$ Linux Command

Shell

figlet

Display large text banners using ASCII art fonts.

textasciiartbannerfont

Additional Notes

figlet takes input text and renders it as large characters made from ASCII characters using various font files. The name stands for "Frank, Ian and Glenn's Letters." It is commonly used to create banners for terminal welcome messages, README headers, MOTD displays, and code comments.

Figlet fonts define each letter as a grid of characters. The program ships with several built-in fonts and many more are available online. Each font produces a different visual style, from simple block letters to ornate calligraphic designs.

Syntax

figlet [options] [text...]

Parameters

  • text: The text to render. If not provided, figlet reads from standard input.

Common Options

  • -f font, --font font: Select a font file (without the .flf extension).
  • -d dir, --font-directory dir: Specify a directory containing font files.
  • -w width, --width width: Set the output width for the banner (default is 80 columns).
  • -c, --center: Center the banner within the output width.
  • -l, --left: Left-align the banner (default).
  • -r, --right: Right-align the banner.
  • -t, --terminal-width: Use the terminal width instead of the default 80.
  • -k, --kerning: Apply kerning between characters (font-dependent).
  • -s, --smush: Apply smushing (character overlapping) when available.
  • -S, --smush-on: Same as -s but also smushes normally unsmushable pairs.
  • -p, --paragraph: Treat the input as paragraphs and break lines at word boundaries.
  • -x, --no-font-limit: Allow fonts larger than the default size limit.
  • -L, --list: List all available fonts.
  • -I n, --info n: Print font information. n selects the info type.
  • -v, --version: Show version information.

Examples

figlet "Hello World"

Render "Hello World" using the default font.

figlet -f slant "Linux"

Render "Linux" using the slant font.

figlet -c -w 60 "Welcome"

Center the text in a 60-column width.

figlet -f big "NOTE"

Render "NOTE" in the large big font.

figlet -f banner -t "Important"

Use the banner font and auto-detect terminal width.

echo "Script output" | figlet -f digital

Pipe text into figlet using the digital font.

figlet -L

List every available font file.

Practical Notes

  • Figlet font files have the .flf extension and are stored in /usr/share/figlet/ or /usr/local/share/figlet/.
  • Common fonts include standard, slant, big, banner, digital, block, script, and shadow.
  • For right-to-left text, use the -R option.
  • The toilet command is a related tool that supports color output.
  • figlet is often used in shell scripts that generate colorful or stylized MOTD messages.