FOSSPicks
CLI image viewer
lsix
Giving your terminal the ability to view images may seem counter productive. After all, one of the great things about the command line is that you're not distracted by things like images. But adding this kind of ability could be immensely useful, especially if you happen to be running a remote terminal and you work with images. It could be ideal when working with a web server, for example, and you're trying to track down a specific image in a folder of obscure file names. Or when you process images on the command line and you want to see whether the process has worked as intended – or simply for the convenience of not having to reach for your mouse.
But surely getting meaningful images to display using ASCII text is impossible? Surprisingly not, thanks to sixel, a bitmap graphics format designed specifically for terminals that can build complex images out of 64 different ASCII characters, each containing a different arrangement of pixels. It's close to being able to set individual pixels within a terminal, while only using the text characters the terminal can display. And this is what lsix
does. It's an ls
command for images that displays image thumbnails just as ls
displays file and folder names. The only caveat is that you need a terminal that supports sixel, and several – such as Konsole – do not. The easy solution is to run xterm
(with xterm -ti vt340
). But lsix
is really just a well-commented Bash script that's using ImageMagick's convert
command to do the magic, so it's worth looking inside if there are other changes you'd potentially like to make. It's a simple, easy-to-use command that genuinely helps if you need to see images on the command line.
Project Website
https://github.com/hackerb9/lsix
Video editor
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.
-
DebConf24 to be Held in South Korea
Busan will be the location of the latest DebConf running July 28 through August 4