_    ____   ____ ___ ___   _  __          _                         _
   / \  / ___| / ___|_ _|_ _| | |/ /___ _   _| |__   ___   __ _ _ __ __| |
  / _ \ \___ \| |    | | | |  | ' // _ \ | | | '_ \ / _ \ / _` | '__/ _` |
 / ___ \ ___) | |___ | | | |  | . \  __/ |_| | |_) | (_) | (_| | | | (_| |
/_/   \_\____/ \____|___|___| |_|\_\___|\__, |_.__/ \___/ \__,_|_|  \__,_|
                                        |___/

Type normally. Output beautifully.

A macOS menu bar app that transforms your typing into stunning ASCII art. 20 fonts. Zero friction. Pure nostalgia.

Download for macOS View on GitHub

See it in action

Terminal
~$ 
 _   _      _ _         __        __         _     _ _
| | | | ___| | | ___    \ \      / /__  _ __| | __| | |
| |_| |/ _ \ | |/ _ \    \ \ /\ / / _ \| '__| |/ _` | |
|  _  |  __/ | | (_) |    \ V  V / (_) | |  | | (_| |_|
|_| |_|\___|_|_|\___( )    \_/\_/ \___/|_|  |_|\__,_(_)
                    |/

Features

Everything you need to express yourself in ASCII

[=]

Menu Bar Native

Lives quietly in your menu bar. Toggle on/off with a click. No windows cluttering your workspace.

{Aa}

20 Unique Fonts

From Banner to Doom, Standard to Star Wars. Pick the perfect style for every message.

[>>]

Live Preview

See your ASCII art as you type in a floating preview window. What you see is what you get.

|_|

Works Everywhere

Type in any app - Slack, Discord, Terminal, Notes. ASCII Keyboard outputs directly where you're typing.

{#}

Keyboard Shortcuts

ESC to cancel, Backspace to edit. Your regular shortcuts (Cmd+C, etc.) work normally.

[*]

Launch at Login

Start automatically when you boot up. Always ready when inspiration strikes.

20 Beautiful Fonts

Choose your style

Standard
 _   _      _ _
| | | | ___| | | ___
| |_| |/ _ \ | |/ _ \
|  _  |  __/ | | (_) |
|_| |_|\___|_|_|\___/
Banner
#     # ####### #       #       #######
#     # #       #       #       #     #
#     # #       #       #       #     #
####### #####   #       #       #     #
#     # #       #       #       #     #
#     # #       #       #       #     #
#     # ####### ####### ####### #######
Doom
 _   _      _ _
| | | |    | | |
| |_| | ___| | | ___
|  _  |/ _ \ | |/ _ \
| | | |  __/ | | (_) |
\_| |_/\___|_|_|\___/
Shadow
|   |      | |
|___|  _   | |  _
|   | |/   |/  |/
|   | |__/ |__/|__/
Slant
    __  __     ____
   / / / /__  / / /___
  / /_/ / _ \/ / / __ \
 / __  /  __/ / / /_/ /
/_/ /_/\___/_/_/\____/
Big
  _    _      _ _
 | |  | |    | | |
 | |__| | ___| | | ___
 |  __  |/ _ \ | |/ _ \
 | |  | |  __/ | | (_) |
 |_|  |_|\___|_|_|\___/
Standard
 _   _      _ _
| | | | ___| | | ___
| |_| |/ _ \ | |/ _ \
|  _  |  __/ | | (_) |
|_| |_|\___|_|_|\___/
Banner
#     # ####### #       #       #######
#     # #       #       #       #     #
#     # #       #       #       #     #
####### #####   #       #       #     #
#     # #       #       #       #     #
#     # #       #       #       #     #
#     # ####### ####### ####### #######
Doom
 _   _      _ _
| | | |    | | |
| |_| | ___| | | ___
|  _  |/ _ \ | |/ _ \
| | | |  __/ | | (_) |
\_| |_/\___|_|_|\___/
Shadow
|   |      | |
|___|  _   | |  _
|   | |/   |/  |/
|   | |__/ |__/|__/
Star Wars
.___________. _______ ___   ___ .___________.
|           ||   ____|\  \ /  / |           |
`---|  |----`|  |__    \  V  /  `---|  |----`
    |  |     |   __|    >   <       |  |
    |  |     |  |____  /  .  \      |  |
    |__|     |_______|/__/ \__\     |__|
Speed
___________              __
\__    ___/___ ___  ____/  |_
  |    |_/ __ \\  \/  /\   __\
  |    |\  ___/ >    <  |  |
  |____| \___  >__/\_ \ |__|
             \/      \/
Epic
 _______  _______  __   __  _______
|       ||       ||  |_|  ||       |
|_     _||    ___||       ||_     _|
  |   |  |   |___ |       |  |   |
  |   |  |    ___| |     |   |   |
  |   |  |   |___ |   _   |  |   |
  |___|  |_______||__| |__|  |___|
Graffiti
___________           __
\__    ___/___ ___  _/  |_
  |    |_/ __ \\  \/  |  __\
  |    |\  ___/\    /|  |
  |____| \___  /\_/\_/|__|
             \/
Mini
|_  _    _|_
 | (/_ >< |
Small
 _____        _
|_   _|____ _| |_
  | |/ -_) \ /  _|
  |_|\___/_\_\\__|
Star Wars
.___________. _______ ___   ___ .___________.
|           ||   ____|\  \ /  / |           |
`---|  |----`|  |__    \  V  /  `---|  |----`
    |  |     |   __|    >   <       |  |
    |  |     |  |____  /  .  \      |  |
    |__|     |_______|/__/ \__\     |__|
Speed
___________              __
\__    ___/___ ___  ____/  |_
  |    |_/ __ \\  \/  /\   __\
  |    |\  ___/ >    <  |  |
  |____| \___  >__/\_ \ |__|
             \/      \/
Epic
 _______  _______  __   __  _______
|       ||       ||  |_|  ||       |
|_     _||    ___||       ||_     _|
  |   |  |   |___ |       |  |   |
  |   |  |    ___| |     |   |   |
  |   |  |   |___ |   _   |  |   |
  |___|  |_______||__| |__|  |___|

How It Works

Three simple steps to ASCII glory

1

Click the Menu Bar Icon

Toggle ASCII Keyboard ON from your menu bar

  .--.
 |o_o |
 |:_/ |
//   \ \
(|     | )
/'\_   _/`\
\___)=(___/
2

Type Your Message

Type normally - see live preview as you go

    ____
   / __ )
  / __  |
 / /_/ /
/_____/
3

Press Enter

Your ASCII art is instantly output

  _________
 |   ___   |
 |  |___|  |
 |_________|
    |   |
    |___|
~$_

Download ASCII Keyboard

Version 1.0.2

Install via Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap levz0r/asciikeyboard && brew install --cask ascii-keyboard

— or —

Download DMG

Requirements

macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later

Requires Accessibility permissions to capture keystrokes

If you see "app is damaged" error, run in Terminal:
xattr -cr /Applications/ASCII\ Keyboard.app