ASCII Banner Generator

Q: How wide are common FIGlet banner fonts in columns per character?

Approximate column width per character (including spacing) for popular banner fonts: Big — 10–12 columns per character; Block — 10–14 columns (widest of the banner fonts); Banner — 8–10 columns; Slant — 8–10 columns; Standard — 7–9 columns; Small — 5–7 columns (best for longer names). Practical examples at 80-column terminals: Big font fits 6–7 characters; Block font fits 5–6 characters; Small font fits 11–14 characters. For a 10-character tool name that must fit in 80 columns, use Small or Mini. Always preview the actual output width rather than calculating from per-character estimates — kerning and smushing vary significantly between fonts.

Q: Can I use an ASCII banner in a GitHub Actions workflow log?

Yes — GitHub Actions runner logs display in a fixed-width monospace font in the browser, so ASCII banners render correctly. Add a Run step with a multiline shell command using echo or cat heredoc to output the banner. The banner appears in the workflow run log under that step, making it easy to visually locate the step in long logs. Use GitHub's workflow command syntax ::group::Banner Name and ::endgroup:: around the banner echo to make the banner output collapsible in the log viewer. Keep the banner under 80 columns for compatibility with narrower browser windows. This technique is especially useful in multi-job workflows to clearly mark which job or phase is running.

Create large ASCII text banners for terminal welcome screens, bash scripts, README headers, and CLI tool branding — using block letter FIGlet fonts designed for maximum visual impact in any console environment.

Why ASCII Banners Make CLI Tools More Professional

Instant brand recognition: An ASCII banner in large block letters ensures users know exactly which tool they have launched — critical when developers switch between multiple CLI tools throughout a workday.
Server MOTD banners: Linux and Unix servers display a Message of the Day when users SSH in — a bold ASCII banner with the server name and environment (PROD/STAGING/DEV) makes environment context immediately visible.
Bash script headers: Embedding a banner at the top of deployment or automation scripts using echo statements makes long-running scripts easier to identify in terminal multiplexers like tmux or screen.
GitHub README headers: ASCII banners inside triple-backtick code blocks on GitHub render in monospace and give open source project READMEs a distinctive, memorable visual identity.
Discord server branding: Paste ASCII banners in Discord channel descriptions or pinned messages to give text channels a structured, branded header that stands out in the channel list.

Generate ASCII Art

How to Create an ASCII Banner

Enter your banner text: Type your CLI tool name, server hostname, or project title — keep it to 1–2 words for banner fonts since block characters are 6–10 columns wide each.
Select a banner font: Choose from fonts built for banners — Big and Block produce thick, bold characters; Banner produces classic block letters; Slant adds a dynamic diagonal lean.
Measure the output width: Count the columns in the generated banner — anything above 78 characters will wrap in an 80-column terminal. Switch to a narrower font or abbreviate if needed.
Wrap in appropriate comment syntax: For bash scripts use # before each line; for Python use triple-quoted strings or #; for Node.js use // or /* block comments.
Test in your actual terminal: Paste the banner into your target terminal session to verify alignment, colors, and line wrapping before embedding in scripts or README files.

Real-World Use Case

A developer publishing a Node.js CLI tool to npm wants it to display a startup banner the first time a user runs it. Using the Big font in the ASCII banner generator, they convert the 8-character tool name into a banner that fits within 78 columns. They paste the output into the tool's index.js wrapped in a template literal, printing it before the main execution begins. The same banner text — copied once from the generator — also goes into the GitHub README inside a code block, the npm package description in the terminal help output, and the project's MOTD on the CI/CD server. The banner creates a consistent identity across all touchpoints without requiring any image assets or web fonts.

Best Practices for ASCII Banners

Prefer Big, Block, Banner, or Slant fonts: These fonts were designed specifically for banner use — they have clear, readable letterforms at large sizes and consistent column widths that aid alignment.
Keep banner text uppercase: Lowercase letters in banner fonts often render shorter and less impactful — ALL CAPS produces the tall, commanding visual weight that makes a banner work.
Add version info below the banner: Print a smaller plain-text version line (v1.2.3) directly beneath the ASCII banner using regular console output — don't try to embed version numbers in the art itself.
Guard startup banners with a flag: Provide a --no-banner or --quiet flag in your CLI so scripts and CI pipelines can suppress the banner — automated workflows don't need decorative output.
Test on Windows Terminal and macOS Terminal: Font rendering differs slightly across terminal emulators — verify your banner looks correct in the environments your users are most likely to run.

