Show Images in Console with Node.js console-png

By  on  

Introducing colors into the command line makes console reading much easier which is why finding Chalk was a life-changing event for me.  I started digging deeper  into making the console more graphical and I found another module that could bring the console to life:  console-png!

The JavaScript

Assuming you've installed console-png or grabbed it from GitHub, it doesn't take much to output an image to the console:

// Attach module to the console
require('console-png').attachTo(console);

// Read the image, let console-png output it to console
console.png(require('fs').readFileSync(__dirname + '/logo.png'));

As for the use case of such a module, there probably aren't a ton.  It would be useful to show a command line splash screen when an app starts up, and it may be useful as a feedback mechanism as the user follows app flow.

Recent Features

  • By
    Vibration API

    Many of the new APIs provided to us by browser vendors are more targeted toward the mobile user than the desktop user.  One of those simple APIs the Vibration API.  The Vibration API allows developers to direct the device, using JavaScript, to vibrate in...

  • By
    9 Mind-Blowing Canvas Demos

    The <canvas> element has been a revelation for the visual experts among our ranks.  Canvas provides the means for incredible and efficient animations with the added bonus of no Flash; these developers can flash their awesome JavaScript skills instead.  Here are nine unbelievable canvas demos that...

Incredible Demos

Discussion

  1. After your article on promises, I’m sad this is using callbacks!

  2. Instead of joining the dirname and filename with string concatenation, you should use the node path joiner so it will work on windows too :)

  3. I like where this is going!

Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!