ASCII Magic
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Retro computing in animated ASCII

This retro terminal collection brings back green and amber screens, clattering teletypes and the machines that came before the desktop, all hand-coded as animated text. Watch a BASIC loop run at a READY prompt, a cassette load stripe by stripe, a floppy copy track by track and a green screen word processor type and save a letter.

22 pieces

View use cases
Amber Ledger SpreadsheetRetro Computing
Home Computer BASICRetro Computing
Cassette Tape LoadingRetro Computing
Chiptune TrackerRetro Computing
School Computer LabRetro Computing
Copper Bar DemoRetro Computing
Magnetic Core PlaneRetro Computing
Dot Matrix BannerRetro Computing
Floppy Disk CopierRetro Computing
Front Panel Toggle ProgrammingRetro Computing
Green Screen Word ProcessorRetro Computing
Pocket LCD Rain CatchRetro Computing
Mainframe Lamp ConsoleRetro Computing
MIDI Step SequencerRetro Computing
Round Tube XY ScopeRetro Computing
Monochrome Paint ProgramRetro Computing
Keypunch Card DeckRetro Computing
Mainframe Tape DrivesRetro Computing
Teletype Paper RollRetro Computing
Lighthouse Text AdventureRetro Computing
Vector Space DuelRetro Computing
Line Drawn Maze CrawlRetro Computing

Where to start

It covers the whole arc of early computing, from Keypunch Card Deck and Front Panel Toggle Programming to Magnetic Core Plane, Mainframe Tape Drives and a Monochrome Paint Program. Use the pieces on nostalgia sites, developer portfolios and retro computer blogs, or play one in your own terminal as a splash screen.

Home Computer BASICA short BASIC loop typed at the READY prompt and run as a scrolling sine wave of stars, inside a thick 8-bit border.Green Screen Word ProcessorA green phosphor word processor that types, wraps, backspaces typos and saves, the essential retro terminal look.Teletype Paper RollA teletype printing a time-sharing session onto a paper roll as the keys go down, perfect for log-heavy tools.Cassette Tape LoadingPilot tone and data stripes flash in the border while a loading screen paints in band by band.Keypunch Card DeckA keypunch types a program onto 80-column cards hole by hole, a great opener for a computing history talk.Vector Space DuelTwo wireframe ships circle a flickering star on a green vector display, leaving phosphor trails behind.

Retro terminal and CRT looks for nostalgia sites

Most of these pieces use the palettes people remember from CRT terminals: green phosphor in Green Screen Word Processor, amber in Amber Ledger Spreadsheet and Line Drawn Maze Crawl, and a blue-white beam with a yellow afterglow in Round Tube XY Scope. They make a strong hero for a retro computing blog, a museum or club site, or a product with an old-school brand.

Set bg to black on the embed so the glow reads like a tube, and keep the surrounding text in a monospace font. For a full CRT terminal mood, pair a piece with the CRT Test Card at CRT Test Card or the Boot Sequence at Boot Sequence from other categories.

Terminal splash screens with a retro feel

Every piece plays in a terminal, in color where the terminal supports it. Run npx --yes https://www.ascii-magic.com/ascii/cli.tgz basic-loop-prompt to watch the BASIC loop in your own shell, or add --seconds=3 to show a short splash when a tool starts. For a message of the day, print a single still with --frame, or copy a frame from the piece page with Copy as text. Good splash picks are short and readable at small sizes:

  • Home Computer BASIC for tools aimed at programmers.
  • Teletype Paper Roll for anything that prints logs.
  • Floppy Disk Copier for backup, sync or copy tools.
  • Cassette Tape Loading for a playful loading step.
  • Lighthouse Text Adventure for games and fun command line tools.

A short history of computing, told in pieces

The collection reads like a timeline, which makes it handy for talks, lessons and about pages. None of the machines are real branded models: each is a generic, hand-built tribute to an era, so the focus stays on how the machines worked.

  • Punch cards: Keypunch Card Deck types a program onto 80-column cards.
  • Front panels: Front Panel Toggle Programming enters a program switch by switch.
  • Memory: Magnetic Core Plane stores bits by flipping ferrite cores.
  • Mainframes: Mainframe Lamp Console and Mainframe Tape Drives run a nightly batch.
  • Time-sharing: Teletype Paper Roll prints a session on a paper roll.
  • Home computers: Home Computer BASIC, Cassette Tape Loading and Floppy Disk Copier.
  • Office software: Green Screen Word Processor, Amber Ledger Spreadsheet, Monochrome Paint Program and Dot Matrix Banner.
  • Games and sound: Vector Space Duel, Line Drawn Maze Crawl, Pocket LCD Rain Catch and Chiptune Tracker.

Retro computer wallpapers and video intros

Wide scenes like School Computer Lab, with three beige terminals under a ticking wall clock, and Mainframe Tape Drives, with reels starting and stopping in bursts, make detailed wallpapers. Pause on a frame and export a PNG at Desktop 4K, Desktop 1080p or phone size.