Performance & Limits

Recommended banner length: 1–8 characters work best for banner fonts — a 6-character word in Big font uses approximately 72 columns, fitting comfortably in an 80-column terminal.
Font height: Banner-class fonts typically render 6–8 rows tall per character — the full banner occupies 6–8 lines of terminal output, which is visually prominent without being excessive.
Column counting: The widest line in the ASCII output determines the minimum terminal width needed — verify this against your target deployment environment's terminal width.
Multi-line banners: Long names can be split across two lines with a line break in the input — each line generates separately and stacks vertically for two-row banner layouts.
Special character support: Banner fonts support standard alphanumeric characters reliably; punctuation like hyphens and underscores varies by font — preview before committing to a font choice.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Choosing a decorative font instead of a banner font: Fonts like Gothic or Script look creative but break down visually in terminals with small font sizes — stick to solid block fonts for banners intended for terminal display.
Embedding banners without testing terminal width: A banner that fits your 160-column widescreen terminal will wrap and break for users on 80-column SSH sessions — always test at 80 columns before shipping.
Hardcoding banner output without a suppress flag: Banners printed unconditionally break piped commands (tool | grep pattern) and CI log parsing — always check for a quiet/no-banner flag or detect non-TTY environments with isatty().
Using mixed case in banner fonts: Alternating uppercase and lowercase in banner fonts produces inconsistent character heights — choose all-uppercase or all-lowercase input to maintain a uniform baseline.

Privacy & Security

Browser-only processing: The banner is generated entirely in your browser using JavaScript — your tool names, server hostnames, and project names are never sent to any server.
No input retention: Text entered into the generator is not stored between sessions — closing the tab discards everything you typed.
No account or sign-in needed: Generate and copy ASCII banners immediately without registration, email, or any personal data.
Plain text output only: The generated banner is unformatted plain text — it contains no tracking pixels, hidden characters, or zero-width markers that could identify or track usage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which fonts work best for terminal MOTD banners on Linux servers?

For Linux MOTD banners stored in /etc/motd or generated by /etc/update-motd.d/ scripts, the best fonts are Big (wide, solid characters that read clearly at 80 columns), Block (extra-thick strokes that remain legible even in low-contrast terminal color schemes), and Banner (the classic block-letter style originally designed for line-printer banners). Slant works well for servers where you want a more modern look. Avoid fonts with thin strokes like Thin or Small — these look elegant on a large monitor but become hard to read in an SSH session over a slow connection or in a small pane. Always place your MOTD banner in /etc/motd.d/ rather than overwriting /etc/motd directly, so system packages can add their own notices without conflict.

How do I embed an ASCII banner in a bash script using echo?

The most reliable method is to use a heredoc with cat rather than multiple echo statements, which avoids escaping issues with backslashes and special characters. Place the banner at the top of your script after the shebang line: cat <<'BANNER' followed by your ASCII art on subsequent lines, then BANNER on its own line to close. The single-quoted 'BANNER' delimiter prevents variable expansion inside the art — important because ASCII fonts often contain $ characters that would otherwise be interpreted as variables. For colored output, wrap the heredoc in: printf '\033[1;34m'; cat <<'BANNER'; printf '\033[0m' to print the banner in bold blue and then reset the color.

How wide are common FIGlet banner fonts in columns per character?

Approximate column width per character (including spacing) for popular banner fonts: Big — 10–12 columns per character; Block — 10–14 columns (widest of the banner fonts); Banner — 8–10 columns; Slant — 8–10 columns; Standard — 7–9 columns; Small — 5–7 columns (best for longer names). Practical examples at 80-column terminals: Big font fits 6–7 characters; Block font fits 5–6 characters; Small font fits 11–14 characters. For a 10-character tool name that must fit in 80 columns, use Small or Mini. Always preview the actual output width rather than calculating from per-character estimates — kerning and smushing vary significantly between fonts.

Can I use an ASCII banner in a GitHub Actions workflow log?

Yes — GitHub Actions runner logs display in a fixed-width monospace font in the browser, so ASCII banners render correctly. Add a Run step with a multiline shell command using echo or cat heredoc to output the banner. The banner appears in the workflow run log under that step, making it easy to visually locate the step in long logs. Use GitHub's workflow command syntax ::group::Banner Name and ::endgroup:: around the banner echo to make the banner output collapsible in the log viewer. Keep the banner under 80 columns for compatibility with narrower browser windows. This technique is especially useful in multi-job workflows to clearly mark which job or phase is running.