Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Texttop

Interactive X linux desktop rendered to ASCII

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Texttop launched in 2016; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Texttop – Interactive desktop rendered in TTY with ASCII▲114

   A fully-modern text-based browser, rendering to TTY and browsers - browsh-org/browsh

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Image to ASCII▲105

   Make ASCII art for READMEs, Discord & creative visuals

   Sep 2026 · imagetoascii.art · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Textual Markdown – a Markdown “browser” in the terminal▲254

   Hi HN, This is a TUI app which displays interactive Markdown documents. Interactive in the sense that you can scroll code fences / tables / and click links. There's a Table of Contents extracted from the MD, and a very rudimentary browser like forward + back. I'm thinking it could be the starting point for a variety of hypertext like applications in the terminal. Very much a work in progress.

   2022 · 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
   A Simple terminal-based video chat – renders in ASCII and has audio▲375

   A point to point color terminal video chat. Contribute to mofarrell/p2pvc development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Trix▲184

   A rich text editor for everyday writing

   2015 · trix-editor.org · its alternatives →

7. 7
   SHIUI▲114

   Hinomaru Ink Web UI Kit in Japanese Hinomaru style

   Sep 2026 · shi-ui.vercel.app · its alternatives →

8. 8
   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 →

9. 9
   ASCII pixel art editor for the terminal▲9

   feast your eyes

   May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    ASCII Art Paint▲150

    Surprise your readers with an original post using text art

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11CP
    Choose Photo. Make Ascii▲116

    2012 · dchang.mit.edu · its alternatives →

12. 12TM
    Typograms, Markdown-like renderer for ASCII diagrams▲140

    2022 · code.sgo.to · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Docbase▲110

    Render your markdown documentation into beautiful sites

    2016 · opensource.appbase.io · its alternatives →

14. 14
    ASCII line chart with console, HTML and image outputs, written in PHP▲74

    Nice looking versatile ASCII linegraph written in PHP - noximo/PHP-colored-ascii-linechart

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Ascii_tree – A way to create beautiful ASCII trees▲79

    Create beautiful ascii trees. Contribute to spandanb/asciitree development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Symbolset▲101

    Use font magic to change words into icons

    2014 · symbolset.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Monodraw (Beta)▲42

    Create beautiful ASCII text art

    2014 · monodraw.helftone.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    ContentTools▲86

    Create Interactive Content.

    2015 · contenttools.co · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Copy Paste Character▲115

    Easily find and copy special characters

    2014 · copypastecharacter.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Fun Comment For VSCode▲97

    Add ascii image or ascii font to comments in VSCode

    2021 · marketplace.visualstudio.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    CotEditor▲102

    The free plain-text editor for OS X

    2014 · coteditor.com · its alternatives →

22. 22AA
    ASCII Animals in Your Terminal▲62

    2012 · ivolo.me · its alternatives →

23. 23
    ASCII TV – Stream ASCII movies in your terminal with curl▲108

    Stream ASCII movies over HTTP. Contribute to martinraison/ascii-tv development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Fulvid▲86

    A standalone desktop editor for Markdown and MDX

    Sep 2026 · github.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 →