ASCII-GEN 🎨

A modern, cross-platform ASCII art generator desktop application built with Electron and Next.js. Convert images to beautiful ASCII art with advanced customization options.

🚀 Features

• Cross-platform: Windows and Linux support
• Real-time preview: See changes instantly as you adjust settings
• Advanced customization: Brightness, contrast, blur, zoom, dithering, and more
• Multiple ASCII charsets: Detailed, simple, and custom character sets
• Edge detection: Various edge detection algorithms
• Export options: Copy to clipboard or download as PNG
• Dark/Light theme: Automatic theme switching
• Drag & Drop: Easy image upload with drag and drop support

🏗️ Architecture

Frontend Stack

• Next.js 15.2.4 - React framework with static export
• React 18.2.0 - UI library with hooks
• TypeScript 5.0 - Type-safe JavaScript
• Tailwind CSS 3.4.17 - Utility-first CSS framework
• Radix UI - Accessible component primitives
• Framer Motion - Animation library
• Lucide React - Icon library

Desktop Framework

• Electron 36.4.0 - Cross-platform desktop app framework
• Electron Builder - Packaging and distribution

Key Libraries

• React Hook Form - Form handling
• Zod - Schema validation
• Class Variance Authority - Component variant management
• Tailwind Merge - Utility class merging
• Sonner - Toast notifications

📦 Installation

🌐 Try Online Demo

Experience ASCII-GEN in your browser: https://asciigen.vercel.app/

💻 Windows x64 Portable (Recommended)

Quick Start - No Installation Required!

1. Download: Get the portable executable from GitHub Releases
2. Run: Double-click ASCII-Gen-Portable.exe
3. Enjoy: Start creating ASCII art immediately!

System Requirements:

• Windows 10/11 (x64)
• No additional dependencies required
• Portable - runs from any location

🛠️ Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone <your-repo-url>
cd ascii-generator

# Install dependencies
npm install
# or
pnpm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

Building for Production

# Build for Windows (Portable)
npm run package:win

# Build for Linux (AppImage & DEB)
npm run package:linux

🎯 Usage

1. Upload Image: Drag and drop an image or click to browse
2. Adjust Settings: Use the sliders and options to customize your ASCII art
3. Preview: See real-time changes in the preview area
4. Export: Copy to clipboard or download as PNG

Available Settings

• ASCII Width: Control the width of the output
• Brightness: Adjust image brightness
• Contrast: Modify image contrast
• Blur: Apply Gaussian blur
• Zoom: Scale the image
• Dithering: Enable/disable dithering with multiple algorithms
• Invert: Invert the image colors
• Character Set: Choose from detailed, simple, or custom characters
• Edge Detection: Apply various edge detection methods

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

ascii-generator/
├── app/                 # Next.js app directory
│   ├── globals.css     # Global styles
│   ├── layout.tsx      # Root layout
│   └── page.tsx        # Main ASCII generator component
├── components/         # Reusable UI components
│   └── ui/            # Radix UI components
├── hooks/             # Custom React hooks
├── lib/               # Utility functions
├── assets/            # App icons and resources
├── main.js            # Electron main process
└── package.json       # Dependencies and scripts

Available Scripts

• npm run dev - Start development server with Electron
• npm run dev:web - Start Next.js development server only
• npm run build:web - Build Next.js application
• npm run package:win - Package for Windows
• npm run package:linux - Package for Linux
• npm run clean - Clean build artifacts

🎨 Customization

The app uses a comprehensive design system with:

• Shadcn/ui components - Pre-built, accessible components
• CSS Variables - Theme-aware styling
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first styling
• Framer Motion - Smooth animations

📱 Platform Support

• ✅ Windows x64 (Portable executable)
• 🔄 Linux (Coming soon)
• 🔄 macOS (Can be added with electron-builder)

📄 License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Saganaki22 - GitHub Profile

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