FigScroll (fs)

fs (FigScroll) is a terminal animation program that scrolls Figlet-generated ASCII art from right to left, inspired by the classic sl (steam locomotive) program by Toyoda Masashi. It dynamically generates ASCII art from user-specified text, font, and width, and supports infinite scrolling and adjustable speed.

Usage

fs -t "Hello World" -f slant -i
fs -t "be right back...    " -f roman -w 200 -s 20000
man fs  # View man page after installation

Features

• Generate ASCII art using figlet with custom text, font, and width.
• Scroll art across the terminal, even in narrow windows (like sl).
• Options:
  • -t "text": Text to render (required).
  • You'll need to escape special characters with \ (e.g. -t "test\!").
  • Be sure to include trailing space(s) in infinite scroll (e.g., fs -t "text\! " -i).
  • -f font: Figlet font (default: standard).
  • -w width: Figlet output width (default: 132).
  • -i: Infinite scroll, where new instances start before the previous one exits.
  • -s microseconds: Animation speed (default: 40000, ~25 FPS).
• Exit with 'q' or Ctrl+C.

Prerequisites

• figlet: To generate ASCII art.
• libncurses: For terminal rendering (e.g., libncurses5-dev or libncurses6-dev on Debian/Ubuntu).
• Install on Debian/Ubuntu:

  sudo apt install figlet libncurses5-dev

• Install on macOS (via Homebrew):

  brew install figlet ncurses

Installation

Option 1: Build Locally

Build the fs binary in the current directory:

gcc -o fs fs.c -lncurses

Run it directly:

./fs -t "Hello World" -f slant

Option 2: Install System-Wide

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/insasquatchcountry/figscroll.git
cd figscroll

Build and install to /usr/local/bin and /usr/local/share/man/man1:

make
sudo make install

Run from anywhere:

fs -t "be right back...    " -i

View the man page:

man fs

Uninstall:

sudo make uninstall

⚠️ UNDER CONSTRUCTION ⚠️

Option 3: Install via Homebrew

Add the custom tap:

brew tap insasquatchcountry/tap

Install fs:

brew install fs

Run and view the man page as above.

figscroll_example2.mp4

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Credits

• Author: InSasquatchCountry
• Inspired by: sl by Toyoda Masashi (https://github.com/mtoyoda/sl)
• Built with figlet and ncurses.
• Guidance and Support: Grok, created by xAI

License

MIT License for original contributions, with portions derived from sl under its original terms (see LICENSE file).

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Toyoda Masashi for the original sl program, which provided the core animation logic and inspiration for fs.