# 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 ```sh sudo av install brew:chafa ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install chafa ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install chafa ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/chafa/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add chafa ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install chafa ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: chafa from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install chafa ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: chafa from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#chafa ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ch/chafa/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S chafa ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: chafa from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install chafa ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: chafa from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ### Windows - Scoop (92%): ```sh scoop install main/chafa ``` Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/chafa.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - winget (92%): ```sh winget install --id hpjansson.Chafa -e ``` Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: hpjansson.Chafa from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:chafa - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.18.2 - **Source summary:** Versatile and fast Unicode/ASCII/ANSI graphics renderer - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** LGPL-3.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-05T23:07:18Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - chafa (cli) - chafa (alias) ## Dependencies - cairo - freetype - gdk-pixbuf - gettext - glib - jpeg-turbo - jpeg-xl - libavif - librsvg - libtiff - webp ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.18.2 - Package-manager updated: 2026-07-05 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## 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 Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## 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:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - chafa - 1.14.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: chafa from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Image-to-text converter supporting a wide range of symbols, etc. | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - Debian apt - libchafa-dev - 1.14.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libchafa-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | development files for image-to-text converter chafa | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - Debian apt - libchafa0t64 - 1.14.5-1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libchafa0t64 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library for image-to-text converter chafa | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - Nix - chafa: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ch/chafa/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - chafa - 1.14.0-1.1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: chafa from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Image-to-text converter supporting a wide range of symbols, etc. | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - Ubuntu apt - libchafa-dev - 1.14.0-1.1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libchafa-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | development files for image-to-text converter chafa | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - Ubuntu apt - libchafa0t64 - 1.14.0-1.1build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libchafa0t64 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library for image-to-text converter chafa | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - apk - chafa - 1.18.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Terminal graphics for the 21st century | https://hpjansson.org/chafa - apk - chafa-bash-completion - 1.18.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa-bash-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Bash completions for chafa | https://hpjansson.org/chafa - apk - chafa-dev - 1.18.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Terminal graphics for the 21st century (development files) | https://hpjansson.org/chafa - apk - chafa-doc - 1.18.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Terminal graphics for the 21st century (documentation) | https://hpjansson.org/chafa - apk - chafa-fish-completion - 1.18.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa-fish-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Fish completions for chafa | https://hpjansson.org/chafa - apk - chafa-libs - 1.18.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa-libs from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Terminal graphics for the 21st century (libraries) | https://hpjansson.org/chafa - apk - chafa-zsh-completion - 1.18.2-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: chafa-zsh-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Zsh completions for chafa | https://hpjansson.org/chafa - dnf - chafa - 1.18.2-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: chafa from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Image-to-text converter for terminal | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ - dnf - chafa-devel - 1.18.2-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: chafa-devel from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Image-to-text converter for terminal (development files) | https://hpjansson.org/chafa/ ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Media and graphics packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/media-graphics-tools/) - Matched media, image, audio, video, or graphics metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [cairo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cairo/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [freetype](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/freetype/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [gdk-pixbuf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gdk-pixbuf/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [gettext](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gettext/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [glib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/glib/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [jpeg-turbo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jpeg-turbo/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [jpeg-xl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jpeg-xl/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [libavif](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libavif/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [fnt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fnt/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [kew](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/kew/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [lazycut](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lazycut/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [mdfried](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mdfried/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [libsixel](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libsixel/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, terminal, terminal-graphics. - [agg](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/agg/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, terminal. - [aview](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aview/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, terminal. - [babl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/babl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [caire](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/caire/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [camellia](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/camellia/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [catimg](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/catimg/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, terminal. - [dssim](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dssim/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-processing, media. - [libsail](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libsail/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cli, fast, graphics, image, image-processing. - [gd](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gd/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cli, freetype, graphics, image, image-processing. - [geeqie](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/geeqie/) - Both packages work with overlapping file formats or content types. Shared terms: cairo, cli, gdk, gdk-pixbuf, gettext. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/chafa.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/chafa.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph