ASCIIForge turns images and text into ASCII art without uploading anything. Every conversion happens locally, inside the tab you already have open.
What the project is
ASCIIForge started as a small experiment: how much of an image converter can you push into the browser before you need a server? The answer turned out to be all of it. The image tool reads pixels through the Canvas API, maps brightness onto a character ramp, and prints the result. The text tool renders FIGlet fonts the same way. There is no upload step, no queue, no account, and no processing backend that can go down.
Why it runs client-side
Three reasons, in order of importance. First, privacy: a photo you convert never leaves your device, so there is nothing for us to store, leak, or hand over. Second, speed: a 2000-pixel image converts in milliseconds because there is no network round trip. Third, cost: static files on a CDN cost almost nothing to serve, which is why the tools stay free and why nothing needs to sit behind a signup.
What you can do here
The image converter handles PNG, JPG, WebP and animated GIF, with adjustable width, contrast, character ramps, inverted output and a Braille mode for higher effective resolution. The text generator ships 133 FIGlet fonts with width presets tuned for Discord, GitHub README files and terminal output. Everything is copyable in one click, and most output can also be exported as plain text, HTML, SVG, PNG or ANSI-coloured text.
How it is built
Plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript. No framework, no build step in the browser, no runtime dependencies beyond the FIGlet font files. The whole site is a few hundred kilobytes of static assets served from a CDN edge, which is why it loads fast on a phone with a bad connection. The code is deliberately boring so that it keeps working without maintenance.
Who it is for
Developers writing README headers, people decorating Discord servers and forum signatures, terminal enthusiasts building MOTD banners, and anyone who wants a quick text version of a picture. The guides cover the parts that are not obvious, such as which images convert cleanly, how character density affects perceived contrast, and how to keep alignment intact when text is pasted into a proportional font.
Contact and feedback
Bug reports, feature requests and corrections are welcome. Use the contact page and mention the browser, the device and what you expected to happen.