On Linux, art is whatever you want it to be. It could be displaying ASCII-converted images or creating your own elaborate 3D-line sketches using turtle graphics. It can even be a bonsai tree growing in your terminal window. If you’re on Linux, you can try out some of these commands for yourself.

1figlet

The terminal is text based, so ASCII art is often the best way to be creative within it. FIGlet is a command you can run in the Linux terminal that allows you to draw 3D-style ASCII text art using a huge library of different font files.

TheFIGlet websitehas a number of these font files for you to download. To use them, download the font files to your Linux PC, then from the same directory in the terminal, type:

The Figlet command showing an example ‘How-To Geek’ message in an Ubuntu terminal.

Replace font with the name of the font file and text with the text you want to print.

FIGlet is available in the default apt repository for Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, so just typesudo apt install figletin the terminal to install it.

The aafire command running in an Ubuntu terminal.

2aafire

No need to get chilly in the terminal. If you want a bit of ASCII art to run on a second screen, you might want to run the aafire command. It’s actually a test command included in the aalib library, which is itself a high-level ASCII art library used by other applications.

Runningaafire -driver curseswill fill your terminal window with a simulated ASCII open fire. If you set up your terminal colors correctly, you’ll make it look pretty fiery, too.

The cbonsai command running in the Ubuntu terminal with a ‘This is How-To Geek’s Tree!’ message attached.

You’ll need to install the aalib library first. Just runsudo apt install aalibto do this on anUbuntu or Debian-based system.

3cbonsai

A real bonsai tree takes years of dedication and growth. I don’t have time for that, and neither do you, so let’s just run cbonsai in the terminal and watch this fun little Linux command grow one for us.

Or, watch it grow for yourself using thecbonsai -lcommand.

Install it usingsudo apt install cbonsaion Debian or Ubuntu systems. You can also runman cbonsaito view a full list of available flags first, with the ability to change the number of branches and the size of the tree.

4aview & asciiview

You can’t usually view an image from the terminal window itself. It’s text-based, so that’s usually impossible. Thanks to aview, though, you don’t need to, because you can turn any standard image file into an ASCII equivalent that the terminal can open for you.

You have two options. You can use the convert command to change your standard image file to the pgmformat using this command:

Using the convert and aview commands to convert a PNG file into a PGM file, then showing the ASCII-converted PGM file using aview.

Replacing file.png with your own file name. This will allow you to run this command:

This will show it as an ASCII image.

Alternatively, you may skip this entirely and use the sister command asciiview. This will automatically convert the file for you to view, skipping the convert section. Run this using the commandasciiview file.png(and replacefile.png with your own file) to view it in a separate window or useasciiview -driver curses file.pngto view it in the terminal window itself.

On Debian and Ubuntu systems, install this command using thesudo apt install aviewcommand. You’ll also need ImageMagick installed to convert the file, so usesudo apt install imagemagickto do this.

The asciiview command in the Ubuntu terminal, with the converted image in a separate window

5toilet

It’s an odd name for a command, because the Toilet command doesn’t produce waste, but simply art. ASCII art, in fact, and it works much like FIGlet, turning text into 3D-style ASCII art using different font files as the template. It has a few benefits over Figlet, though. It supports Unicode characters, allows you to use different colors, and allows you to export into formats like HTML.

Run theman toiletcommand to see the full list of options, but for a taster, runtoilet –metal message(and replace message with your own) to see a multicolored ASCII response. You can also use Figlet fonts (like those found on theFiglet website) using the -fflag. For example:

The toilet command in Linux, showing ASCII text with the message How-To Geek.

Install it with a quicksudo apt install toiletcommand on Ubuntu and Debian-based systems.

6turtle (Python)

I don’t know how common programming languages like Logo are these days, but as a kid, one of my first experiences of learning how to code in the early 2000’s was using a Logo interpreter on an RISC OS Acorn computer, which were quite common in UK schools at the time.

One of the big draws of Logo (and tools like it) is the ability to draw using it. Called turtle graphics, languages like Logo allow you to run commands likeforward 100and watch the so-called turtle draw the line on screen. That sounds simple enough, but you may use more complex commands to draw some quite complex line art.

Using the Turtle library in Python and using it to draw a spiral effect using turtle graphics.

Logo might be old school, but this functionality is also available inPython, a much more common programming language, using the turtlepackage. This should be preinstalled, so you won’t need to install anything as long as you have Python installed.

To run it, typepythonorpython3in the terminal and press enter, then typefrom turtle import *into the Python interpreter. This’ll allow you to run commands likeforward(100)which will draw a very simple line on screen. If you want to try something more difficult, you can draw a spiral by runningfor i in range(50): forward(i * 2); right(45)in the Python interpreter.

The cowsay command in Linux, showing the message ‘This is How-To Geek!'

If you get an error like “ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘tkinter’”, try installing the package python3-tk.

These are just two basic examples, because you can use turtle in Python to create some pretty impressive art if you have the time and dedication to do so. TheReal Python websitehas a very detailed tutorial on how to get started with turtle in Python, too.

The lolcat example in the Linux terminal, printing a text file.

7cowsay

The cowsay command is very simple. It’s an ASCII cow, and it says whatever you want it to say. Simple, really!

Just typecowsay message(while replacing message with your own message) and it’ll display your cow, with its message, in the terminal. There are a few more complex commands you can run to change how the cow looks, such as altering the cow’s eyes using flags like -b and -g.

The ps command in Linux piped to the lolcat command, providing an output that is multicolored.

A full list is available by runningman cowsayand checking the developer’s own instructions. Install it usingsudo apt install cowsayon Debian or Ubuntu systems.

8lolcat

The terminal can be a very boring place. Why not brighten things up with a bit of color? One good way to do this is to use the lolcat command. It’ll take any input you have and print the output in rainbow colors. For instance, if you want to print the contents of a text file to the terminal, uselolcat text.txt(and replace text.txt with your own file). It’ll print to the terminal in color.

you may also pipe the output from any other commands to do the same. For instance,ps | lolcatwill display your running processes with the same rainbow color effect.

Install this by typingsudo apt install lolcatinto the terminal on Ubuntu or Debian-based distributions.

9cmatrix

Pretend you’re a simple programming drone stuck in the Matrix using thecmatrixcommand. If you’ve seen the Matrix films, you’ll know what to expect.

You can check outman cmatrixfor a full list of arguments, but you can runcmatrix -sto run it full screen as a screensaver. You can also use -c to change color, otherwise it’ll use the typical Matrix green.

Runsudo apt install cmatrixon Ubuntu or Debian-based systems to install it.

It’s surprisingly simple to enjoy art in the terminal on Linux. Sure, some of these commands are too comedic to be considered “true” art, but that’s not really the point. If you want to draw or enjoy art properly, you’re going to need a GUI-based app with the tools to draw properly. GIMP is just onegood Photoshop alternativeyou can try out on Linux.

For a bit of fun, however, these Linux commands can help you enjoy a bit of creativity from time to time in an otherwise rather limited terminal environment. If it doesn’t work, you can always use the terminal like Linus Torvalds (probably) intended by making your friends think you’resome kind of cool Linux hackerinstead.