ttysvg
Getting started

Interactive mode

Run ttysvg with no arguments and answer five questions.

Run ttysvg with no arguments. It asks the two things only you can answer, the command to record and how it should look, and fills in everything else.

The ttysvg interactive mode, from the first prompt through to the finished recording

Five steps, arrow keys and enter throughout.

StepWhat it asks
1 presetreadme banner, full screen app, quick one liner or social preview. The preset carries size, padding, font size, window chrome and timing.
2 commandThe lines to run, in order. Each one is typed into your shell and followed by enter.
3 themeArrow through the themes with the palette and a sample frame beside them, so you pick by looking rather than by name.
4 detailsOutput path, title bar, sanitizing, and how long to hold after each command.
5 recordA summary, then enter. The session takes over the terminal so you watch it run for real.

Keys

KeyMeaning
up, downMove within the current step
left, rightChange a value, and on the last screen restyle the recording
enterNext step, and on step 5 start recording
tab, shift tabJump a step forward or back without choosing anything
escBack a step, and quit from the first one
ctrl cQuit from anywhere

The screen at the end

When it finishes you land on a screen showing what was written, with the last frame drawn in the theme you chose. The arrow keys there restyle the file from the frames already captured, so switching theme or toggling the title bar is instant and nothing runs twice.

It writes two files

Next to demo.svg you get demo.tape, the script that produces it, so you leave with something repeatable without having had to learn the tape format first:

ttysvg build demo.tape

Sanitizing is on by default here, which masks your home directory, user name and machine name before any frame reaches the disk.

Interactive mode types the commands for you, which is what makes the result repeatable. To drive a program by hand instead, use ttysvg record.

Interactive mode needs a real terminal. In a script or a pipe, use record or build.

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