figlet-go

name	figlet-go
description	Guide for using the figlet-go library to generate ASCII art text in Go applications. Use when working with the figlet-go package, creating ASCII art output, rendering animated ASCII art, or integrating FIGlet functionality into Go CLI tools. Covers rendering, fonts, colors, animations, and configuration.
allowed-tools	Read, Grep, Bash(go doc *)

figlet-go Skill

Guide for using the figlet-go library (github.com/lsferreira42/figlet-go/figlet) to generate ASCII art text in Go applications.

Installation

go get github.com/lsferreira42/figlet-go/figlet

Quick Start

Simple Rendering

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "github.com/lsferreira42/figlet-go/figlet"
)

// Basic usage with default font
result, err := figlet.Render("Hello!")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Print(result)

With Specific Font

// Using a specific font (146 fonts embedded)
result, err := figlet.RenderWithFont("Go!", "slant")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
fmt.Print(result)

API Patterns

Functional Options Pattern

Use option functions for configuration:

result, err := figlet.Render("Text",
    figlet.WithFont("big"),                    // Font name
    figlet.WithWidth(60),                      // Output width
    figlet.WithJustification(1),               // 0=left, 1=center, 2=right
    figlet.WithParser("terminal-color"),       // Output format
    figlet.WithColors(figlet.ColorRed, figlet.ColorGreen),
)

Direct Config Usage

For advanced control, use the Config struct directly:

cfg := figlet.New()
cfg.Fontname = "banner"
cfg.Outputwidth = 100

if err := cfg.LoadFont(); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

result := cfg.RenderString("Config")

Available Options

Option	Description
WithFont(name)	Set font (146 available, see ListFonts())
WithWidth(width)	Set output width in characters
WithJustification(n)	0=left, 1=center, 2=right
WithParser(type)	terminal, terminal-color, html
WithColors(colors...)	ANSI colors or TrueColor

Colors

ANSI Colors

result, err := figlet.Render("Colors!",
    figlet.WithColors(figlet.ColorRed, figlet.ColorGreen, figlet.ColorBlue),
)

TrueColor (24-bit RGB)

tcRed, _ := figlet.NewTrueColorFromHexString("FF0000")
tcGreen, _ := figlet.NewTrueColorFromHexString("00FF00")
result, err := figlet.Render("TrueColor",
    figlet.WithColors(tcRed, tcGreen),
)

Utility Functions

// List all available fonts
fonts := figlet.ListFonts()

// Get version info
version := figlet.GetVersion()      // String version
versionInt := figlet.GetVersionInt() // Integer version

Popular Fonts

• standard - Default font
• banner - Large banner style
• big - Large block letters
• slant - Slanted text
• shadow - Shadow effect
• script - Script style
• doom - DOOM game style
• starwars - Star Wars style

Output Formats

• terminal - Plain text (default)
• terminal-color - ANSI colored output
• html - HTML formatted output

Animations

FIGlet-Go supports generating animated ASCII art with several animation types:

import (
    "fmt"
    "time"
    "github.com/lsferreira42/figlet-go/figlet"
)

func main() {
    cfg := figlet.New()
    cfg.Fontname = "slant"
    
    animator := figlet.NewAnimator(cfg)
    
    // Generate animation frames (delay between frames)
    frames, err := animator.GenerateAnimation("GO!", "reveal", 50*time.Millisecond)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    
    // Play the animation in terminal or generate HTML player
    figlet.PlayAnimation(frames)
}

Animation Types

Type	Description
reveal	Reveals text character by character from left to right
scroll	Scrolls text from the right margin to final position
rain	Characters "fall" into place from the top
wave	Sinusoidal wave effect that settles over time
explosion	Text explodes into particles and reforms

HTML Animation Player

When using the html parser, PlayAnimation automatically generates a standalone HTML animation player with:

• Professional terminal aesthetic
• Optimized monospaced fonts
• High-performance JavaScript for fluid playback
• Stable color mapping (colors stay pinned to characters)

// Generate HTML animation
frames, _ := animator.GenerateAnimation("GO!", "explode", 50*time.Millisecond)

// With HTML parser, automatically creates interactive HTML player
figlet.PlayAnimation(frames) // Detects HTML format and generates player

List Available Animations

animations := figlet.ListAnimations()
for _, anim := range animations {
    fmt.Println(anim)
}

Advanced Configuration

Config Struct Fields

For fine-grained control, use the Config struct directly:

cfg := figlet.New()
cfg.Fontname = "banner"
cfg.Fontdirname = "/path/to/fonts"  // Custom font directory
cfg.Outputwidth = 120              // Max output width
cfg.Justification = 1              // 0=left, 1=center, 2=right
cfg.Right2left = 0                  // -1=auto, 0=LTR, 1=RTL
cfg.Smushmode = 0                   // Smushing mode flags
cfg.Smushoverride = 0               // Override font's smush mode
cfg.Paragraphflag = false           // Paragraph mode
cfg.Deutschflag = false             // German character translation

// Add control file for character translation
cfg.AddControlFile("utf8")

if err := cfg.LoadFont(); err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

result := cfg.RenderString("Hello")

Smushing Modes

Control how characters overlap:

figlet.WithFullWidth()   // No smushing, characters don't touch
figlet.WithKerning()     // Characters touch but don't overlap
figlet.WithSmushing()    // Characters overlap (default)
figlet.WithOverlapping() // Enable overlapping mode

Version Info

fmt.Println("Version:", figlet.GetVersion())      // "2.2.5"
fmt.Println("Version Int:", figlet.GetVersionInt()) // 20205
fmt.Println("Columns:", figlet.GetColumns())      // Terminal width

Example

See complete working examples:

• references/_examples/example.go - Basic rendering, fonts, colors, HTML output
• references/_examples/animation.go - Animated ASCII art

Resources

• GitHub: https://github.com/lsferreira42/figlet-go
• Documentation: https://lsferreira42.github.io/figlet-go/
• Library Docs: https://github.com/lsferreira42/figlet-go/blob/main/lib.md