arttime
A CLI application that blends ASCII/text art with a feature-rich clock, timer, and pattern-based time manager for the terminal.
What is arttime?
arttime is a command-line interface (CLI) application that merges ASCII and text art with functional time management tools like clocks, timers, and pattern-based schedulers. It solves the problem of bland terminals by providing curated artwork while helping users manage their time effectively with features like Pomodoro patterns, notifications, and expressive timers.
Developers, terminal users, and productivity enthusiasts who want to beautify their command-line environment while managing time with customizable, privacy-focused tools.
Developers choose arttime for its unique blend of art and utility, offering a vast library of text art alongside robust time management features—all without internet connectivity, tracking, or heavy dependencies.
Overview
arttime is a CLI application that blends beauty of ASCII / text art with functionality of clock / timer / pattern-based time manager in terminal ⏰
Use Cases
Best For
- Adding visual appeal to terminal sessions with ASCII art
- Implementing Pomodoro or custom time management patterns
- Setting expressive timers with personalized art and messages
- Displaying dynamic system metrics or feeds via external scripts
- Creating animated art displays or storyboards in the terminal
- Managing time offline with privacy-focused, dependency-light tools
Not Ideal For
- Users who require a graphical user interface for time management, as arttime is strictly terminal-based and lacks visual GUI components.
- Projects needing real-time internet connectivity without external scripting, since arttime runs offline and requires feeder programs for dynamic data like weather or stocks.
- Teams looking for collaborative features or cloud synchronization, as arttime operates locally with no data tracking, sharing, or multi-user support.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Includes over 500 curated ASCII, ANSI, PETSCII, and Unicode text artworks to beautify terminals, as highlighted in the README's Purpose/features section.
Supports multiple timers, pattern-based scheduling (e.g., Pomodoro), and expressive timers with custom art and messages, detailed in the README's features.
Runs entirely offline without data tracking, relying on pre-installed Unix tools for security and auditability, per the README's emphasis on privacy and security.
Consumes minimal resources, using about 0.1% CPU and 6MB RAM in steady state, making it efficient for continuous terminal use.
Allows feeding keystrokes from strings, files, pipes, or processes to display dynamic data like system metrics, enabled by the 'feed keystrokes from anywhere' feature.
Cons
Some art and features, such as 24-bit color and animations, require specific terminal emulators like iTerm2 or Alacritty, and troubleshooting is needed for correct rendering, as noted in the Troubleshooting section.
On macOS, notifications require manual changes to system settings (e.g., adjusting Focus modes), and on Linux/BSD, sound playback depends on installed sound servers, adding setup overhead.
Does not run natively on Windows without WSL, and has dependencies like zsh on Unix systems, which may not be present on all installations, limiting cross-platform ease.
Frequently Asked Questions
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