{
    "mode": "man",
    "parameter": "toilet",
    "section": "1",
    "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/toilet/1/json",
    "generated": "2026-06-03T01:48:56Z",
    "synopsis": "toilet [ -hkostvSW ] [ -d fontdirectory ]\n[ -f fontfile ] [ -F filter ] [ -w outputwidth ]\n[ -I infocode ] [ -E format ] [ message ]",
    "sections": {
        "NAME": {
            "content": "TOIlet - display large colourful characters\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SYNOPSIS": {
            "content": "toilet [ -hkostvSW ] [ -d fontdirectory ]\n[ -f fontfile ] [ -F filter ] [ -w outputwidth ]\n[ -I infocode ] [ -E format ] [ message ]\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "DESCRIPTION": {
            "content": "TOIlet  prints  text using large characters made of smaller characters. It is similar in many\nways to FIGlet with additional features such as Unicode handling, colour fonts,  filters  and\nvarious export formats.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "USAGE": {
            "content": "TOIlet either reads its input from the command line or from the standard input.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "OPTIONS": {
            "content": "",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "-f, --font <name>",
                    "content": "Use  the  given font instead of the default value. Fonts are .flf or .tlf files stored\nin the /usr/share/figlet directory. Fonts are looked first in the font directory, then\nin  the  current  directory.  There  is  also a special built-in font called term that\nserves as a fallback if no font is available.\n",
                    "flag": "-f",
                    "long": "--font",
                    "arg": "<name>"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-d, --directory <dir>",
                    "content": "Specify the directory in which to look for fonts. The default value is  set  at  build\ntime and usually defaults to /usr/share/figlet.\n",
                    "flag": "-d",
                    "long": "--directory",
                    "arg": "<dir>"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-s, -S, -k, -W, -o",
                    "content": "Select character composition rules.  -S sets smushing (nicely merging glyphs), -k sets\nkerning (rendering subcharacters as close to each other as possible), -W renders char‐\nacters at their full width and -o sets overlapping (glyphs slightly overlap the previ‐\nous one).  -s (default behaviour) uses the font's smushing information if any,  other‐\nwise forces overlapping, or does nothing if the glyph only has one subcharacter.\n",
                    "flag": "-o"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-w, --width <width>",
                    "content": "Set the output width. By default, TOIlet will wrap its output at 80 character columns.\n",
                    "flag": "-w",
                    "long": "--width",
                    "arg": "<width>"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-t, --termwidth",
                    "content": "Set the output width to the terminal width.\n",
                    "flag": "-t",
                    "long": "--termwidth"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-F, --filter <filters>",
                    "content": "",
                    "flag": "-F",
                    "long": "--filter",
                    "arg": "<filters>"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-F, --filter list",
                    "content": "",
                    "flag": "-F",
                    "long": "--filter"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--gay, --metal",
                    "content": "Specify a list of filters to be applied to the output.  <filters> is a colon-separated\nlist of filters such as crop:rotate:gay and the special argument list outputs  a  list\nof available filters.\n\n--gay and --metal are shortcuts to commonly used filters that are guaranteed to exist.\nSeveral -F flags can also be specified on the command line, in which case filters will\nbe applied in order of appearance.\n",
                    "long": "--metal"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-E, --export <format>",
                    "content": "",
                    "flag": "-E",
                    "long": "--export",
                    "arg": "<format>"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-E, --export list",
                    "content": "",
                    "flag": "-E",
                    "long": "--export"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--irc, --html",
                    "content": "Specify the output format. By default, TOIlet will output UTF-8 text using ANSI colour\ncodes suitable for most terminals such as XTerm or rxvt.  <format> is the name of  the\nexport  format  as  recognised by libcaca. The special argument list outputs a list of\navailable export formats.\n\n--irc and --html are shortcuts to commonly used export formats that are guaranteed  to\nexist.\n",
                    "long": "--html"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-h, --help",
                    "content": "Display a short help message and exit.\n",
                    "flag": "-h",
                    "long": "--help"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-I, --infocode <code>",
                    "content": "Print  a  FIGlet  infocode.  This  flag is only here for FIGlet compatibility, see the\nfiglet manpage for more information about it.\n",
                    "flag": "-I",
                    "long": "--infocode",
                    "arg": "<code>"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-v, --version",
                    "content": "Output version information and exit.\n",
                    "flag": "-v",
                    "long": "--version"
                }
            ]
        },
        "EXAMPLES": {
            "content": "toilet Hello World\n\ntoilet Hello | toilet\n\ntail -f /var/log/messages | toilet -f term --gay\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "BUGS": {
            "content": "FIGlet compatibility is not complete yet.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "AUTHOR": {
            "content": "TOIlet and this manual page were written by Sam Hocevar <sam@hocevar.net>. There is a webpage\navailable at http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/toilet .\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SEE ALSO": {
            "content": "figlet(6)\n\n\n\nlibcaca @PACKAGEVERSION@                    2006-11-10                                    toilet(1)",
            "subsections": []
        }
    },
    "summary": "TOIlet - display large colourful characters",
    "flags": [
        {
            "flag": "-f",
            "long": "--font",
            "arg": "<name>",
            "description": "Use the given font instead of the default value. Fonts are .flf or .tlf files stored in the /usr/share/figlet directory. Fonts are looked first in the font directory, then in the current directory. There is also a special built-in font called term that serves as a fallback if no font is available."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-d",
            "long": "--directory",
            "arg": "<dir>",
            "description": "Specify the directory in which to look for fonts. The default value is set at build time and usually defaults to /usr/share/figlet."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-o",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Select character composition rules. -S sets smushing (nicely merging glyphs), -k sets kerning (rendering subcharacters as close to each other as possible), -W renders char‐ acters at their full width and -o sets overlapping (glyphs slightly overlap the previ‐ ous one). -s (default behaviour) uses the font's smushing information if any, other‐ wise forces overlapping, or does nothing if the glyph only has one subcharacter."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-w",
            "long": "--width",
            "arg": "<width>",
            "description": "Set the output width. By default, TOIlet will wrap its output at 80 character columns."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-t",
            "long": "--termwidth",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Set the output width to the terminal width."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-F",
            "long": "--filter",
            "arg": "<filters>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "flag": "-F",
            "long": "--filter",
            "arg": null,
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--metal",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Specify a list of filters to be applied to the output. <filters> is a colon-separated list of filters such as crop:rotate:gay and the special argument list outputs a list of available filters. --gay and --metal are shortcuts to commonly used filters that are guaranteed to exist. Several -F flags can also be specified on the command line, in which case filters will be applied in order of appearance."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-E",
            "long": "--export",
            "arg": "<format>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "flag": "-E",
            "long": "--export",
            "arg": null,
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--html",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Specify the output format. By default, TOIlet will output UTF-8 text using ANSI colour codes suitable for most terminals such as XTerm or rxvt. <format> is the name of the export format as recognised by libcaca. The special argument list outputs a list of available export formats. --irc and --html are shortcuts to commonly used export formats that are guaranteed to exist."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-h",
            "long": "--help",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Display a short help message and exit."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-I",
            "long": "--infocode",
            "arg": "<code>",
            "description": "Print a FIGlet infocode. This flag is only here for FIGlet compatibility, see the figlet manpage for more information about it."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-v",
            "long": "--version",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Output version information and exit."
        }
    ],
    "examples": [
        "toilet Hello World",
        "toilet Hello | toilet",
        "tail -f /var/log/messages | toilet -f term --gay"
    ],
    "see_also": [
        {
            "name": "figlet",
            "section": "6",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/figlet/6/json"
        }
    ],
    "tldr": {
        "source": "official",
        "description": "Display ASCII-art fonts.",
        "examples": [
            {
                "description": "Generate ASCII art for a given text",
                "command": "toilet {{input_text}}"
            },
            {
                "description": "Generate ASCII art using a custom font file",
                "command": "toilet {{input_text}} {{-f|--font}} {{font_filename}}"
            },
            {
                "description": "Generate ASCII art using a filter",
                "command": "toilet {{input_text}} {{-F|--filter}} {{filter_name}}"
            },
            {
                "description": "Show available toilet filters",
                "command": "toilet {{-F|--filter}} list"
            }
        ]
    }
}