For video, export any piece as MP4 or WebM at 1920x1080 or 4K. Copper Bar Demo, with its swinging copper bars and sine wave scroller, makes a lively channel intro, and Dot Matrix Banner prints a giant sideways banner that suits an announcement. The Looks options can redraw a piece as Dense ASCII, Binary or Blocks before you export, for an even more vintage texture.

Ways to use ASCII retro computing

Step-by-step guides with a live builder and code to copy.

All 18 use cases →
Terminal

A terminal welcome screen with animated ASCII art

Show an animated ASCII piece every time you open a terminal, or set a still one as your server's message of the day. Works with zsh, bash and fish.

CLI

Splash screens and loaders for command line tools

Give your CLI a startup splash or an animated loader in ASCII. Copy the piece source into your Node project, or print frames from any language.

Portfolio

ASCII art for a developer portfolio

Make a developer portfolio stand out with an animated ASCII hero, a terminal-style about section and live ASCII charts.

Wallpaper

ASCII art wallpapers for desktop and phone

Download ASCII art wallpapers in 4K, 1080p and phone sizes. Pick any scene, choose dark or light, and export a full-resolution PNG in one click.

/FAQS

ASCII retro computing: frequently asked questions

Answers about using ASCII retro computing on websites, in READMEs, in terminals and in exports.

Q. What is a retro terminal?
A retro terminal is a text screen styled after the computer terminals of the 1970s and 1980s, usually green or amber text on black with a blinking cursor and plain monospace type. People use the look for nostalgia sites, developer portfolios and command line tools that want an old-school feel.
Q. Where can I find animated retro terminal art?
This category has animated retro terminal scenes, including a BASIC prompt running a loop, a green screen word processor, an amber spreadsheet, a teletype printing on paper and a text adventure at a blinking prompt. Each one can be embedded on a page, played in a terminal or exported as a video.
Q. How do I get a CRT terminal look on my website?
Use a dark background, green or amber text in a monospace font, and a piece with a phosphor palette such as Green Screen Word Processor or Round Tube XY Scope. Embed it with the ascii-art tag and set bg to black so the glow reads like an old tube.
Q. Can I play retro ASCII art in my own terminal?
Yes, every piece plays in a terminal with npx --yes https://www.ascii-magic.com/ascii/cli.tgz followed by its name, for example npx --yes https://www.ascii-magic.com/ascii/cli.tgz teletype-paper-roll. It plays in color where the terminal supports it. Add --frame to print a single still frame instead.
Q. How do I add a retro boot screen to my CLI tool?
Run a short piece when your tool starts, such as Home Computer BASIC or Cassette Tape Loading, with --seconds=3 so it stops on its own. For Node tools you can also copy the piece source into your project and draw the frames yourself, as the guide at Splash screens and loaders for command line tools explains.
Q. Are these based on real vintage computers?
They are inspired by real eras of computing but are generic designs with no brand names or model numbers. That lets each piece focus on how the machines worked, such as toggling switches, punching cards, flipping core memory or loading programs from tape.
Q. Is there retro art for a computer history lesson or talk?
Yes, the pieces follow the history of computing from punch cards and front panel switches to core memory, mainframe tape drives, teletypes, home computers and floppy disks. Export each one as a video for slides, or pause the player on the step you want to explain.
Q. Can I use retro computer art as a desktop wallpaper?
Yes, open a piece such as School Computer Lab or Mainframe Tape Drives, pause on a frame and export a PNG wallpaper at Desktop 4K, Desktop 1080p or phone size. The Looks options can redraw it as Dense ASCII, Binary or Blocks before you export.
Q. Is there a retro text adventure animation?
Yes, Lighthouse Text Adventure shows a player typing commands in an old lighthouse while the parser answers and the score and move counter tick up. It plays itself as an animation, so it suits a portfolio header or a README rather than a game people can play.
Q. Is there retro chiptune or tracker art?
Yes, Chiptune Tracker shows a four channel music tracker with note rows scrolling past the play line, jumping meters and wiggling channel scopes, and MIDI Step Sequencer shows a sixteen step grid firing notes. Both are silent animations, so pair them with your own audio.
Q. Can I put retro terminal art in my developer portfolio?
Yes, a retro piece makes a memorable hero for a terminal-style portfolio. Embed Home Computer BASIC or Teletype Paper Roll at the top of the page with one tag, and see the developer portfolio guide at ASCII art for a developer portfolio for complete layouts.
Q. Can I make a retro video intro with these animations?
Yes, export any piece as an MP4 or WebM video at 1920x1080, or pick the 4K option. Copper Bar Demo, Vector Space Duel and Dot Matrix Banner make lively intros for videos and streams, and the YouTube thumbnail export at 1280x720 gives you a matching still.

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