macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install chafalocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install chafaMacPorts ports tree · graphics/chafa/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install chafa with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget, zypper
Versatile and fast Unicode/ASCII/ANSI graphics renderer. Version 1.18.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-05.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add chafaAlpine Linux edge package indexes · chafa · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install chafaDebian stable package indexes · chafa · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install chafaFedora Rawhide package metadata · chafa · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#chafanixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ch/chafa/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S chafaArch Linux sync databases · chafa · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install chafaopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · chafa · source: download.opensuse.org
Windows
Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/chafaScoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/chafa.json · source: api.github.com
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id hpjansson.Chafa -eWindows Package Manager source index · hpjansson.Chafa · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
Versatile and fast Unicode/ASCII/ANSI graphics renderer
Project links
Commands and aliases
- chafa
history
Project history and usage
Chafa is a terminal graphics renderer and C library that converts images and animations into ANSI, Unicode, sixel, Kitty, and related terminal graphics formats. It moved from a clever ANSI-art utility into a widely packaged terminal-media component with bindings and downstream integrations.
Project history
Hans Petter Jansson introduced Chafa on April 24, 2018 as an open-source tool for displaying graphics in terminal environments. The project site describes it as a command-line utility plus a documented, stable C API; the README says it can handle animated GIFs and produce graphics or ANSI/Unicode character art for terminals ranging from historical teleprinters to modern emulators.
Adoption history
Chafa's official download page says packages are available for many Linux distributions, Windows, Homebrew, and MacPorts, and lists Arch, Brew, Debian, Fedora, FreeBSD, Gentoo, Guix, Kali, MacPorts, OpenBSD, openSUSE, Ubuntu, Scoop, and Winget examples. The supplied input also records broad package-manager coverage across apk, brew, Debian, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, Scoop, Ubuntu, Winget, and zypper.
How it is used
Users invoke chafa to render images and animations in terminals, choosing symbol sets, color modes, terminal graphics protocols, and output sizing. Developers can use libchafa through its C API, and the official site points to Python bindings and JavaScript/WebAssembly bindings for embedding the renderer in other tools.
Why package nerds care
Chafa matters to package nerds because it is a cross-platform terminal-media primitive: small enough to ship as a CLI, useful as a library, and visible in package ecosystems because terminal applications increasingly want inline image previews. Its official development page lists downstream users including Kew, Felix, HarfBuzz hb-view, nb, Neofetch, Offpunk, Oyomu, and Neovim plugins.
Timeline
- 2018: Chafa was introduced publicly as an open-source terminal graphics tool.
- 2020: Chafa 1.4.0 added sixel output, expanding from character-cell mosaics into terminal pixel graphics protocols.
- 2021: Chafa 1.8 broadened terminal graphics support, according to the official release-post list on the project site.
- 2024: Chafa 1.14 was announced in the official release-post list.
- 2026: The official download page lists Chafa 1.18.2 released on 2026-04-30.
Related projects
- The introductory Chafa post places it in a lineage with aalib, libcaca, and timg. Official pages also point to chafapy, chafa-wasm, HarfBuzz hb-view, Neofetch, Offpunk, Telescope media files, and chafa.nvim as related bindings or consumers.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 11 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
chafa | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version1.18.2
manager updated2026-07-05
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://hpjansson.org/chafa/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:chafa |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.18.2 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/chafa |
| Homepage | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/hpjansson/chafa |
| Upstream docs | https://hpjansson.org/chafa |
| License | LGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/releases/chafa-1.18.2.tar.xz |
| Last updated | 2026-07-05T23:07:18Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | cairo, freetype, gdk-pixbuf, gettext, glib, jpeg-turbo, jpeg-xl, libavif, librsvg, libtiff, webp |
| Build dependencies | pkgconf |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | chafa |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 1 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
chafa 1.14.5-1
Image-to-text converter supporting a wide range of symbols, etc.
sudo apt install chafa- Section: graphics
- Architecture: amd64
- 11 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
Debian apt95%
libchafa-dev 1.14.5-1
development files for image-to-text converter chafa
sudo apt install libchafa-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: chafa
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
Debian apt95%
libchafa0t64 1.14.5-1
library for image-to-text converter chafa
sudo apt install libchafa0t64- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: chafa
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
Nix95%
chafa
nix profile install nixpkgs#chafa- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
Ubuntu apt95%
chafa 1.14.0-1.1build1
Image-to-text converter supporting a wide range of symbols, etc.
sudo apt install chafa- Section: universe/graphics
- Architecture: amd64
- 11 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
Ubuntu apt95%
libchafa-dev 1.14.0-1.1build1
development files for image-to-text converter chafa
sudo apt install libchafa-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: chafa
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
Ubuntu apt95%
libchafa0t64 1.14.0-1.1build1
library for image-to-text converter chafa
sudo apt install libchafa0t64- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: chafa
- 2 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
apk95%
chafa 1.18.2-r0
Terminal graphics for the 21st century
sudo apk add chafa- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
apk95%
chafa-bash-completion 1.18.2-r0
Bash completions for chafa
sudo apk add chafa-bash-completion- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
apk95%
chafa-dev 1.18.2-r0
Terminal graphics for the 21st century (development files)
sudo apk add chafa-dev- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
apk95%
chafa-doc 1.18.2-r0
Terminal graphics for the 21st century (documentation)
sudo apk add chafa-doc- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
apk95%
chafa-fish-completion 1.18.2-r0
Fish completions for chafa
sudo apk add chafa-fish-completion- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
apk95%
chafa-libs 1.18.2-r0
Terminal graphics for the 21st century (libraries)
sudo apk add chafa-libs- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
apk95%
chafa-zsh-completion 1.18.2-r0
Zsh completions for chafa
sudo apk add chafa-zsh-completion- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
dnf95%
chafa 1.18.2-1.fc45
Image-to-text converter for terminal
sudo dnf install chafa- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- 14 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
dnf95%
chafa-devel 1.18.2-1.fc45
Image-to-text converter for terminal (development files)
sudo dnf install chafa-devel- License: LGPL-3.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: chafa
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Chafa
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment