# Install catimg with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman, zypper

Insanely fast image printing in your terminal. Version 2.8.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install catimg.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:catimg
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install catimg
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add catimg
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: catimg from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install catimg
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: catimg from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install catimg
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: catimg from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#catimg
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/catimg/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S catimg
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: catimg from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install catimg
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: catimg from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:catimg
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.8.0
- **Source summary:** Insanely fast image printing in your terminal
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/posva/catimg>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/posva/catimg>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- catimg (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.8.0
## Project history and usage

Catimg is a terminal image renderer. Its README describes a small C program with no dependencies that prints JPEG, PNG, and GIF images in the terminal.

### Project history

The README says catimg was originally a script that used ImageMagick convert before becoming a C implementation. It keeps script-era documentation for the older dependency path while presenting the C version as the fast default.

### Adoption history

The README documents Homebrew, Arch Linux, and Fedora installation examples, and the supplied package facts add Alpine, Debian, Nix, Ubuntu, and openSUSE packaging. That spread reflects the appeal of a tiny visual CLI utility across Unix package sets.

### How it is used

catimg is used directly from the terminal to render image files using ANSI colors and optional Unicode high-resolution output. The README highlights the tradeoff between the older script's color accuracy and the C version's speed.

### Why package nerds care

catimg is the kind of package that makes terminal environments feel playful without bringing in a GUI stack. It is also easy to package because the current C tool is small, MIT-licensed, and largely self-contained.

### Timeline

- 2013: The repository links to the author's original catimg article from May 27.
- 2026: Homebrew formula packages v2.8.0 from the official release archive.
- 2026: The README continues to document package-manager installation examples.

### Related projects

- Related tools include ImageMagick convert, which powered the original script version, and terminal graphics/image viewers that render media through ANSI colors or Unicode cells.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/posva/catimg>
- <https://github.com/posva/catimg>
- <https://github.com/posva/catimg#readme>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/catimg.json>
- <https://github.com/posva/catimg/releases>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

- **Geiger risk:** blue / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - catimg - 2.7.0-4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: catimg from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | fast image printing in to your terminal | https://github.com/posva/catimg
- Nix - catimg: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ca/catimg/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - catimg - 2.7.0-2: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: catimg from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | fast image printing in to your terminal | https://github.com/posva/catimg
- apk - catimg - 2.8.0-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: catimg from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | terminal image renderer | https://github.com/posva/catimg
- apk - catimg-doc - 2.8.0-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: catimg-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | terminal image renderer (documentation) | https://github.com/posva/catimg
- dnf - catimg - 2.8.0-4.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: catimg from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Print images in a terminal with 256 colors support | https://github.com/posva/catimg
- pacman - catimg - 2.8.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: catimg from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Print images in a terminal with 256 colors support | https://github.com/posva/catimg
- zypper - catimg - 2.8.0-1.5: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: catimg from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Insanely fast image printing in your terminal | https://posva.net/shell/retro/bash/2013/05/27/catimg
- zypper - catimg-zsh-completion - 2.8.0-1.5: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: catimg-zsh-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | ZSH Completion for catimg | https://posva.net/shell/retro/bash/2013/05/27/catimg


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/catimg.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/catimg.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph