PIXELA — C++ Terminal Graphics API

A header-only API (include/pixela.hpp) with no external dependencies — just the C++17 stdlib.

Project Structure

pixela/
├── include/
│   └── pixela.hpp        # the API (header-only)
├── examples/
│   └── demo.cpp          # animation example
├── Makefile
└── README.md

How the Resolution Works

Each Unicode Braille character (U+2800–U+28FF) represents a 2x4 dot grid (8 sub-pixels). By using these characters as the drawing unit instead of a "full" character per pixel, the resolution is 8x higher per terminal cell. An 80x24 character terminal becomes a real 160 x 96 "pixel" screen.

Furthermore, each cell receives true RGB color (24-bit) via ANSI escape sequences (\x1b[38;2;r;g;bm).

Build and Run

With make (recommended):

make        # builds the demo
make run    # builds (if necessary) and runs it
make clean  # removes the binary

Or directly with g++:

g++ -std=c++17 -O2 -Iinclude examples/demo.cpp -o demo -lpthread
./demo      # Ctrl+C to exit

API Usage

#include "pixela.hpp"   // with -Iinclude in the compiler

int main() {
    int cols, rows;
    pxl::getTerminalSize(cols, rows);   // detects terminal size
    pxl::enableAnsiSupport();           // required on older Windows terminals

    pxl::Canvas cv(cols, rows);         // real resolution: cols*2 x rows*4

    cv.clear();
    cv.drawCircle(cv.width()/2, cv.height()/2, 20, false, {255, 0, 0});
    cv.drawLine(0, 0, cv.width()-1, cv.height()-1, {0, 255, 0});
    cv.drawRect(5, 5, 30, 10, true, {0, 120, 255});

    pxl::clearScreen();
    cv.pixelar();  // prints the frame
}

Available Functions

Function	Description
setPixel(x, y, on, color)	turns a "pixel" on/off with color
drawLine(x0,y0,x1,y1,color)	line (Bresenham)
drawRect(x,y,w,h,filled,color)	rectangle
drawCircle(cx,cy,r,filled,color)	circle (Bresenham)
drawTriangle(...)	triangle (outline)
clear()	clears the canvas
render()	returns the frame as a std::string (with ANSI codes)
pixelar()	prints the frame directly to the terminal, flicker-free
width()/height()	real resolution in "pixels" (cols2, rows4)

The examples/demo.cpp shows an animation with a bouncing ball, a sine wave, and a spinning pointer, all running at ~60 FPS.

The demos were created using Claude; the code itself wasn't AI-generated, but I used the tool to add comments and create the demo examples. I recommend using it to better understand my tool and to build upon it—just give me credit, and I'll be happy.