pkg.soopen package index

brew / rank 6501

Install terminalimageviewer with Homebrew, apt, MacPorts, Nix

Display images in a terminal using block graphic characters. Version 1.2.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with macports: sudo port install tiv.

Install commandSecurity notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install terminalimageviewer

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install tiv

MacPorts ports tree · graphics/tiv/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install tiv

Debian stable package indexes · tiv · source: deb.debian.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#tiv

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

overview

Package summary

Display images in a terminal using block graphic characters

Commands and aliases

  • tiv

history

Project history and usage

TerminalImageViewer, usually invoked as `tiv`, is a C++ terminal image viewer that renders images using RGB ANSI colors and Unicode block graphics. It belongs to the lineage of tools that treat a modern terminal as a low-resolution graphics surface.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in April 2016. The README notes that examples were mostly produced with an older Java version, but development later shifted to the C++ implementation; by October 2020 the Java version was explicitly deprecated.

The project's distinguishing technique is its 4-by-8 pixel cell mapping. Instead of only using the Unicode half-block approach common to related tools such as timg, TerminalImageViewer chooses block characters and foreground/background colors that better approximate each cell.

Adoption history

The first GitHub release listed by the official releases page is v1.0.0 in December 2018. The README documents Homebrew installation for macOS and mentions third-party RPM and Docker packaging; this batch input also lists Debian, Ubuntu, MacPorts, Nix, and Homebrew package names.

Maintenance after the initial release focused on portability and packaging: README notes call out Homebrew support being fixed in 2020, Apple Clang support in 2021, and MSVC/native Windows support plus Apache-2.0-or-GPL-3.0 licensing in 2023.

How it is used

Users run `tiv` with one or more image filenames; shells can expand wildcards, and the tool shows thumbnails and file names when multiple images are supplied. The README warns users to install ImageMagick and to tune terminal color mode, font, and line spacing when output looks wrong.

The README also documents a library-style API around `tiv_lib.h` and `tiv_lib.cc`, allowing callers to map framebuffer pixels to terminal character/color data. That makes the project useful beyond one-off image previews.

Why package nerds care

For terminal-heavy users, tiv is a compact answer to the question 'can I inspect this image without leaving the shell?' It is especially relevant in SSH sessions, image-processing pipelines, build artifacts, and README demos where a graphical viewer is awkward or unavailable.

Package nerds also care because it exercises modern terminal capabilities: truecolor ANSI output, Unicode coverage, terminal line metrics, and optional fallbacks such as 256-color mode.

Timeline

  • 2016: Public GitHub repository created on April 8.
  • 2018: v1.0.0 initial release published.
  • 2020: README notes Homebrew support was fixed and the Java version was deprecated.
  • 2021: README notes Apple Clang support was added.
  • 2023: v1.2 added MSVC/native Windows support and dual Apache-2.0/GPL-3.0-or-later licensing.
  • 2024: README added a section on using the TIV API.

Related projects

  • The README explicitly compares tiv with timg and other Unicode half-block image renderers. It is also adjacent to terminal media viewers, sixel/iTerm image protocols, and documentation screenshot tools.

Sources

  • GitHub README: https://github.com/stefanhaustein/TerminalImageViewer#readme
  • GitHub releases: https://github.com/stefanhaustein/TerminalImageViewer/releases
  • GitHub repository metadata: https://api.github.com/repos/stefanhaustein/TerminalImageViewer
  • Input source_facts.package-manager

security posture

Risk level: blue

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

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

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

Signals

  • text:image

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

CommandKindExposureNote
tivexecutableindexed executableDiscovered 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 version1.2.1
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
  • okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:terminalimageviewer
Version1.2.1
Package managerHomebrew
Homepagehttps://github.com/stefanhaustein/TerminalImageViewer
Repositoryhttps://github.com/stefanhaustein/TerminalImageViewer
Bottlenot recorded
Servicenone 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.

MacPorts94%

tiv

sudo port install tiv
  • installed executable or alias match
  • Matched by: Tiv
MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: graphics/tiv/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Debian apt92%

tiv 1.2.1+dfsg-1+b2

high-resolution command-line image viewer

https://github.com/stefanhaustein/TerminalImageViewer

sudo apt install tiv
  • Section: graphics
  • Architecture: amd64
  • Source Package: tiv
  • 3 dependencies
  • installed executable or alias match
  • Matched by: Tiv
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: tiv from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix92%

tiv

nix profile install nixpkgs#tiv
  • installed executable or alias match
  • Matched by: Tiv
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ti/tiv/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt92%

tiv 1.2.1+dfsg-1

high-resolution command-line image viewer

https://github.com/stefanhaustein/TerminalImageViewer

sudo apt install tiv
  • Section: universe/graphics
  • Architecture: amd64
  • 3 dependencies
  • installed executable or alias match
  • Matched by: Tiv
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: tiv from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

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