a2m2a - ANSI / mIRC Art Converter

a2m2a (ANSI to mIRC Art to ANSI) is a versatile command-line tool written in Go for converting legacy text-based art formats and rendering them as images.

This project was entirely 'vibe-coded' into existence by an LLM in under an hour, using code from the original C utility a2m by t4t3r. It modernizes the original concept with features like automatic format detection and image rendering capabilities.

Features

• Two-Way Text Conversion:
  • Convert ANSI art (.ans) to mIRC art (.mrc).
  • Convert mIRC art (.mrc) to ANSI art (.ans).
• PNG Image Generation:
  • Render either ANSI or mIRC art directly to a PNG file.
  • Creates tightly-cropped images based on the artwork's content.
• 99-Color mIRC Support: Accurately renders mIRC art using the full, non-standard 99-color palette, ensuring PNG outputs are true to the original.
• 16-Color Quantization: Can force any input into the standard 16-color ANSI palette, ensuring compatibility for text-based outputs.
• Thumbnail Generation:
  • Create a smaller thumbnail of the artwork with a user-specified width.
• Automatic Format Detection: No need to specify the input format; the tool inspects the file and determines the correct conversion path automatically.
• CP437 Support: Correctly handles the CP437 character set, ensuring block graphics and special symbols from classic DOS ANSI art are preserved.
• Flexible I/O: Reads from and writes to files or standard input/output, allowing it to be easily used in command-line pipelines.

How to Run

There are binarys available for linux, windows and mac on the github release page.

Building

To build the tool from source, you will need to have Go installed.

# Clone the repository (if you haven't already)
# git clone ...

# Navigate to the project directory
cd a2m2a

# Tidy dependencies and build the executable
go mod tidy
go build

This will create the a2m2a executable in the project directory.

Usage

The tool can be controlled via several command-line flags.

Command-Line Flags

• -i, --in: Path to the input file. If omitted, reads from stdin.
• -o, --out: Path to the output file. If omitted, writes to stdout.
• -w, --width: Sets the canvas width for parsing (default: 80).
• --png: Forces PNG generation. This is not strictly necessary if your output filename ends with .png.
• --thumb <width>: In addition to the main PNG, also generates a thumbnail of the specified pixel width (e.g., art_thumb.png).
• --16: Forces the output to be quantized to the 16-color ANSI palette.

Examples

Text Conversion

The tool automatically detects if the input is ANSI or mIRC and converts to the other format.

# Convert an ANSI file to mIRC format
./a2m2a -i my_art.ans -o my_art.mrc

# Convert a mIRC file to ANSI format
./a2m2a -i my_art.mrc -o my_art.ans

PNG Generation

PNG generation is triggered automatically if the output filename ends with .png. It fully supports the 99-color mIRC palette.

# Generate a PNG from an ANSI file
./a2m2a -i my_art.ans -o my_art.png

# Generate a high-fidelity PNG from a 99-color mIRC file
./a2m2a -i 99_color_art.mrc -o my_art.png

Forcing 16-Color Output

You can force the output to the standard 16-color ANSI palette using the --16 flag. This is particularly useful when converting a 99-color mIRC file into a standard ANSI file.

# Convert a 99-color mIRC file to a 16-color ANSI file
./a2m2a --in 99_color_art.mrc --out 16_color_art.ans --16

Thumbnail Generation

Using the --thumb flag generates the main PNG file and a corresponding thumbnail.

# Generate a full-size PNG and a 320px wide thumbnail
./a2m2a -i my_art.ans -o my_art.png --thumb 320
# This command creates two files: my_art.png and my_art_thumb.png

Using with Pipes

The tool fully supports standard I/O. For image generation, you must specify an output file with -o.

# Convert from stdin and print ANSI to stdout
cat my_art.mrc | ./a2m2a

# Generate a PNG from stdin (requires -o)
cat my_art.ans | ./a2m2a -o my_art.png