# Install libcaca with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Convert pixel information into colored ASCII art. Version 0.99.beta20 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-27. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:libcaca ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install libcaca ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install libcaca ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: graphics/libcaca/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add libcaca ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcaca from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install caca-utils ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: caca-utils from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install caca-utils ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: caca-utils 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#libcaca ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libcaca/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S libcaca ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: libcaca from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install caca-utils ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: caca-utils from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:libcaca - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.99.beta20 - **Source summary:** Convert pixel information into colored ASCII art - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** WTFPL - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-27T17:11:31-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - caca-config (cli) - cacaclock (cli) - cacademo (cli) - cacafire (cli) - cacaplay (cli) - cacaserver (cli) - cacaview (cli) - img2txt (cli) - caca-config (alias) - cacaclock (alias) - cacademo (alias) - cacafire (alias) - cacaplay (alias) - cacaserver (alias) - cacaview (alias) - img2txt (alias) ## Dependencies - imlib2 ## 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: 0.99.beta20 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-27 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/cacalabs/libcaca - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage libcaca is the Colour ASCII Art Library, a terminal/media library and utility suite for rendering images, demos, and animations as colored text. ### Project history The NEWS file starts with a 0.1 release that already had S-Lang, ncurses, and conio drivers plus primitive drawing routines. Subsequent early releases added 256 color pairs, mouse support, BMP loading, image viewing through cacaview, antialiasing, dithering controls, alpha handling, and the cacafire demo. The 0.99 beta line expanded libcaca from a funny terminal renderer into a surprisingly broad text-graphics toolkit. The 0.99.beta1 notes list a switch to the WTFPL, a split into libcucul and libcaca, Unicode and TrueColor support, Floyd-Steinberg dithering, gamma correction, export formats including HTML, IRC, ANSI, SVG, PostScript, and TGA, OpenGL output, a telnet server, and image-to-IRC tooling. The 0.99.beta15 notes say libcucul was merged back into libcaca for clarity. ### Adoption history libcaca became widely packaged because it is both a library and a memorable collection of terminal demos and converters. Distribution packages often expose caca-utils commands such as cacaview, img2txt, cacafire, cacademo, and cacaplay. ### How it is used Developers can link against libcaca through pkg-config, while end users use tools such as img2txt and cacaview to convert or view pixel images in terminals. The README documents optional output backends including ncurses, S-Lang, conio, X11, OpenGL, Win32, and a network server. ### Why package nerds care libcaca is package-index folklore: useful enough to ship everywhere, unserious enough to be remembered, and technically richer than the joke suggests. Its presence in package managers marks the long Unix tradition of terminal graphics, demos, and image conversion tools. ### Timeline - 0.1: Initial release with S-Lang, ncurses, conio drivers, and basic drawing primitives. - 0.99.beta1: Switched to WTFPL, split libcucul from libcaca, and added Unicode, TrueColor, dithering, exporters, OpenGL, cacaserver, and img2irc. - 2008-09-27: v0.99.beta14 and v0.99.beta15 tags were published on GitHub. - 2010-02-08: v0.99.beta17 tag was published on GitHub. - 2012-04-06: v0.99.beta18 tag was published on GitHub. - 2013-09-16: v0.99.beta19 tag was published on GitHub. - 2021-10-19: v0.99.beta20 release added IPv6 support in cacaserver and memory-safety fixes. ### Related projects - Related projects and concepts include aalib-style text rendering, FIGlet and TOIlet fonts, ncurses, S-Lang, Imlib2-backed image viewing, OpenGL text output, and terminal demo programs such as cacafire. ### Sources - - - - - - - ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** libcaca - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - caca-utils - 0.99.beta20-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: caca-utils from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | text mode graphics utilities | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - Debian apt - libcaca-dev - 0.99.beta20-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libcaca-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | development files for libcaca | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - Debian apt - libcaca0 - 0.99.beta20-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libcaca0 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | colour ASCII art library | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - Nix - libcaca: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/li/libcaca/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - caca-utils - 0.99.beta20-4build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: caca-utils from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | text mode graphics utilities | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - Ubuntu apt - libcaca-dev - 0.99.beta20-4build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libcaca-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | development files for libcaca | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - Ubuntu apt - libcaca0 - 0.99.beta20-4build2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libcaca0 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | colour ASCII art library | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - apk - libcaca - 0.99_beta20-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcaca from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | graphics library that outputs text instead of pixels | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - apk - libcaca-apps - 0.99_beta20-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcaca-apps from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | graphics library that outputs text instead of pixels | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - apk - libcaca-dev - 0.99_beta20-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcaca-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | graphics library that outputs text instead of pixels (development files) | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - apk - libcaca-doc - 0.99_beta20-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcaca-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | graphics library that outputs text instead of pixels (documentation) | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - apk - libcaca-static - 0.99_beta20-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: libcaca-static from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | graphics library that outputs text instead of pixels (static library) | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - apk - py3-libcaca - 0.99_beta20-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: py3-libcaca from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | graphics library that outputs text instead of pixels (python bindings) | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - apk - py3-libcaca-pyc - 0.99_beta20-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: py3-libcaca-pyc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Precompiled Python bytecode for py3-libcaca | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - dnf - caca-utils - 0.99-0.84.beta20.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: caca-utils from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Colour AsCii Art Text mode graphics utilities based on libcaca | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca - dnf - libcaca - 0.99-0.84.beta20.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: libcaca from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Library for Colour AsCii Art, text mode graphics | http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/libcaca ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [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. - [imlib2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/imlib2/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [mplayer](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mplayer/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [plowshare](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/plowshare/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [toilet](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/toilet/) - Popular package that depends on this formula. - [aalib](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aalib/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: ascii-art, cli, library, media, terminal. - [lsix](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/lsix/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, media, terminal, terminal-graphics. - [aview](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aview/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: ascii-art, cli, media, terminal. - [imagemagick](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/imagemagick/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-conversion, library, media. - [jp2a](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jp2a/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: ascii-art, cli, image-conversion, media. - [libicns](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libicns/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, image-conversion, library, media. - [musikcube](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/musikcube/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media, terminal. - [a52dec](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/a52dec/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, library, media. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libcaca.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libcaca.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