A long-standing program that renders text as large characters made up of smaller ones, along with the font format it uses. This tool uses figlet.js, a JavaScript implementation, so the output matches what the original command line tool produces.

How many fonts are available?

Ten, covering a range from compact and readable to tall and decorative. The standard font is the sensible default; the larger ones are worth using only for very short text.

Can I use the output commercially?

Yes. The generated text carries no restriction and needs no attribution. figlet.js itself is MIT licensed and the FIGlet fonts are distributed under a modified BSD licence, both of which are noted in the site terms.

Why does my Japanese text appear in a box?

Because FIGlet fonts contain only Latin letters, digits and punctuation, so there is nothing to render Japanese characters with. Boxing the text produces something usable instead of a row of missing glyphs. For a banner in a non-Latin script, a simple border is usually the better approach.

My banner wraps in the terminal. What should I do?

Shorten the text or choose a more compact font. A conventional terminal is eighty characters wide, and a banner exceeding that wraps mid-glyph and becomes unreadable. Check the widest line of the output before using it somewhere others will view at an unknown width.

How do I put this in a README?

Wrap it in a fenced code block so the markdown renderer preserves the spacing exactly. Without the fence, consecutive spaces collapse and the art falls apart. The same applies to any renderer that treats plain text as markdown.

Can I use it in a source file comment?

Yes, and it is a common use for section dividers in long files. Prefix each line with your language's comment marker. Bear in mind that some linters object to very long comment lines, and that the banner will appear in every diff that touches the surrounding code.

Does it work with numbers and symbols?

Yes. FIGlet fonts cover letters, digits and common punctuation, so a version number or a symbol renders as expected. Unusual symbols may be missing from a particular font, in which case trying another one usually helps.

Can I make a banner from an image?

No, this converts text. Image-to-ASCII conversion is a different technique that maps brightness to characters, and it needs a tool built for that purpose.

Is the text I type sent to a server?

No. Rendering happens in your browser with figlet.js, and the text you type is never transmitted, stored or logged.

ASCII Art Generator – Text to Banner in 10 FIGlet Fonts

ASCII Art Generator

// INPUT TEXT

// FONT

Type some text and the ASCII art appears here...

Letters, digits and symbols / non-Latin text is boxed / 10 fonts included

// ASCII Art Generator: Features

Where ASCII banners still belong

A heading at the top of a README that survives being viewed in a terminal. A startup banner printed by a command line tool, which is how a great many CLIs announce themselves. A section divider in a long configuration file. A splash screen for a local development server. In each case the appeal is the same: it is plain text, so it works everywhere, needs no image hosting and shows up in a diff.

Ten fonts, and how to choose

FIGlet fonts differ mainly in height and weight. The standard font is the safe default and stays readable at modest widths. Larger and more decorative fonts look striking and become unusable quickly: a word in a tall font can run to eighty characters wide, which wraps in a terminal and turns into noise. Try the shortest text you actually need first, then a longer one, before settling on a font.

Watch the width

This is the practical constraint that matters more than the font choice. A conventional terminal is eighty characters wide, and many people still use that. A banner wider than the window wraps mid-glyph and becomes unreadable rather than merely narrow. Keep the text short, prefer a compact font, and check the widest line before committing the result to a README that others will view at whatever width they happen to have.

Non-Latin text

FIGlet fonts are built from Latin letters, digits and punctuation, so they have no glyphs for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Cyrillic or Greek. Text in those scripts is rendered inside a box rather than transformed, which at least produces something usable rather than a row of missing characters. For a banner in another script, a box or a simple border is generally the better approach anyway.

Works offline, and the output has no licence restrictions

The rendering uses figlet.js locally, so nothing you type is transmitted, stored or logged, and the tool works offline once loaded. Output is plain text and free of any usage restriction, so it can go into a public repository or a commercial product without attribution.

// ASCII Art Generator: FAQ

What is FIGlet?: A long-standing program that renders text as large characters made up of smaller ones, along with the font format it uses. This tool uses figlet.js, a JavaScript implementation, so the output matches what the original command line tool produces.
How many fonts are available?: Ten, covering a range from compact and readable to tall and decorative. The standard font is the sensible default; the larger ones are worth using only for very short text.
Can I use the output commercially?: Yes. The generated text carries no restriction and needs no attribution. figlet.js itself is MIT licensed and the FIGlet fonts are distributed under a modified BSD licence, both of which are noted in the site terms.
Why does my Japanese text appear in a box?: Because FIGlet fonts contain only Latin letters, digits and punctuation, so there is nothing to render Japanese characters with. Boxing the text produces something usable instead of a row of missing glyphs. For a banner in a non-Latin script, a simple border is usually the better approach.
My banner wraps in the terminal. What should I do?: Shorten the text or choose a more compact font. A conventional terminal is eighty characters wide, and a banner exceeding that wraps mid-glyph and becomes unreadable. Check the widest line of the output before using it somewhere others will view at an unknown width.
How do I put this in a README?: Wrap it in a fenced code block so the markdown renderer preserves the spacing exactly. Without the fence, consecutive spaces collapse and the art falls apart. The same applies to any renderer that treats plain text as markdown.
Can I use it in a source file comment?: Yes, and it is a common use for section dividers in long files. Prefix each line with your language's comment marker. Bear in mind that some linters object to very long comment lines, and that the banner will appear in every diff that touches the surrounding code.
Does it work with numbers and symbols?: Yes. FIGlet fonts cover letters, digits and common punctuation, so a version number or a symbol renders as expected. Unusual symbols may be missing from a particular font, in which case trying another one usually helps.
Can I make a banner from an image?: No, this converts text. Image-to-ASCII conversion is a different technique that maps brightness to characters, and it needs a tool built for that purpose.
Is the text I type sent to a server?: No. Rendering happens in your browser with figlet.js, and the text you type is never transmitted, stored or logged.

// How to Use ASCII Art Generator

Type your text

Enter a short word or phrase. Short is important: ASCII banners grow wide quickly, and a long phrase becomes unreadable regardless of the font.
Try a few fonts

Switch between the ten fonts and watch the width as well as the look. A font that is striking for one word may be unusable for three.
Copy it into a code block

Copy the output and paste it into a fenced code block in your README, or into a comment in a source file. The fence preserves the spacing, without which the art collapses.

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