icy_sixel-cli-0.5.0 is not a library.

icy_sixel-cli

A command-line tool for encoding, decoding, and animating SIXEL graphics.

SIXEL is a bitmap graphics format supported by many terminal emulators including xterm, mlterm, foot, WezTerm, and others.

Installation

cargo install icy_sixel-cli

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/mkrueger/icy_sixel
cd icy_sixel
cargo build --release -p icy_sixel-cli

Commands

Encode

Convert images (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP) to SIXEL format:

# Display image in terminal
sixel encode image.png

# Save to file
sixel encode image.png -o output.six

# Read from stdin
cat image.png | sixel encode > output.six

# Custom settings
sixel encode image.png --colors 64 --diffusion 0.5 --method kmeans

Decode

Convert SIXEL files back to PNG:

# Decode to PNG (auto-generates output filename)
sixel decode image.six

# Specify output file
sixel decode image.six -o output.png

# Read from stdin
cat image.six | sixel decode -o output.png

Animate

Play or convert animated GIFs:

# Play animation in terminal (Ctrl+C to stop)
sixel animate animation.gif

# Adjust playback speed (2x faster)
sixel animate animation.gif --speed 2.0

# Limit loop count
sixel animate animation.gif --loops 3

# Extract a single frame
sixel animate animation.gif --frame 5 -o frame5.six

# Save all frames to file
sixel animate animation.gif -o animation.six

Options

Global Options

Option	Description
`-q, --quiet`	Suppress informational messages (errors still shown)
`-h, --help`	Print help information
`-V, --version`	Print version

Encode Options

Option	Default	Description
`-o, --output <FILE>`	stdout	Output file
`-c, --colors <N>`	256	Maximum colors (2-256)
`-d, --diffusion <F>`	0.875	Floyd-Steinberg dithering strength (0.0-1.0)
`-m, --method <METHOD>`	wu	Color quantization: `wu` or `kmeans`
`-a, --aspect-ratio <RATIO>`	square	Pixel aspect ratio (see below)
`-b, --background <MODE>`	transparent	Background mode: `transparent` or `opaque`

Animate Options

All encode options plus:

Option	Default	Description
`-s, --speed <F>`	1.0	Speed multiplier
`-l, --loops <N>`	0	Loop count (0=GIF default, -1=infinite)
`-f, --frame <N>`	-	Extract single frame (0-indexed)

Pixel Aspect Ratios

Value	Ratio	Description
`square`	1:1	Modern terminals (default)
`ratio2to1`	2:1	VT240/VT340 native
`ratio3to1`	3:1	Tall pixels
`ratio5to1`	5:1	Very tall pixels

Examples

# High-quality encode with maximum colors
sixel encode photo.jpg --colors 256 --diffusion 0.875

# Fast preview with fewer colors
sixel encode image.png --colors 16 --diffusion 0

# K-means quantization (slower but may be more accurate)
sixel encode image.png --method kmeans

# Opaque background (fills undrawn pixels)
sixel encode image.png --background opaque

# Silent operation for scripts
sixel -q encode image.png > output.six

# Slow-motion GIF playback
sixel animate animation.gif --speed 0.5

# Convert GIF to static SIXEL (first frame)
sixel animate animation.gif --frame 0 > still.six

Supported Formats

Input (encode/animate):

PNG
JPEG
GIF (static and animated)
WebP

Output (decode):

Terminal Compatibility

SIXEL is supported by:

xterm (with +sixel build option)
mlterm
foot
WezTerm
Contour
ctx
And many more

Test if your terminal supports SIXEL:

echo -e '\eP0;0;0q"1;1;1;1#0;2;100;0;0#0~-\e\\'

You should see a small red dot if SIXEL is supported.

icy_sixel - The underlying Rust library
libsixel - The original C implementation
All About SIXELs - SIXEL specification

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 — see LICENSE for details.

icy_sixel-cli 0.5.0