brew / rank 5359

Install mapscii with Homebrew, Nix

Whole World In Your Console. Version 0.3.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#mapscii.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mapscii

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#mapscii

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ma/mapscii/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Whole World In Your Console

Project links

Homepage

Commands and aliases

mapscii

history

Project history and usage

MapSCII is a JavaScript terminal map viewer that renders world map data as Braille and ASCII characters and can be run locally or over a telnet-style terminal session.

Project history

The MapSCII GitHub repository was created in September 2016. Its README presents the project as a Braille and ASCII world map renderer for the console, with mouse dragging and zooming, points of interest, Mapbox-style layer styling, public or private vector tile servers, OSM2VectorTiles-based data, and offline MBTiles support.

The official release stream shows the early feature path: ASCII mode in 2017, improved mouse support later in 2017, a CoffeeScript-to-JavaScript transition in 2019, and version 0.3.1 in February 2020.

Adoption history

MapSCII spread as a terminal novelty with real geospatial plumbing underneath. The official README documents npx mapscii, npm install -g mapscii, snap install mapscii, and direct use of the mapscii command, while Homebrew and Nix metadata in the input show additional package-manager adoption.

Its GitHub repository metadata shows unusually high interest for a small CLI map viewer, which fits its role as a memorable demo of vector tiles, terminal graphics, and OpenStreetMap-style data in one command.

How it is used

Users run mapscii, pan with arrow keys, zoom with a and z, switch character mode with c, quit with q, and use mouse events when the terminal supports them. It can connect to vector tile servers or work with local VectorTile/MBTiles data.

For package users, MapSCII is mostly a frictionless CLI: install it, run mapscii, and get an interactive world map in a terminal without a browser.

Why package nerds care

MapSCII is significant as a tiny package-index gem: it combines Node packaging, terminal rendering, vector tiles, and OpenStreetMap-derived data in a way that is instantly testable from a shell.

It is also a good example of why package managers carry playful tools: the utility may be narrow, but it exercises real terminal and geospatial dependencies.

Timeline

2016: Public GitHub repository created.
2017: ASCII mode and improved mouse support releases published.
2019: CoffeeScript-to-JavaScript release published.
2020: v0.3.1 release published.

Related projects

Mapbox Styles, vector tiles, MBTiles, and OSM2VectorTiles are listed in the official README as part of the MapSCII feature set.
OpenStreetMap-derived data is central to the project's map-viewing experience.

Sources

https://api.github.com/repos/rastapasta/mapscii
https://api.github.com/repos/rastapasta/mapscii/releases?per_page=5
https://github.com/rastapasta/mapscii
source_facts.package-manager

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`mapscii`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-08-03

manager version0.3.1

manager updated

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mapscii
Version	0.3.1
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://github.com/rastapasta/mapscii
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

mapscii

nix profile install nixpkgs#mapscii

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mapscii

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

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/mapscii.yml

Used sources

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