.tar.gz. The library itself has no build dependencies other than standard C99, but does need a terminal that support ANSI escape codes and Unicode to work correctly. The viewer needs ImageMagick in Linux, GDI+ in Windows, and Cacoa on MacOS. Use CMake to build and check out the test_image.c for example usage.

Beta API reference

This is an early interface- minor changes should be expected as the library approaches 1.0. See chb.h and test_image.h for details and use.

Print an image with best guesses for all parameters. 
void chb_print_image(unsigned int width, unsigned int height, unsigned char const * rgb_image);
Print an image, supplying parameters to configure depth and output character options. 
void chb_print_image_opt(unsigned int CHB_DEPTH, unsigned int CHB_CHAR, unsigned int width, unsigned int height, unsigned char const * rgb_image);
Prepare and free a frame state object for use in tracking frame data over time. 
void chb_init_frame(unsigned int width, unsigned int height, chb_frame_state* state);
void chb_free_frame(chb_frame_state * state);
Print a single frame of a multiframe sequence, supplying parameters to configure depth and output character options. 
void chb_print_frame(chb_frame_state * state, unsigned int width, unsigned int height, unsigned char const * rgb_image);
Print a single frame of a multiframe sequence, supplying parameters to configure depth, output character, palette, and frame replace options. 
void chb_print_frame_opt(chb_frame_state * state,
					unsigned int CHB_DEPTH, 
					unsigned int CHB_CHAR, 
					unsigned int CHB_PALETTE, 
					unsigned int CHB_REPLACE, 
					unsigned int width, 
					unsigned int height, 
					unsigned char const * rgb_image);

Examples images

Input image

chblib 24bit

chblib 8bit

chblib 4bit

chblib 3bit