Image to Text (ASCII Art)
Turn any picture into ASCII art — pick a width, choose a character ramp and copy the result.
Drop an image here or click to browse
Files never leave your browser
How to use
- Drop an image or click to browse.
- Choose the output width, a character ramp and whether to invert.
- Press Convert, then copy the text and paste it anywhere in a monospaced font.
Frequently asked questions
How does the conversion work?
Your image is scaled down to the character width you choose, each sample block is reduced to a grayscale luminance value, and every value maps to a character from the ramp — dim areas get sparse characters like spaces and dots, bright areas get dense ones like # and @.
Why is the output wider than tall in characters?
Terminal characters are roughly twice as tall as they are wide, so the tool halves the row count to keep the art from looking stretched. On screens with different font metrics you can compensate with line-height or the invert toggle for taste.
Which character ramp should I pick?
Classic (10 levels) is the compact standard. Detailed (70 levels) keeps far more shading nuance — best for photos. Blocks (░▒▓█) gives a clean, poster-like look. The invert toggle flips the mapping for dark backgrounds.
What happens to transparent areas?
Pixels that are mostly transparent become plain spaces, so transparent regions stay empty instead of turning into fake gray text.
Is my image uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything — decoding, scaling and the character mapping — happens locally in your browser tab.