shimr

terminal transition effects using cellular automata

shimr creates organic transition effects for terminal UIs. watch your text dissolve into conway patterns, then crystallize into new forms. perfect for cyberpunk aesthetics and smooth state changes.

features

• cellular automata transitions: conway's game of life drives state morphing
• glyph gradients: smooth decay sequences (█ → ▓ → ▒ → ░ → · → )
• text morphing: dissolve and reform text through simulation
• performance focused: 60fps animations with zero allocations in render loop
• framework agnostic: works with ratatui, cursive, or raw terminal control

quick start

use shimr::prelude::*;

// morph between two text states
let start = "layer 0: attention";
let end = "layer 1: transformation";

let animation = shimr::morph(start, end)
    .generations(15)
    .glyph_set(GlyphSet::Cyberpunk)
    .build();

// render each frame at 60fps
for frame in animation {
    terminal.draw(frame)?;
}

visualization modes

text transitions

hello world     →  [conway simulation]  →  goodbye moon
█████ █████        ░▒▓█░ ▒░▓██           ███████ ████

matrix morphing

transform data grids through organic patterns:

let attention_matrix = arr2(&[[0.8, 0.2], [0.3, 0.9]]);
shimr::morph_grid(attention_matrix, target_matrix)
    .rule(Rule::Conway)
    .colormap(ColorMap::TokyoNight)
    .build()

particle effects

cells emit sparks during death, pull energy during birth:

shimr::particles()
    .on_death('✦')
    .on_birth('·')
    .critical_mass('⚡')

installation

[dependencies]
shimr = "0.1"

feature flags

• ratatui - integration with ratatui (enabled by default)
• cursive - cursive framework support
• particles - particle system effects
• color - 24-bit color support

examples

# basic text morphing
cargo run --example text_morph

# attention visualization (like in aiayn)
cargo run --example attention

# particle system demo
cargo run --example particles

philosophy

shimr emerged from building aiayn, a terminal attention visualizer. we needed transitions that felt organic, like thought patterns evolving through neural networks.

every frame should feel alive. no harsh cuts or boring fades. just smooth, cellular evolution from one state to another.

roadmap

• custom rule sets beyond conway
• midi/audio reactive transitions
• wasm support for browser terminals
• gradient maps from any color palette
• transition choreography dsl

contributing

we welcome contributions! please read CONTRIBUTING.md first.

ideas especially welcome for:

• new cellular automata rules
• innovative glyph sequences
• performance optimizations
• creative use cases

license

dual-licensed under MIT and Apache 2.0. choose whichever you prefer.

acknowledgments

• inspired by conway's game of life
• tokyo night color palette by enkia
• the rust community for excellent terminal crates

shimr: because state changes should shimmer