Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

ANSI art renderer in JavaScript/Canvas is a tool that displays ANSI art—text-based visual graphics using colored characters—directly in web browsers through JavaScript and HTML Canvas technology. It allows users to… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. ANSI art renderer in JavaScript/Canvas launched in 2012; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   The worst ANSI renderer, except for all the others▲71

   A tool that lets you render beautiful graphics in both modern and classic terminal environments; this is the version 1.0 release announcement.

   2019 · hpjansson.org · its alternatives →

2. 2WB
   Web-based ANSI art viewer▲29

   My love letter to ANSI art. Full width rendering, scrolling by baud rate, text is selectable, and more. There are some example links at the top if you're feeling lucky.

   Mar 2026 · sure.is · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Durdraw – a modern ANSI art editor for modern Unix terminals▲154

   I've been working on an ANSI art editor off and on for a while. It works like a traditional ANSI text editor, except it supports 256 colors, Unicode and CP437 encoding, frame-based animation, custom UI themes, terminal mouse input, HTML and IRC color output, and runs in Utf-8 terminals. It's written in Python and curses, and is fairly portable across Unix systems. If you have ever used TheDraw or Aciddraw, the user interface is similar. It can also load/convert, view, edit and save most CP437 (MS-DOS style) ANSI art in a Utf-8 terminal, so you can view ANSI artscene packs in the comfort…

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Building terminal dashboards using ASCII/ANSI art and JavaScript▲305

   Build terminal dashboards using ascii/ansi art and javascript - yaronn/blessed-contrib

   2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   ANSI-Saver – A macOS Screensaver▲104

   Hi, I've been working on something I've been thinking for long time but since I had no experience with macOS screen savers I always posponed. Now thanks to Claude I was able to create a screensaver that scroll ANSI files while your computer is idle. It allow to use local ANS files or packs directly from 16colo.rs. Repo: https://github.com/lardissone/ansi-saver

   Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   An ASCII 3D Rendering Engine▲211

   Render 3D models (OBJ, glTF, GLB, STL, .vox) as ASCII art — in the browser, in React or Vue, or straight in your terminal. A three.js-style API with no WebGL and no canvas: just text in a single <pre>.

   Jun 2026 · glyphcss.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Fancy-ANSI – Small JavaScript library for converting ANSI to HTML▲16

   I made this tool to add support for custom ANSI palettes to kubetail (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;kubetail-org&#x2F;kubetail). Maybe you'll find it useful too. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Ansiwave, an ANSI art and MIDI music mashup▲103

   A modern BBS. Contribute to ansiwave/ansiwave development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Animista▲532

   Create beautiful CSS animations in your browser

   2017 · animista.net · its alternatives →

10. 10
    AnimStats▲933

    Get x10 more engagement, grab attention with animated videos

    2024 · animstats.com · its alternatives →

11. 11TM
    Typograms, Markdown-like renderer for ASCII diagrams▲140

    2022 · code.sgo.to · its alternatives →

12. 12
    A-Painter▲74

    Paint in VR in your Browser

    2016 · aframe.io · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Animaticons▲365

    Beautiful, customizable animated GIF icons.

    2015 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Make 8-Bit Art!▲107

    An in-browser canvas tool for making retro art.

    2014 · make8bitart.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    AnimatiSS▲169

    A nice, colorful collection of CSS animations

    2022 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    AnyPixels.js▲198

    A web-friendly way for anyone to build unusual displays

    2016 · googlecreativelab.github.io · its alternatives →

17. 17CP
    Choose Photo. Make Ascii▲116

    2012 · dchang.mit.edu · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Stark▲290

    The color-blind simulator and contrast checker for Sketch.

    2017 · getstark.co · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Terminal-Rendered ASCII Shaders▲46

    CPU rendered ASCII art shader writing tool with hot reloading. - danthedaniel/js-shaders

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Canvas▲251

    A DALL·E playground for the Mac

    2023 · kevinhermawan.com · its alternatives →

21. 21AP
    A-Painter: Paint in VR in Your Browser▲19

    2016 · blog.mozvr.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    ASCII Art Paint▲150

    Surprise your readers with an original post using text art

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    ASCIImator▲79

    A simple photo app that converts images into ASCII art

    2015 · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Repaint – a WebGL based website builder▲236

    Hey HN! We're Ben and Izak, founders of Repaint (YC S23). Repaint is like Figma, but for creating real websites. It has panning, zooming, and dragging elements around. The settings closely follow html&#x2F;css. We think an open canvas is a big improvement over other website builders. Everything is easier: styling, consistency, responsiveness… But making it work was hard! We thought HN would appreciate the tech behind it: - A custom WebGL rendering engine (w&#x2F;text, shadows, blurs, gradients, & opacity groups) - A partial implementation of the css spec - A custom text editor & text shaper…

    2024 · repaint.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →